Donna Young

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This must have been the year of the cardinals in my backyard. On my frequent trips in my backyard to do garden work or feed the birds, I occasionally came across a cardinal feather. They accumulated over the months and now I have a small collection. I do not keep feathers for long and soon [...]

The summer was very dry in this part of the southeast corner of Tennessee. Most of Tennessee was in drought, and really, large parts of the south had severe drought this summer. Here, milk is over $5 a gallon because of the drought and this area is still in drought.
I’m not complaining. I watered the [...]

Rose-breasted grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
About the bird: mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov
These well-dressed birds frequent our feeder. They prefer the hopper feeder and they exhibit territorial behavior at the feeder. When the hopper feeder is empty, they will feed on the ground. Recently the hopper feeder was empty and there were at least 11 rose-breasted grosbeaks on the ground under [...]

Update to American Goldfinch.
The male goldfinches in this area are now bright yellow except for their black and white wings, white under parts, and black mask. The females remain a duller color and they lack the black mask.
This image shows two male goldfinches.Occasionally I watch the goldfinches. They cluster around the bird feeders most of [...]

American Goldfinches are not very gold during the winter. The feathers which are normally yellow are a rather murky brown-green color. Yesterday I noticed that the goldfinches which visit the bird feeder are growing yellow feathers. In time, all of the murky feathers will be yellow. Today I managed to get a photograph.