Backyard Birder

Three Return

Today there are three birds that I haven't seen in a long time, and they all showed up in the last week or so.

In the spring, I saw a pair of robins in my yard all the time, but I haven't see them since. I guess because they are so prevalent I never looked at them too closely. Looking at this pic, they are a very pretty bird! Whenever I have a group of something and I don't know what it's called, I say a gaggle. Know what a gaggle of robins is called? A worm. A group of robins are collectively known as a "worm" of robins. And in the "early bird catches the worm" category- Robins eat different types of food depending on the time of day; they eat earthworms early in the day and more fruit later in the day.

After the worm thing, I discovered this tidbit: A group of house sparrows are collectively known as a "humiliation". I still haven't decided what this bird is. I am wondering if the yellow color is caused by the camera? Also, I said this was a different pic of the same type of bird. I am not too sure about that.

The other day I thought I caught a glimpse of a cardinal, another bird not seen here recently. I wasn't sure it was one though, all I saw was a flash of red. It could have been a male finch. The next day this showed up at the birdbath. Still no female, however.

The goldfinch has been a favorite, ever since I first saw a pair while I was out riding bicycle. Usually I see two of them together, but this is the only one I've seen.