This is my precious walking buddy... She is enviously watching me take pictures of various birds and roosts on the property. Taking pictures is difficult when I let her outside with me. There is the obvious, that she might chase the birds, but most importantly, she will jump the fence! I have to keep her on a leash, and can't aim the camera with her tugging on my arm! So, she watches from the door.

I let the feeder run empty yesterday, which caused quite a stir this morning! I am sharing some of the reactions I captured from the visitors:

"Can you believe it? She let us run out of food!"

"Hey! How about a little service here!"

"Aw! Look at this! Not even the big red seeds left in here!"

"I see her in there! YOO_HOO!! ... I don't think she can
hear me?"

  You'll notice that big cardinal was staying close in case a secret trove was uncovered!

A nuthatch came by to check out the
disturbance and see if there were any
tasty critters in the wooden feeder.

On a different note, I thought you might be interested in seeing the Honeysuckle Downs nesting site: 

"Honeysuckle Downs"... where the White Throated Sparrows live
(or at least hang out a lot!)

I saw my first American Goldfinch this morning at the feeder! I tossed around a few roasted peanuts (in the shell, but cracked) and quartered an orange on the patio table. I also tossed a couple of lemon-poppy seed muffins around the feed station. Hopefully, I will attract a few more new types of birds before the Great Backyard Bird Count starts in a couple of weeks!

How to attract birds to your birdfeeder...

I found out how to attract birds to my feeder.... I have to sit outside about 50 feet away with a camera. Most birds are shy and will stay hidden in the brush or visit a different feeder area. After half an hour (or when I get cold), I should go back indoors and look out the window. Dozens of birds who were patiently waiting for me to abandon my stalking will be flocking to the feeder! Many photos today were taken through the window screen or storm door. My apologies if they don't do the birds justice.

Carolina Wren keeps a watchful eye on me while he inspects the buffet table!

I did have a little house sparrow come to inquire why I was up in the treehouse, and posed for a photo-shoot. The treehouse turned out to be a disappointing viewing platform due to the wiry limbs blocking clear views. Here are a few pics I did get from the treehouse yesterday:

A mourning dove pretends she is camouflaged ... keep believing, little bird!

Uh-oh! I think I've been spotted! Blue Jays aren't as common in my yard as I expected them to be.

I believe this little bird is hoping to be "discovered!" Perhaps my photos will end up on the cover of a birding magazine! LOL

 Hello, little Sparrow! Nice to see you! May I take some photos of you? Nice smile! Wonderful! ........................ How about a right profile?....  great!




And now the left profile?... can you show me a sideview? Awesome! And one more before you move on, how about a nice shot of your wing markings? Terrific! Thank you so much! We're done here!