Layanee over at
Ledge and Gardens asked in her latest post "what is your favorite (garden) bird?" Well, I just found that almost impossible to answer. How do you pick and choose what is a favorite when we have so many beautiful feathered friends to choose from??
I think one of my favorites (today) is the Northern Mockingbird. They are sleek, aggressive, smart. They fiercely protect their nests and young. What's not to like about them?
We have one that comes to our garden every winter about the time that the holly berries become ripe. It sets up its territory to include hollies and pyracantha planted out in the front garden. The Cardinals and Robins have a rough time sneaking in for a few berries when the Mockingbird is hanging around but they eventually get their fair share.
It is always on the lookout for the next ripest berry ready for the picking. Now if you asked me tomorrow what my favorite bird is I would probably have a different answer for you. What is your favorite garden bird?
I think one of my favorites (today) is the Northern Mockingbird. They are sleek, aggressive, smart. They fiercely protect their nests and young. What's not to like about them?
It is always on the lookout for the next ripest berry ready for the picking. Now if you asked me tomorrow what my favorite bird is I would probably have a different answer for you. What is your favorite garden bird?
Great choice! I'm hoping that this will be the year that I have a mockingbird in my garden. I miss them!
ReplyDeleteIt would be so difficult to choose. I love bluebirds, robins, chickadees, wrens, and goldfinches. I guess I'd have to pick my namesake.
see the red again, it is a wow factor. i like ostriches and flamingoes...well they're birds too aren't they? what about penguins, i adore penguins.i think it's well past my bedtime!
ReplyDeleteThose red berries surrounding your bird just make him even more beautiful. Great info on it.
ReplyDeleteIt is way too hard to pick a fav bird, so I will give you my list: juncos (which I don't see anymore not being in Wis)
Rose-breasted grosbeak (long and touching story to tell you sometime)
Bluebirds (just because I was so close to them)
All the hummingbirds here in AZ.
Okay, I will quit.
I think cedar waxwings would be my favorite GARDEN bird, but I also like nuthatches and mourning doves... Now, my favorite bird period would hands down be the brown pelican - oh, how I adore them!
ReplyDeleteAlthough they're the bullies of the bird world, I've always enjoyed the beauty of the blue jays.
ReplyDeleteScarlet tanagers are quite wonderful too.
Lisa, this is the second post on Mockingbird behavior I read tonight! And you know, I know them well.
ReplyDeleteI guess Mockingbird is my favorite because it's so intense and seems to trust everything I do. An entertaining bird!
But, like you, tomorrow I might answer your question differently because I really do love them all excluding 3 I won't name.
Mary
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI like all the birds who visit my garden but I think the pert little Tufted Titmouse is my favorite today. Second place is the Rufous Sided Towhee...I love the way they hop about to dislodge the leaves.
Gail
I don't get Mockingbirds in my yard and would love seeing them! I can see why they are a Fave!
ReplyDeleteThe red berried background is spectacular for your excellent mockingbird captures. I especially love the mockingbird's long song. He's always adding to his repertoire.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think we've had one of these at our feeder. I couldn't quite identify it, but seeing yours here, I'm almost certain that's what it was.
ReplyDeleteWe hear them in the summer, around June or so. I love to hear them sing!
Such pretty pictures, Lisa!
Lisa, gorgeous pictures! Do you ever frame some of them? I would think this was a hard question for you. I know how much you enjoy every bird that visits.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I think my favorite changes. In the spring it's the robin, summer is the yellow finch and winter is the cardinal.
Perhaps we should do the desert island thingy again but this time with birds instead of plants. Love the pic of the mocking bird, very pretty, we don't have them here.
ReplyDeleteHe did have the perfect surrounding to make him a favorite :-)
ReplyDeletegreat pictures
The mockingbird is one i don't get to my yard. :( so how nice it is to see posts about this beautiful bird.
ReplyDeleteLisa, the mockingbird looks even more beautiful captured against the background of the red berries. Since I have trouble identifying very many species of birds, I'm not sure just which ones come to visit me. The hummingbird has to be my favorite, but I like the cardinals the rest of the year. Right now I'm enjoying a downy-headed woodpecker that comes to visit every afternoon. I just wish I could get some photos of them!
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteMy dad has always loved mocking birds. I don't know how he did it, but every year he would pick one out that he saw sitting on a power line or tree and he would talk to her everyday. I don't know what his secret is, but in a few weeks he would have that bird sitting on the arm of his chair. If she was no where to be seen he would call out "Ms. Molly!" that bird would hear him hundreds of yards away and come fly right to him. He's too old to do it now, but he use to pick out a new mocking bird every year. There was an elderly lady that lived down the street years ago that said he would come to visit her when he was five or six. She said all you could see was part of a little blonde head with mocking bird sitting on it bounce pass the kitchen window.
He is lovely Lisa, not unlike our wagtail to look at......
ReplyDeletestunning photographs with the berries.....
I like so many birds I really don't know if I could choose just one.....so I will have two....the song thrush and the barn owl. They both visit the garden and I could not be without them.....
We have so many tastes in comum that I am going to invite you to visit my new blog aminhasmaosverdes.blogspot.com (it means my green hands)
ReplyDeleteWow! I can't believe my eyes. These series pictures are amazingly beautiful!
ReplyDeleteEspecially the red berries blossom here making the whole picturescape look extra chic and unique.
Coincidently, I am looking for inspiration to continue drawing and painting my bird series. You have made me smile Lisa. I have so much inspiration from your piece here!!!!!
Thanks, Lisa:)
Wow Lisa, is that plant in your backyard? I love all those red berries and I can see the mockingbird does too!
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty hard for me to pick a fave backyard bird, but I'd be really excited if a Tufted Titmouse (or 2) would show up again at my feeders.
Those are beautiful pics of the mockingbird among the berries. Is that a Winterberry?
ReplyDeleteIt was a very close race but I chose the Wood Thrush, for his beautiful song.
Mockingbird is lovely. We all have our "favourites" even though it is hard to choose. Our garden is filled with Sparrows,and while they are a common sight, I love them! I love the Doves that nest each Spring, and my husband loves the Woodpeckers. Spotting the Red Cardinals especially through all the snow is always a thrill.
ReplyDeleteMourning doves! Before I die I want to get close enough to one to touch it and feel its soul shudder through me. Cardinals are nice too, especially in late winter when they travel as couple to the feeder.
ReplyDeleteOh, they're lovely....I've never seen a mockingbird, Lisa, so I can only admire yours. Very handsome bird and obviously a fair bit of attitude, too.
ReplyDeleteDear Lisa,
ReplyDeleteToday, in Texas, my favorite bird is the Green Jay.....
I am having a wonderful time! The Inn at Chachalaca Bend is fantastic! We have been here three nights and will be staying one more before heading up the coast and back towards home. We decided to stay a few more days since the birding is excellent, as are the butterflies and dragonflies!
Thankyou for telling me about The Inn at Chachalaca Bend....
it has made the trip an incredible experience.
I will be a repeat customer!
I love your photos of the Northern Mockingbird. I saw one this morning...it is the state bird of Texas!
Miss you!
I have told the birds you are coming to see them soon!
Namaste,
Sherry
I can reliably identify robins, bluejays and goldfinches. I especially love the goldfinches which my old neighbor used to call 'wild canaries'.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, what a good choice! As someone who knows so much about birds, I know yours is an educated selection. We have so many of those here too, always getting three nestings a year from each and they don't seem to go elsewhere so the population is quite large. They have the best singing voices around but don't come to the feeders so I don't think about them in winter much. Thanks for those great berry shots and your favorite bird!
ReplyDeleteFrances
I love red berries in winter.
ReplyDeleteAnd, it appears I'm not the only one!!
Right now it is the cardinals..the male looks so stunning against the white snow! Next is the bluejay..again the color against the snow just brightens up the garden and then my all time Spring fav. is the Robin!! Did you know that the Robin is still sighted here in our freezing cold climate!!They too eat red berries off trees!Lisa to tell you the truth I love all birds!!As you saw from my blog posting today it is the swans!! Happy birding!
ReplyDeleteTerrific mocking bird photos! They are wonderful birds...Where I used to live, I would watch them hunt for bugs, by spreading their wings to make a shadow on the ground...run a bit..spread wings again! Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteWhen we visited my BIL last summer, they had a mockingbird that sang his cell phone ring tone.
Perfect!
Hands down- my favorite is the Catbird (a cousin to your mockingbird)
I love the Mockingbird as well. But picking just one? Hmm, I'm not sure I can do that. I'm enjoying my American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins right now. And since I love to go birding, I love seeing a "lifer" from time to time. But in general I really enjoy most the "common" birds I see in my backyard. Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, Ruby Throated Hummers, and even the Blue Jays. I do NOT care for the Grackles though!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos by the way.
Lisa, there is an award for you and Luna to pick on my blog...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aufildujardin.blogspot.com/
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteLoved those photos. The berries make a great backdrop for the bird. I wish we got those in our garden. They are so beautiful :-)
Mine favorite bird is the Coopers Hawk. I really think they are neat birds but I also like the Tufted Titmouse. I like your choice of favorite birds too but where I live we don't have them.
ReplyDeleteI have tried feeding worms and freeze dried worms to my birds by adding them to other feed but at the end of the day I have uneaten worms and everything else is gone.
I have a birds blog too but mine are only birds that fly into my backyard.
Backyard Birds
Just ONE favourite garden bird? It's impossible. What are your other favourite ones, Lisa? I am happy about all the birds that are visiting my garden. This great variety, depending on the season, makes it so difficult to choose just one.However, if you asked me which one I do not like so very much, then I would probably have an answer: magpie.
ReplyDeletei love these photos of your mockingbird sitting amongst the berries. we are enjoying watching our bluebirds. this past year they have nested twice and it is fun to watch mother and father take turns feeding the fledglings.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful photos Lisa! I've only ever heard and seen a mockingbird once, two or three years ago in our backyard, surprisingly. I don't think there are very many of them around here at all. It was amazing to listen to its many songs. Now you have me hoping the hollies I ordered for spring planting might attract more.
ReplyDeleteHere in Puerto Rico the Northern Mockingbird is a very common bird all year long. I love when this beautiful singer give me a concert in my backyard or anywhere on the streets. Even on my job place is one! Is not my choice for my favorite backyard or garden bird, but is a great choice! I'll anounce later my favorite bird.
ReplyDeleteHola Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice bird! My favourite garden bird is the Vermilion flycatcher :)
I love the Mockingbird, but feel exceptionally blessed when I get to see a Golden Cheeked Warbler!
ReplyDeleteLisa: I have been away and feel remiss in not answering email etc. Thank you for the 'shout out'. I also love the mockingbird. I never see one at the feeders though. My favorite bird is the one at the feeder at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a mockingbird, at least not that close! I would have a very difficult time making a choice, but perhaps my top couple of favorites would be the nuthatch (esp. the rosy breasted nuthatch) and the chickadee! :-)
ReplyDelete