Bewick's Wren

The picture above is a Bewick's Wren. One came to our yard last night. It is a precious, interesting, cute, and very tiny bird (5-1/2 inches). It looks a little like a miniature Cactus Wren. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons. I looked for a photo that shows the bird with its mouth open because that is what I saw. It never shut up and it flicked its tail in a prissy manner the whole time it was here. This little bird is here in the Permian Basin year-round. Since insects make up 97% of its diet, and seeds only about 3%, I may not see it often at my feeder.

The picture on the left is a Great Crested Flycatcher. It has been to the yard several times briefly and I had not been able to identify it until now. In retrospect, I believe I have seen this bird in the trees several times and mistook it for a Western Kingbird because of the yellow belly. It is about 9 inches in length and has a very proud, regal appearance. It breeds here in the summer. It eats insects and fruit. I didn't see it feed while it was here, but it has come into the yard on three different days so something is attracting it.

Another Viewing Day with Cousin Carol

Cousin Carol came over Friday, May 7, and we sat in our perfect viewing spot and watched the kaleidoscope of birds for about 5-1/2 hours or so.We saw: male and female Lark Buntings, White-Crowned Sparrows, Eurasian Collared Doves, Say's Phoebe, White-Winged Doves, female Brown-headed Cowbird, male and female House Finch, European Starlings, male and female Golden-Fronted Woodpeckers, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds, Cactus Wren, and a hawk of some kind.

Carol identified two additional birds: A yellow male House Finch (diet causes the variant) and a female Black-headed Grosbeak (top). They are evidently migrating through here on the way to Mexico/South America.The male was here for about five days but didn't show up on Friday. The males show up here in the spring before the females.

Tom and I had a visit from a female and three young Yellow-Headed Blackbirds yesterday (right). They were in the Mesquite tree early this morning but did not come into the yard to feed with the other birds. They stay in Texas for the summer, but maybe they are migrating to a different locale in Texas because we only saw the males for one day and have not seen them again.