My very first encounter with these exquisite sonnets of perfection was in February 2011. A friend talked about a hanging a sock of thistle and seeing if any finches would visit. The idea was intriguing, and off I went to Home Depot and bought a kit of a white sock and a bag of thistle to fill it with. The sock had a loop at the top to tie it shut and the loop could be used to hang the whole contraption from a tree limb. I hung my spanking new blinding white thistle sock from a low limb of the Oak tree right outside the kitchen window.

I came indoors and sat by the window looking intently at the white sock swaying sensuously in the mild breeze. We were fortunate that winter in Texas and the temperatures stayed a very salubrious 60F. Five minutes went by. No Goldfinches yet. Then ten minutes passed and still no visitors. Then fifteen minutes slid away, I began feeling a little foolish for frittering away time looking out the window at my new shining white thistle sock. I was just about to turn away and get on with the tasks of the day, emptying the dishwasher, preparing breakfast, feeding the dog and all the other stuff that constitutes my life. A flash of black and gold flew by and a very small bird clung, with determination in every sinew of his little black feet, to the fabric of the thistle sock. The bird penetrated the fabric with his small sharp dark gray beak and immediately withdrew it, drawing back his brilliant gleaming black head and looked around with satisfaction. I watched, with my heart in my mouth, almost afraid to breathe for fear the little bird would be frightened away.

That was the beginning of these miniscule nuggets of gold and onyx visiting my back yard in search of a steady supply of thistle. Since that fateful day in February 2011 when I spread a banquet for the Goldfinches, not a day has gone by that these energetic birds have not come for their repast. The birds are year round residents, year round visitors to the feeders. Lesser Goldfinches especially like the tube feeders that only finches can extract seeds from. A thistle sock is truly an irresistible attraction to the Lesser Gold finches. I have seen the birds, adults, juveniles, males and females come and eat voraciously, yet delicately and gracefully, day after day. Regardless of weather, rain or shine, the goldfinches grace the feeders. Heavy winds are a major impediment to these small light delicate birds, those are the days when they come in more tentatively and fly about very carefully. On all other days they come charging in, large happy flocks, singing, chirping and chatting delightfully.

The Lesser Goldfinch is also called The Dark Backed Goldfinch. The Latin name for the Lesser Goldfinch is Cardeulis Psaltria. Lesser Goldfinches, American Goldfinches and Lawrence’s Goldfinches belong to a small group of the Goldfinches found in North America. The Lesser Goldfinches are can be seen from Western Washington State, all across the Rockies and the entire Southern United States down into Mexico. In South America the Lesser Goldfinches can be seen from Peru to Venezuela. Their diet includes weed seeds and tree buds.

The Lesser Goldfinch when fully grown is about 4 inches in length and weighs about a third of an ounce. The males can be identified by their gleaming black head and back, brilliant yellow belly and distinctive white and black wings. The females are olive green with white or soft yellow belly. The females are slightly smaller than the males. For rather tiny birds they have fairly strong gray bills. The males and females trill and sing and intersperse their song with piercing whistles. The Lesser Goldfinches spend most of their time in flock and the sounds they evoke can be impressive for their size.

Mating occurs in late spring and the females lay about 3 eggs in a small nest in early summer. The Lesser Goldfinches are among the last birds to set up nests and are called “late nesters.” The male and female Lesser Goldfinches are monogamous during the mating and breeding season. The birds get new partners every year for the breeding season. The females build the nest, tend to the eggs until they hatch, and then raise the chicks to fledging stage. It is a 3 to 4 week process. The males participate minimally in the process of rearing the young. Life expectancy in the wild is documented to be close to 7 years, if they make it past their first year.

The birds are year round residents in the Hill Country of Texas.. They rarely migrate even when it is quite cold. If they do migrate it is for just a few miles to slightly warmer location with a decent supply of food and water. The Lesser Goldfinches with their brilliant plumage and their eager energetic flocks are welcome visitors to the thistle feeders in my backyard. They are a sight calculated to put a smile on the face of every bird watcher, every single day of the year. Who could ask for anything more from a fellow living creature?

Hummingbirds are found only in the Americas: These birds are utterly charming “jewel like flowers” of the bird world. The smallest of all birds that visit my backyard is the Hummingbird. Hummingbirds can be seen from Canada all the way down to the tip of South America’s Tierra Del Fuego. There are 160 different types of Hummingbirds and large numbers of different varieties are found in The Andean Rain Forest regions, in Columbia and in Ecuador. In the United States the most common types are The Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, The Black Chinned Hummingbird and The Rufus Hummingbird. The birds are truly small, so very tiny that they are in fact the smallest of all the birds in the world

The shimmering shining glittering Black Chinned Hummingbirds are the radiant gems of my back yard. They are feisty, gutsy, persistent and regular visitors to the Hummingbird Feeders in the yard. However, what they feed upon is quite specialized, the birds come to sip on Hummingbird nectar which is one part sugar to four parts water The Hummingbird hovers over the feeder with wings beating at 15 to 50 flutters per second and it’s little heart beats at 650 beats per minute. The Black Chinned Hummingbird is about two and one half inches in length, the range being 2 to 3 inches in length and weighing between .1 to .2 ounces. Miniscule packages of exquisite beauty and courage, strength and aerodynamic precision, Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.

The most common Hummingbird in our part of Texas is the Black Chinned Hummingbird. They are migratory and the vast majority of them fly down to Mexico and South America for the winter. A few intrepid hangers on continue to stay in Texas during the winter months. The Black Chinned Hummingbird has an iridescent green back and similar shimmering wings, it has green flanks and a white belly. The male has a black head, a black chin and a purple band around the neck. The female has a white neck with a few slender black streaks. Her tail is rounded and is black with white edges. The male has a black forked tail. The Hummingbird has a long bill and an extendable long tongue to reach deep within flowers to get at the nectar. The long tongue is also protruded to get catch insects.

During mating season the males engage in elaborate diving displays. The male flies 25 feet above the female then dives steeply down just over the female with a loud high pitched sound. It is dramatic display of aerodynamic prowess. After mating it is the female Hummingbird that builds the nest and does so entirely on her own, the nests are small and cup shaped. She lays a clutch of 2 eggs occasionally 3. The eggs are white in color. The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days and then the hatchlings appear. The female feeds the hatchlings with nectar and little insects which she brings in her long bill and inserting her bill into the open mouth of the chick and regurgitates the food for the chick. In 2 weeks the chicks fledge out of the nest. In their first year of life the hummingbirds are very vulnerable and many of the juveniles don’t make it past the year. The longest documented life span for a Hummingbird is 12 years.

The diet of Hummingbirds is nectar which is the sweet liquid of flowers and apparently hummingbirds can judge if the sugar content is 10% or more. The birds do not sip from the lower sugar content flowers. In addition to nectar the birds require protein. They get protein from little spiders and insects. When awake and flying around hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and their heart beats can attain incredible heights. The highest rate recorded for a Hummingbird heart 1200 beats per minute. The heart rate slows down significantly when the hummingbird goes to sleep. Their sleep is a semi hibernation state called Torpor and in that state their heart rate is down to 100 to 150 beats per minute.

Hummingbirds are readily attracted to gardens which have nectar producing flowers, the butterfly bush, cone flowers, columbines and salvia are all popular and draw these delightful flying beauties. The sugar solution in the Hummingbird feeders adds to the food source and provides a ready supply of energy for these highly active, super high metabolism birds. Hummingbirds are great communicators and will call out loudly with their tik tik chirp and with the surprisingly loud hum from their feathers to one another with utter delight and abandon. Watching these flying beauties never fails to bring a smile to every onlooker and to have one or several visit regularly is the ultimate joy and delight of every Backyard Birdwatcher.

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There is no one who has ever sent or received a Christmas card that has not seen a brilliant fire engine red bird with a gleaming red beak, a black face mask and a sassy spike atop the head? This red bird in a winter wonderland in the Christmas cards says it all, this beauty is an urban resident, year round, in almost the entire United States.

The bird is the Northern Cardinal. It is so well known around these parts and even someone utterly uninterested in birds is likely to have noticed this beautiful, bright red bird zipping around. The Northern Cardinal is ubiquitous and seen everywhere in Texas, in back yards, flower gardens, copses of trees and in the urban woods. The males are striking as they flit around, bright red and with a spiked tuft on their heads they are readily spotted. In fact they are unmistakable. The males are frequently seen perching high up on trees at first light of day and can be heard singing their hearts out. Theirs’ is a lilting four note song which is so uplifting it truly does herald the start of day. For me the song and the sight are as warming to my soul as the first rays of the sun are to the body. These birds don’t leave the area as the seasons alter and remain faithful and regular visitors to the bird feeder. They are daily visitors and bring a smile to the onlookers. When the male of this mid-sized bird is perching he photographs well with his striking red plumage and red beak and the most amateur of photographers can look quite proficient with a few pictures of these gorgeous red flying wnders.

There are eight different types of Cardinals in North America and the one that is frequently seen at the feeder in my back yard is the Northern Cardinal. The Latin name is Cardinalis cardinalis. In the past these birds were kept as caged pets but fortunately for the birds this practice was outlawed by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 1918. Today we are able to enjoy the exuberance of these gorgeous birds while they are living free in the outdoors. I did read somewhere that the birds were named for the Cardinals at the Vatican, with their red caps and red robes. The word Northern is used since the range of this bird in North America is the northernmost of all the different types of Cardinals.

The Northern Cardinals are 8 to 9 inches in length and weigh about 1 ½ ounces. The adult male is a stunning red color and has a bright red beak, a distinctive spiked tuft and a long red tail. The male has a black mask right around the red beak. The female Northern Cardinal is an olive and beige-brown color with an orange beak, gray face mask around the beak, a reddish spiked tuft and red stripes on the wings and tail. In the male and the beaks are cone shaped and are strong. The juveniles have the same coloring as the adult females until they are full grown and then the males molt and shed their dull plumage and don their Cardinal’s red robes and cap. All the stages of development and change of plumage can be witnessed right at the feeders in the back yards in Texas since these birds are our permanent residents and non migratory.

Northern Cardinals mate for life and during courtship the male will bring seeds to his mate. On occasion the male will be seen to bring seeds to the female and then he proceeds to feed her, carefully and tenderly. If you observe this once you will become a fan of these birds for life! The pair builds their nest together with twigs, dry grass and dry leaves. The nest is built in about a week and is used only for one season. The female lays three to five eggs each one is gray speckled with blue, green and brown. The female incubates the eggs for 2 weeks and then she cares for the hatchlings for another 2 weeks. The male Northern Cardinal helps to feed the female and the fledglings until the young birds can fly and feed themselves. The Cardinals may have two or rarely three clutches of eggs each year. Unfortunately the Cardinals have a very high mortality rate especially for the juvenile Cardinals, as is the case with all the small song birds. The primary predators are cats, hawks, shrikes, owls, squirrels and snakes.

The Northern Cardinal is easy to attract to back yard feeders; sunflower seeds and safflower seeds are especially popular. The diet is seeds, grain and fruit. In addition they consume copious amounts of insects primarily beetles and caterpillars. Apple and cherry trees are a major attraction for these colorful gorgeous birds. Watching the cautious approach of the male to a feeder and chomping energetically on the sunflower seeds and then calling out to his mate to come and join the feast is a sight to behold. It is so utterly charming and these birds are so watchful and tentative but at the same time they are so readily visible that their lives are lived in a captivating contradiction!

Every bird watcher knows the utter delight of the first visit of a Northern Cardinal to the backyard bird feeder. Look at the photographs I have attached to this article and you be the judge. I have experienced hours of delight listening to their sweet four note call “cheer, cheer, cheer, wheet “and watching them bathe in the bird bath and feed at the feeder. Setting out a back yard feeder just to have the Northern Cardinals visit you daily is a gift and a joy. They are one of the earliest arrivals to the bird feeder each morning. Then the birds pop in many a time during the day. Northern Cardinals are usually the last ones to leave for the night. They leave in a flurry of red feathers with the unspoken promise of returning with the morrow.

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The very first time one of these charming and beautiful birds visited my bird feeder I was completely bowled over. It was an adult male with red on his head, his neck and chest and his rump. As I watched him hover over the feeder and leisurely chomp on sunflower seeds and safflower seeds I was utterly captivated. I had to look him up in my Beginner Peterson Bird Guide and learned he was a Finch and the colorations in the photographs were confusing, I couldn’t tell if he was a House Finch or a Purple Finch. I didn’t yet know enough to look for a map indicating the distribution and frequency. I was excited to identify a Finch at my bird feeder. I took a picture, hazy and grainy and simply had to post it on Facebook for my friends. It was a Finch and that was good enough. The specific type and the differences between the House Finch and the Purple Finch were details that I learned about much later on.

The House Finch, whose Latin name is Carpodacus Mexicanus was originally a resident of Mexico and the Western States of the Unites States. The birds were introduced to the North East by bird sellers and when it was determined that the sales were illegal the sellers just released the birds into the cities immediately and without a thought to their survival in the location so far from their native habitat. Surprisingly the birds did thrive and spread ever westward until eventually they are found all over the United States, the Eastern seaboard and the Western one as well and all along the Midwest.

House Finches are small, full grown adults are 4 ½ to 5 ½ inches in length. The adult males are pink orange to red in the cheeks, head, breast and the rump, the wings, the tail and the underside are gray brown. The female house finches are plain gray brown with speckles and streaks. House Finches have strong, short, convex beaks that can break seeds easily. Flocks of House Finches can be seen frequenting feeders and chomping on sunflowers seeds, peanuts or thistle cheerfully and sociably. They are very active and call out to one another frequently and the soft, sweet cheep cheep sound of Finches chirping is pleasant to hear around feeders.

House Finches have sweet gentle mating rituals with the males touching the female’s bill in a stroking manner. The male also offers food for the female and sometimes will even be seen feeding the female. After the mate has been chosen then nest building which is usually done in cavities. It is the female House finch that builds the nest out of twigs and grasses. She is quick and efficient and completes the nest in a matter of 2 or 3 days. She lays between 3 and 6 eggs, small blue gray in color with black spots. The female broods for 2 weeks and when the eggs are hatched her job changes to finding food for the chicks. In the House Finch pair the mother is the one who finds food and tends to the feeding of the hatchlings. While it is the female who feeds the hatchlings, the male helps her in this task, even if only cursorily. In 2 weeks the fledglings start hopping around. The chicks eat well and grow fast. In 2 or 3 weeks they begin coming out of the nest and foraging for seeds and weeds. Then the chicks begin flying easily find their own food and start departing from the nest. In one season the House Finch might have 2 broods and very infrequently have 3 broods.

House Finches eat fruits berries and sunflower seeds. American Beautyberry is an especial favorite. House Finches love to eat seeds and berries, they also consume weeds and insects and are viewed favorably by gardeners since they eat dandelions and thistles and nettles and in the process they consume the insects that inhabit these weeds. They like Evergreens for cover and to perch upon and look around for feeders and food. In my backyard the Oak Tree seems to be a favorite and it isn’t uncommon to see half a dozen or more perching in the branches fairly close to the feeders. What is so delightful is that these birds are permanent residents in Texas and stay here year round. We get to enjoy their visits to the feeders and the bird baths all year round. The flutter of brown feathers the flash of red in the head, the neck and shoulders as the birds fly off to feed, bathe, and just fly around to chat and socialize, is a delight which we celebrate year round in Texas.

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The bevy of beautiful birds and animals that come to the backyard at various times make it difficult to choose the first to begin this series. I have to begin with The Northern Mockingbird. It is, after all the State Bird of Texas. And it is truly ubiquitous. Backyards and front, the streets and lanes and the parks all have one or several of this gutsy little song birds perched high up on the top branches of a sycamore or a telephone pole singing their hearts out. They are brilliant mimics and can imitate the song of many other song birds in the area.

The Northern Mockingbird is found all over North America from Canada through the USA and into Mexico, and the islands in the Caribbean Sea. The Mockingbirds stay year round, and only in particularly harsh winters do they migrate to the Southern States and return in the spring.

The Northern Mockingbirds are usually about 8 or 9 inches long, their feathers are gray on their backs and white in the breast and belly. The wings are gray, black and the underside is white, the tail is long and slender. When the bird sets off in flight it is a flurry of black, white and gray. The beak is small, sharp and colored gray black. The legs are black and the talons are also black. Their eyes are bright orange and gleam in the sun as the bird swirls his head around in a characteristic manner. These birds are very observant and aware of any incursions into their space, regardless of the species, man or bird.

Mockingbird males are very territorial and lay claim to trees and are fearless in defending their claim on it. They can often be observed chasing off not merely members of their own species but bravely seek to attack hawks and eagles. Jim Baines the Bald Eagle photographer has a favorite photograph of a Male Mockingbird determinedly trying to chase off a Bald Eagle, a brave and singularly ineffective struggle and gutsy beyond measure.

Mating season with Mockingbirds can be a display of song and flight. When the male seeks to impress the female he does looping dancing flights and sings the songs of numerous other birds. The greater his repertoire the more appealing he is as a potential mate to the female of the world of Mockingbirds. Theirs is a courtship replete with music and dance.

Once a mate has been chosen by the female, the couple begins nest building in earnest. In mid February and they gather small twigs, bits of dry grass, dried leaves and lint and threads when available. The female allows the male to do most of the nest building work. She then lays the eggs, a light blue green color, the clutch is between three and six. The female broods for 2 weeks until the chicks emerge. For the next 2 weeks the chicks are totally helpless and rely on their parents for food. Both parents work hard to feed the chicks. Once the chicks have some or most of their feathers grown they venture out of the nest hop onto the nearby branches, and even on to the ground. Soon they begin flying close to the nest initially and then further out.

The diet of the Mockingbird is insects, spiders and even very small snakes. As the colder months come the birds switch their diet from insects to berries and seeds. There is a confident cheeriness to Mockingbirds. They sing as they look for food, sing when seeking a mate and sing for the sheer joy of it. People have been known to complain about their singing being a “nuisance” but that is way beyond my comprehension. The songs of Mockingbirds cover the range of songs of most of the other birds in the area. They are often heard singing their little hearts out, cheerfully and in an unmistakable celebration of being alive in this glorious world.

The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird of, not just Texas, but also of Florida, Arkansas and Mississippi. There is a belief in the South that Mockingbirds are special and to kill one of them is a sin. This theme is expounded on in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Occasionally Mockingbirds become pets and there is documentation that Thomas Jefferson, the father of the US Constitution owned a pet Mockingbird. Jefferson called his pet Mockingbird Dick. Clearly these birds have graced our skies and our yards for eons and have been enjoyed and appreciated for a long time. In Texas they continue to charm and delight us on a daily basis.