tree of birds

We have a rather weedy, not very attractive maple tree in the front yard that I periodically contemplate cutting down. Another one of its many faults is that it seems to be of no interest to most birds. Robins are so desperate for additional nesting sites around here that one pair of them has settled for the maple tree, but that’s about it. I think my fingers would suffice for counting all the bird species I’ve seen on that tree this entire year.

Except for today. When I came home this afternoon, I noticed a warbler on the tree so I grabbed my binoculars and headed to the porch to have a closer look. It wasn’t just the warbler. All of the following birds were on the tree. At the same time. A number of them were clearly migrating birds that I don’t usually see around here.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Northern Parula

Northern Parula

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Eastern Wood-Pewee

American Redstart

American Redstart

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

Cardinal

Cardinal

I still want to replace the maple tree with a more attractive kind of tree, though.

Sydney

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2 Responses to tree of birds

  1. Mother of the bride says:

    Don’t you find the variety amazing? All on the same tree! At the same time! How about in the little forest at the fence line in the back yard – were any traveling birds there, or just the usual residents?

  2. Sydney says:

    Given the unusual variety of birds on the maple tree, I did go and check the trees at the back fence line as well. There were more Blue Jays around than usual, but, otherwise, just the usual birds: cardinals, robins, starlings, and so on.

    Earlier in the day, though, I watched a Hairy Woodpecker drill open our hammock stand in the back yard. That was a new species for the yard. It turns out there were a bunch of carpenter bees in the stand and the woodpecker seemed to think it fun drilling into their tunnels and chasing them out. He didn’t bother eating them, though.

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