Garden

[on the bay]

@Kachina624,

No, I've never seen one either. I was just wondering if the one @Dazlin,

saw and thought was a Painted Bunting looked like that.

They sure are beautiful and unusual. Like some kind of tropical bird.

I read they live in the coastal SE and south central US.

[JustJazzmom]

@Kachina624  Roadrunners are cool; as long as no coyotes are after them. 

The American goldfinch might be about 3" tall, They send out a scout (usually a male) to check out the reliable food source which is usually Niger seed. They do eat echinacea or coneflower seed heads too. The males in the winter are pale yellow/brown in the winter & turn that bright golden yellow in the spring. They have black bars on their wings. The females are generally olive color.

And the finches have a very sweet song. If outside, I hear them before I see them.

[tototwo]

@Dazlin -- that looks like an oriole to me.  I have an oriole feeder about 15 ft. from a hummer feeder in my back yard.  Still, I see orioles trying to feed at the hummer feeder.  And I've seen finches and robins eating grape jelly at the oriole feeder.  

Love the road runner stories -- one summer we were at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  There was a road runner there that had taken over the garden and pestered people going in and out of the hotel.  We thought it was funny and asked hotel staff about it.  They told us they had no idea where that lone road runner had come from -- they are not native to Arkansas -- but that he had been there since spring.  The road runner never left the hotel area to go to other parts of the city -- probably because some of the hotel staff had started feeding him.  He was quite a character!

[arrabella]

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@Dazlin wrote:

I was surprised to see this super bright orange and black bird drinking nectar.  I looked it up, and it appears to be a Baltimore Oriole.  First time I've ever seen one.  I'm in Central Florida.  The bird is a good size, not small, so beautiful.   Sites say they'll sip hummingbird nectar.  Then I see 2 more birds, a little smaller with bright reddish/orange belly and blue head with yellow on their backs...I think painted Buntings ( not my bluebirds)  So beautiful to see...cheered me up!

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We also have Baltimore Orioles and Woodpeckers who also love the feedeers. Along with the bees.

[arrabella]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@on the bay    I've often had roadrunners walk right up to me as I think many people feed them balls of hamburger meat.  I've heard of them pecking on sliding doors wanting a handout.  They're quite comical looking, and they really do exist. 

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We have Roadrunners here too.  Have been told not to feed them hamburger as it is bad for their bones. Can't remember where I read that so we just leave them alone to do their thing.  Fun to watch though!

[Dazlin]

@on the bay , it looks similar...the bird is longer and slender,  bright red under parts, belly, blueish head...only a patch of yellow on the back or could be tips of wings.

I put out orange slices this morning...haven't seen either bird here yet today.  Maybe they were passing through. 

[Kachina624]

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@arrabella wrote:

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@on the bay    I've often had roadrunners walk right up to me as I think many people feed them balls of hamburger meat.  I've heard of them pecking on sliding doors wanting a handout.  They're quite comical looking, and they really do exist. 

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We have Roadrunners here too.  Have been told not to feed them hamburger as it is bad for their bones. Can't remember where I read that so we just leave them alone to do their thing.  Fun to watch though!

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@arrabella    What area are you in?  I've seen them eating lizards and baby birds from nests they've robbed.  Never figured out what they eat in the winter.  They're here all year long as they can barely fly. 

[silkyk]

I've seen orioles hanging upside down drinking out of the tube type feeders I have. 

[arrabella]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

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@arrabella wrote:

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@on the bay    I've often had roadrunners walk right up to me as I think many people feed them balls of hamburger meat.  I've heard of them pecking on sliding doors wanting a handout.  They're quite comical looking, and they really do exist. 

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We have Roadrunners here too.  Have been told not to feed them hamburger as it is bad for their bones. Can't remember where I read that so we just leave them alone to do their thing.  Fun to watch though!

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@arrabella    What area are you in?  I've seen them eating lizards and baby birds from nests they've robbed.  Never figured out what they eat in the winter.  They're here all year long as they can barely fly. 

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CALI , Upper Desert near the national park in Joshua Tree.  They are also here year round but I don't see them as often as I did when I moved here. 

[Imaoldhippie]

@on the bay .............lol Im sorry I thought you did not know they were real!  My bad.

I saw one while on vacation in Arizona several years ago.  He/She was just plain brown and did run fast.