Purple Finch at the Feeder

Haven't positively identified one of these in years.  Great treat at the feeder!!

Turkeys in the Back Yard & Other Recent Bird Photography

I love this new camera.  If I'd just take the time to read the instruction book, I'd probably love it even more.

This morning we had a YARD FULL of turkeys - up to four at one time strutting.  Below are pictures, and below that a few more pics I've taken lately.

Turkeys in the Trees

Mike was spreading a little cracked corn in our back yard for his deer friends, when he heard a loud "whoosh-whooshing" overhead. He looked up to see five turkeys flying toward him from the neighbor's trees. They all perched directly above him and looked down as if to say "Please leave so we can eat." He took this shot with his phone. I thought it was a neat shot for something so sudden and unplanned.

Feeder Birds 2016-2017

To be added to throughout the winter:

1. House Finch
2. Purple Finch
3. Tufted Titmouse
4. Carolina Chickadee
5. Red-breasted Nuthatch
6. Brown-headed Nuthatch
7. White-breasted Nuthatch
8. Carolina Wren
9. Mourning Dove
10. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
11. Downy Woodpecker
12. Red-bellied Woodpecker
13. Northern Cardinal
14. Mockingbird
15. Pine Warbler
16. Northern Junco
17. American Goldfinch
18. Eastern Phoebe
19. Chipping Sparrow
20. Red-Winged Blackbird

Pics from my Feeder

I have my nice new camera this year, purchased for our trip to Machias Seal Island, and hope to use it more this winter to get pictures of our feeders.  Here are a couple of first attempts.

Tufted Titmouse

Red-breasted Nuthatch with seed in its mouth.  I so wish this were just a bit more clear.
They move so fast that it's very difficult to get a clear picture of them.

No Sea Bird

I convinced Mike to drive to the base of Lake Strom Thurmond on Friday.  A brown booby has been observed for two weeks there, ever since Hurricane Matthew blew through.

However, the winds were horrible.  Very high winds - so high that I could hardly hold my binoculars still.  No rare bird.

But it was a nice excursion!

Photography

These were all taken in July and early August of 2016, when Mike and I would go out in the mornings.

Recent pictures from the Dobbins Farm Ponds and the SC 243 Beaverdam Bridge:

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Red-Headed Woodpecker

Egrets at the Beaverdam Bridge

Immature Little Blue Heron

Great White Egrets

Another shot of a Little Blue Heron

Green Heron

I did not know about post-breeding dispersal until this summer.  Birds like the Little Blue Heron and the White Ibis disperse northward after breeding.  That's why we were seeing them, and they are apparently in larger numbers than usual.