I’m so proud of myself I can hardly stand it.

Please take a moment to view these two outstanding birds to the left. The first is a picture I just took of a Downy Woodpecker. He lives in my yard. To the right is what I can only imagine is his Hollywood counterpart ,who I’m guessing is a professional Woodpecker model. He probably hasn’t eaten for weeks.

Then there’s my guy. The REAL free and wild Downy.  I’ve been absolutely enamored with my new friend.

Now a word or two about how we met.

About a week ago, I was sitting on my back porch minding my own business and for some reason my eye wandered to the top half of a tree in our yard, which happens to be completely dead. I’ve always disliked this tree for this very reason, the top half is nothing but dead wood. Its ugly. Looks like a witches finger.  Anyway, I’m looking at this tree and low and behold two of the most beautiful birds are just hanging out, loving every minute on this dead tree.

The pattern on these birds really struck me so I grabbed my trusty binoculars and referenced my Bible: Stokes Field Guide to Birds. I had no idea that I would come to find these beautiful creatures were Woodpeckers!  I’ve seen Red Headed Woodpeckers and what I think was a Red Bellied Woodpecker but never a Downy.  It was pretty cool.

And how you ask did I get such a fabulous picture of my new friend? Well, this evening while eating dinner on the deck I was prepared. I had my camera at the ready. Gotcha.

So that’s my friend. Sometimes he likes to be called Harry, too.

I love birds. So, I’ve decided to be come a more informed bird watcher.

To start my journey, I purchased a copy of Stokes Field Guide to Birds and started spending all of my spare time watching these beautiful little creatures- and trying to figure out who’s who. I’ve actually been quite amazed. I had no idea there was such a variety of birds right in my back yard . When you take the time to just watch and listen, you’ll see a whole world you may have never even noticed. I only wish I had paid attention sooner. They are just the most gentle, beautiful things.

In addition to just watching, I’ve also been video taping my fine feathered friends. Right now Im trying to pull together a video clip so you can see them in action, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures of the birds that frequent my feeders. To attract the buggers I simply placed a few dishes of bird seed on my deck, kicked back, and waited for the party to begin. A bird party.

Below is a sample of who showed up. There is one bird I’m not 100% sure of (the starling) and a few others were hard to identify. Older birds look different than younger birds, some birds look different in the winter than in the summer, etc. But for now, here are the ones I could make a positive ID. A taste of Jana’s Wild Kingdom (video coming soon):

1. The Tufted Titmouse. I LOVE this bird. These guys are so cute its ridiculous.

2. The Cardinal, of course. Here is a pic of a female. I have males come to visit as well but mostly, Im seeing females. As you all know, the males are bright red, and a beautiful sight.

3. The House Finch. These guys are on my deck all the time, in pairs for the most part which I find interesting. I rarely see a female without a male, or male without a female. They are a pair, for sure (the male has red on his chest).

4. The Dark Eyed Junco. I just dig it’s name. Junco.

5. The Blue Jay. Let me say a word or two about the blue jay. Compared to my other fine feathered friends, the blue jay is a MONSTER bird. They are what I like to call my ‘big boys’ and when they are in town, everyone backs down. I always knew the blue jay as those birds that like to harass cats (if you’ve ever had an outdoor cat, you know what Im talking about). But now I see them as big ole lugs with beautiful tail feathers.

6. Song Sparrow. When this one first showed up on the scene, I thought it was a finch, but lo.. it was a sparrow. A beautiful, lovely sparrow.

7. The Starling. This one I’m still not 100% sure about. I have him on video. He made a brief appearance and I had no idea what he was. His feathers were spotted and his beak was black, which makes me think he is a junior starling. The picture I found on line isn’t exactly what he looks like (I have him on video). I’ll have to double check on this one. I don’t think it was a blackbird, and certainly not a crow. It was just a very cool looking black bird with spots.

8. And last but not least, this morning I saw an American Goldfinch. It was adorable. At first I thought it was a house bird that managed to escape it’s cage. This morning was the first time I’ve seen a goldfinch. I hope to see her again.