Backyard buddies

[F-14 Ace]

Does anybody here feed and watch birds for a hobby?  I've been feeding birds for several years now and some have even started nesting in my yard.  

The following birds are the ones that most commonly visit my feeders.

European house sparrows- Technically they're considered an invasive species in the U.S. but I find them fascinating to watch.  Besides, realistically there is no way to prevent the sparrows from using the feeder without frightening other birds away so I tolerate their presence.

 Cardinals- I have a mating pair of cardinals that took up residence in my yard a few years ago.  They seem to nest in the same tree every year and they visit my feeder year round.  Cardinals are beautiful birds and I love having them around.  They sing such happy songs too.  I also saw the male cardinal flying around with an adolescent male who I suspect is one of their offspring.

Mockingbirds- I've also had a pair of mockingbirds nesting in my yard for many years.  I rarely see them use the bird feeder but every now and then I'll see one of them out there.  The mockingbirds were extremely aggressive at first, dive bombing and screeching at anyone who ventured out into the yard, but they seem to have calmed down a bit.  If you go outside now, one of them will land on a nearby bush and squawk at you, and follow you around the yard, but they don't attack anymore.

Brown thrashers- They're the state bird of Georgia and a large relative of the mockingbird.  They're brown with white bellies and have black spots.  I don't know where their nest is/was, but I've seen a pair of adult thrashers in my back yard near the feeder tending to an adolescent that is nearing adulthood.  The same pair seems to return every year.  Every now and then I'll see one of them visiting the feeder.

Goldfinches- I saw a female goldfinch feeding at my feeder earlier today for the first time.  I know it was a female because her yellow feathers were a lot duller than a male's feathers would be.  I haven't seen a male anywhere though.

House finches- There has been a lone male house finch vising my feeder for the past couple of years.  The males have red feathers on their heads, but  I probably wouldn't know a female if I saw one because they look so much like sparrows.

Wrens- I always see these cute little guys in my back yard.  There are usually several at my feeder when the sparrows aren't swarming around it.  

Blue jays are common to my area but sadly I haven't seen any.

[Cancerian Tiger]

I love birding, and yes I do feed them .

Out here in the Southwest, I most commonly get Say's Phoebes, Mourning and Eurasian Collared Doves, House Finches, Western Kingbirds, Red-tailed Hawks, Anna's Hummingbirds, Turkey Vultures, and Golden Eagles.  I will sometimes spot a Peregrine Falcon in flight.

When I visit family in Michigan, European Starlings, a variety of finches, gulls, Red Cardinals, an occasional American Bald Eagle, doves and pigeons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Snowy Owls, and an occasional Great Horned Owl all come to the yard to either feast on seed or eye the songbirds as prey.

I did a lot of birding in my homestate of Virginia, too.  I think it's quite obvious by now that I, too, enjoy the company of our feathered friends .

[DarkWolf91]

We keep a bird feeder in the front yard, and mostly see varieties that have been mentioned so far, such as cardinals, mourning doves, blue jays, goldfinches, etc.
My favorite to watch are the red-headed woodpeckers! They're huge, and they hang upside down on the feeder and dart their heads over the side to get at the seeds

[Kor]

Mainly birdwise all I watch are ones I see around the outside of the apartment where I live, or ones I see going around on the bus or riding in a car like some water fowl once in a while, buzzards and others.  Grackles mainly, sparrows, other types I'm not sure of.  A few pigeons and doves.  And I think some lesser night hawks live nearby here.

[ADFan185]

Sometimes I look at birds if I'm out walk around and stuff. It is pretty cool I guess to spot the different type of birds I see.