Titmice in the Trees

A Tufted Titmouse in the shady Magnolia Tree

Here are some of the cute little Tufted Titmice that have decided to make their homes in trees along me street.  Each Titmouse seems so charming that I really love to hear them as well as see them.  They are bright, frisky, wonderful little birds!  I spotted these cuties last month here near my home.

The topknot on that grey head and body seems so formal for such a lively bird.  I often spot Carolina (or their cousins, the Black-Capped) Chickadees nearby when the Titmice arrive.  By the way, I will be offline next week.   I do hope to be back here with more pictures in a week or two as soon as we get our new Internet connection accomplished.  Enjoy!  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture.  Enjoy!

 

Hanging Out in a Big Oak

Hunting for a Tasty Bite

Looking at My Own Reflection!

 

Up in the Big Front Yard Oak

That one little Carolina Chickadee!

Adios!

 

Scenes Around the Neighborhood

These songbirds and ducks were spotted in the last few days  in the housing development where I live.  I am greeted each morning with bird song!  Such a nice thing to happen.   By the  way, the crow shown above, was drinking a few drops of water out of the rain gutter on top of the roof.  Of course, I also enjoy the ducks but they are really just come and go visitors here.  We do also have rabbits and squirrels around here but I seldom see the bunnies out.

The ducks are a pair of Florida Mottled Ducks that are trying to set up a nest at the larger rainfall retention pond next to the health club.  I sure hope for their sake that this rainfall retention basin pond actually gets to stay wet.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture.  Have a great coming week and enjoy!

 

 

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, A Titmouse in the Tub!

I took this series of photographs of the Tufted Titmouse taking its bath yesterday, February 11, 2013 from my front porch.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Little Birds with Big Eyes

The Tufted Titmouse is one of the cutest of the songbirds.  Titmice have arrived here with Carolina Wrens.  The Tufted Titmice are grey birds with large, appealing black eyes, a small crest on top of their head, and apricot coloring on their sides under the wings.  The Titmice eat insects but they love seeds fruits and nuts.

My neighbor has put up a bird feeder which has Sunflower Seeds and other bird seed.  I plan to add a bird feeder to my back yard.   In addition to having bird feeders up, the smaller birds may come around more often now that the neighborhood Hawk has recently been run-off by the Crows.   I took these pictures on September 29, 2013.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Tufted Titmouse Gets Grub

This little Tufted Titmouse was feasting on some type of small insect that was contained in the leaves of this small tree.  Tufted Titmice are grey birds with a top-knot crest and appealing big black eyes.  The call they make is like a person whistling for a dog to come.  Kind of like  a”Wee-whee-whee” that is repeated a few times.

These birds are primarily interested in eating insects but also like seeds, nuts and bites of fruit.  The male and female Titmice look-alike.  I have seen just a few of these fun birds here in my new neighborhood in Florida.  I took these pictures from the area across the street from my home on the banks of the rainfall collection basin, on July 1, 2013.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Bird Bath Fun!

These Tufted Titmice certainly enjoyed the refreshing cool water in my next door neighbor’s bird bath a few days ago.  The weather was quite hot that day and I am sure the birds just really loved dunking and cooling off!  This bird bath is also a popular spot for Crows Bluebirds, Cardinals, Warblers and Carolina Wrens to bathe or drink.  My neighbors work hard to keep cool water in the bird bath and keep it clean.  That’s important for the birds and keeps mosquito larvae from growing.  There actually were three Tufted Titmice bathing but only two were on or in the bath at once.  I took these pictures from my yard on April 11, 2013.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Titmice in a Tree

This pair of Tufted Titmice were very loudly singing while perched in the shady branches of the Magnolia Tree in my front yard.  I spotted these birds doing something that I had never seen before.  They flew over a short distance from the tree to the roof of my home and lay face-down with their wings spread out.  The birds looked absolutely dead.  After a few moments, first one got up and flew back to the Magnolia and then the other did the same thing.  Perhaps they had been preening or had used the bird bath that is in my neighbor’s yard.    I took the pictures in my front yard yesterday, April 7, 2013.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Yard Birds

Here are some pictures of some of the songbirds that regularly show up here in the yards.  I often see Tufted Titmice, Brown-headed Cow Birds, Northern Cardinals, House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Common Crows.  I took these pictures in my yard on various days in the last several days.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Titmice at the Feeder

Tufted Titmice are here in the yard in a big way.  The flock of Tufted Titmice is not a large one but the grey, buff, Apricot and black birds are not shy about coming to the bird feeder several times a day.  Sometimes there will be four or five at a time vying for space on the feeder.  One will sit on the porch railing acting as a look-out while the others take turns getting the Millet or Black Oil Sunflower Seeds.  They also occasionally find an insect or two on the porch or in the grass next to the house.

These are intelligent cute birds with their large eyes and top-knot crest. Yesterday this bunch of Titmice had to look out for a visiting house cat that was interested in all the birds hanging out around the feeder.  Lucky for the birds, the cat was too afraid to approach the house and quickly left the area.   Both cats and dogs occasionally just show up and stroll around the yard..  The dogs and cats just go back home to their own yards after a while.  I took these pictures in my yard yesterday, Nov. 1, 2012.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

A Tufted Titmouse at the Feeder

This cute, grey and  buff-colored Tufted Titmouse was here at the bird feeder grabbing a bite at dusk on Saturday.  These birds are intelligent.  They have large black eyes and whistle a musical note or two when singing.  They have a small topknot crest on their heads.  There is faint Apricot coloring just under each wing.

Tufted Titmice eat seeds and insects.  Their favorite food here at the feeder is the Black Oil Sunflower Seed.  They will perch on the porch and crack the shells of the sunflower seeds then eat their tid-bit of kernel.  The Tufted Titmouse here was with a lone Carolina Chickadee and a White-breasted Nuthatch.  All of these birds seem good companions for each other.  I took these pictures from my living room  on Sept. 29, 2012.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!