Red Breasted Nuthatch

These pictures were taken in our back yard on October 14th, 2008. They nest in dead trees by excavating a cavity. They line the hole to the cavity with pitch to deter predators. To avoid the pitch, they dive through the hole when entering.

Bluejay

These pictures were taken in our back yard on October 12th, 2008. Actually it's the same picture but the top one has a tighter crop. I couldn't make up my mind which one I liked best so I published both of them. If you double click on the images you can see really good feather detail including the small hairs on his chin.

Bullfrog

This picture was taken in our back yard on October 10th, 2008. Note the large circle just below and to the rear of the eye. That is called a Tympanum which is a hearing device, or I guess you could call it an ear. It is larger on the male (this is a male). The female's Tympanum is about the same size as the eye.

Eastern Chipmunk

This picture was taken in our back yard on October 13th, 2008. Eastern Chipmunks are slightly larger than Western Chipmunks and breed twice per year rather than only once as does the Western variety. One thing I've noticed about Chipmunks is that they bury seeds all over, but mainly in the garden. Now, are they burying these seeds to eat later or are they really farmers at heart? All I know is we have sunflowers blooming all through the garden and we didn't plant them.

Black Capped Chickadee

These pictures were taken on October 14th, 2008 in our back yard. Most of these pictures are quite sharp and if you double click on the image, it will enlarge and you can see the feather detail.

White Throated Sparrow (white striped morph)

These pictures were taken in our back yard on October 7th, 2008.

White Crowned Sparrow

These pictures were taken in our back yard on October 7th, 2008. We generally only see these guys in the spring and fall during migration as they spend the summers further north and the winters further south. The middle picture is a juvenile.

Black capped Chickadee

These pictures were taken in our back yard on October 7th, 2008. You have to be fast to take these guys pictures. They don't sit still very long.

Cedar Waxwing

These pictures were taken on June 30th, 2008 in our front yard. We have a June Berry tree in our front yard and every year around the end of June, the Cedar Waxwings come in for the berries. The problem is that Robins also like them so it's a constant battle with the Robins usually winning. These guys are one of my favourites with their unique markings and bandit like appearance.