birdwatchers

saw a new bird in my yard this morning and can't id it...

it kind of looked like a tufted titmouse, but it had a red tuft on its head and its tail was red...the chest was a cream color and it had a black mask..the rest was light gray

any ideas?

Re: birdwatchers

Hmmm... Could it have been a female cardinal?



Much bigger than a Titmouse, but the only other bird I can think of with a red tuft on it's head is a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet but they don't have masks or red tails.

I just looked through my bird ID book and anything that may match isn't found in this area.

I'm terrible at ID'ing from descriptions.

Re: birdwatchers

Oooh, that's it!!

We have a male that is in our yard all the time, must be his mate!!

Thanks, I'm still new at this

Re: birdwatchers

I would guess the same - female Cardinal.

(before I knew what a Tufted Titmouse was I thought it was a baby Cardinal )

Re: birdwatchers

ooo I love them! We have two in our yard...I call them our resident cardinals.


Birdwatchers...what are some tips to keep them here?

ETA: We want to make sure they're extra happy and stay here!

Message edited 4/29/2007 10:31:47 AM.

Re: birdwatchers

Yay Lisa! Glad I could help. I love Cardinals. The males will feed the females food in spring to gain favor with them so they'll mate. It's so sweet to watch him passing her seeds and food.

They love sunflower seed, and like the food to be closer to the ground, not up high. Oh and they like small fruit and berries. We have some kind of berry bush and tons of birds are always in it.

Unfortunately, squirrels love sunflower seed too.

And although the sparrows use it more, I see Cardinals at the birdbath too.

Re: birdwatchers

So, I see them every morning!

Well, at least the male...he is always on the ground by the feeders

I saw the female again this morning

We have named them Harry and Sally

Re: birdwatchers

we have a male and a female cardinal that visit our yard too... I love watching the birds in our yard

Re: birdwatchers

I love the cardinals -- they are usually in pairs, and often the babies come along too. You can tell the girl and boy babies pretty early on, they're so cute...One of my favorite birds. Especially in winter!

Re: birdwatchers

I found where they nest! I hope they don't get spooked, but they're right by our front door in an evergreen. I would constantly see them in and out of there and this morning I spotted the nest and this BRIGHT orange beak.

Once I get my new camera (Thanks Green for the recs...) I plan on taking some pics.

I love hearing them sing all through the day.