Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The new "hamster" ball feeder strikes again!

...today (in between coughing and sleeping) I looked out the window to see a Red-breasted Nuthatch take a seed from the feeder. At first I thought I was mistaken, but he returned about 30 seconds later. We've lived in our home for ten years, and we've never had a Red-breasted Nuthatch in our yard before--that feeder is good!

I never thought a Red-breasted Nuthatch would show up in our yard, so I was really happy when I saw him fly up to the feeder! Two new yard birds in less than two weeks...

He would fly to the hanging planter and check out the hamster ball....

...then pop up to the rod for another look...

...then he would nab a seed and be gone. He has to be one of the flightiest birds I've seen at the feeder. He would take his seed and fly to the half-dead willow tree to hatch it out.

These aren't the best photos, but as record shots, they work. Yesterday, I spotted our first Dark-eyed Junco for the year (Rick and I always have a contest...I won this year!!), and the day before, our first White-crowned Sparrow flew in too. Our winter visitors are arriving!

35 comments:

  1. Oh Kelly he is so adorable. What a nice surprise to see the nuthatch. When I used to have the bird feeder, I used to get all kinds of surprises, and now even I don't have one, once in a while something new pops, lol. Thanks for sharing, these are some amazing photos. Anna :)

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  2. Oh, yeah, I need to get one of these feeders!

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  3. Glad that feeder has been such a success!

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  4. It seems word got round quickly about the new feeder Kelly.
    Worth every penny I'd say.

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  5. Excellent Kelly... It is really cool for you that this feeder works well and for us too... Then we can see more species on your blog!!

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  6. What a lovely way to be cheered up when you are not feeling well.

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  7. OK... we're all going to have to get one of those magic feeders! I only had the Red-breasted one season, and boy, they ARE flitty! Great photos Kelly! Hope you are feeling better each day. :c)

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  8. That feeder was a great investment Kelly.

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  9. This is so darn cute!!!
    I want one of these feeders too!

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  10. Cool! We rarely see Red-breasted Nuthatches here; mostly we get the White-breasted. Haven't seen a Dark-eyed Junco yet; I usually only see them when there's snow on the ground. But I did hear my first White-throated Sparrow of the season the other day in Ballard Park. I didn't see it, but there's no mistaking that distinctive song.

    I hope the flu is getting better.

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  11. Have been away so forgive me if you've already done so, but where did you get the feeder - details please or just direct me to the appropriate post to get them!

    Love your new visitor - too cute!!!

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  12. Okay, the feeder company needs to be giving you royalties or something! Their sales on that feeder have got to be spiking after your posts. Great pics.

    I love red-breasted nuthatches. I hear them in our neighborhood but have not seen one in our yard. Guess I'd better be getting myself one of those hamster ball feeders!

    Hope you are on the mend!

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  13. Guess I'd better get me one of those feeders. I've had two Red-breasted Nuthatches, and two White-breasted too. They readily go to a feeding tray I have hanging out. But I think the round plastic one would keep the seeds drier.

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  14. Nice one Kelly, always good to get a new species in the yard!
    Enjoy the winter visitors.

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  15. I love the little Red-bellied nuthatch! Now that he knows you have something good for him, he will probably stick around. Great photos! Will have to check out that kind of feeder.

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  16. Red-breasted Nuthatches already?! Wow. Please send all your winter cuties my way, please!

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  17. Fantastic Kelly, great photos! I wonder if we can get a feeder like that over here?!

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  18. I'm going to start looking for a feeder like that.

    You've got some neat shots there.

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  19. Nice one Kelly. These cheeky visits are sure to cheer you up. FAB.

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  20. That is surely a charmed feeder Kelly! Fabulous! How great is it that you have two new yard birds just when you probably need a bit of perking up. Birds 'do it' all the time! (-: Thanks for letting me know what your mix is. Sounds yummy! (-:

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  21. That feeder was a good idea Kelly!! I've never seen a Red-Breasted Nuthatch either. Just the regular ones. I have the White-Crowned Sparrows here too and the Juncos are always here. I noticed that I still have the Goldfinches coming to the feeder out front. I guess maybe they do stay around all winter.

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  22. Hi Kel, Wish we had Juncos here. We saw them last winter in Arkansas--but have never seen them here. I also saw them this past week at Maggie Valley... Darn--wish they were here!!!

    We have the White-breasted Nuthatches here ---lots of them, year round. Glad you have a nuthatch now too. AND--I'm glad your winter birds are coming...

    Personally, I can WAIT 'til those Pine Siskins come here. We had OODLES last year---way too many.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  23. Great idea for a feeder Kelly :-) Cute shots.

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  24. I haven't seen any red-breasted nuthatches this year. I had changed to a supposedly squirrel-proof feeder last Christmas. I am wondering now if perhaps he didn't approve. I'm may have to check these out.
    Hope you are feeling better!

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  25. This is turning out to be a real attraction in your garden! Hope you're soon better.

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  26. A great feeder, very beautiful birds.
    Hope you are getting much better, many hugs,

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  27. My second blog was about the little Red Breasted Nuthatch..a personal favourite of mine. We have them too, and they're very cute! Hard to photograph though ( for me) as they're so quick!

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  28. What a cute bird. So fun to see new birds at the feeder.

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  29. Funny that you mentioned the Red-breasted Nuthatch. We have them almost every summer along with the larger White-breasted Nutchatch. I like the feeder but don't know much about it.

    I do have something of a mystery bird on my birds blog today. This one showed up this morning early and I snapped some pictures of it through the windows just to get it pictured. I started looking in my books for it and went to Cornell but can't come up with anything.

    It is a black and white bird with a difference. That is the collar around behind its neck.

    mybirdsblog.blogspot.com

    Any ideas?

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  30. Thats a lovely feeder along with the bird...beautiful!

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  31. Congrats on the RB Nuthatch! I have a couple again this year. They are the cutest little birds!

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  32. Hi Kelly.
    Well done on your first Red Breasted Nuthatch. As you say, the birds certainly do like that feeder. The photo's are a good record of the bird.

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  33. Hi Everyone....well....I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm not well yet, but I've stopped coughing all the time and my energy is returning. The Swine is such a swine. Isn't this little Red-breasted Nuthatch the cutest? I get so happy every time I hear him. I hope he stays the winter, but I wondered if he was just passing through. I didn't see him today, but I wasn't at the windows a lot today. I'll keep watching for him.
    Thank you for all the wonderful comments. Hopefully i'll be able to get out and visit everyone's blogs tomorrow. I feel so much better.

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