Louisville Birds

The weather is starting to change and I've been seeing a few different types of birds around Louisville, but I've only been able to get pictures of the most common birds!  Oh well.  In the last week I've seen several species of sparrows, such as: White-throated, White-crowned, Swamp, Vesper, Lincoln's, and Chipping, along with several Dark-eyed Juncos.  Also saw a Northern Harrier for the first time this season.  So lots of movement lately, especially with the sparrows.  Here are a few of the most common birds in Kentucky I've seen this past week.

Song Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Northern Cardinal

It is getting that time of year when the berries are becoming ripe on the exotic honeysuckle.  I've read where the berries offer very little nutrition for the birds but they sure seem to devour it and defend their honeysuckle patches with determination.  The two Northern Mockingbirds below were fighting over a small patch of honeysuckle berries.

A Northern Mockingbird on his territory...

...a rival is eying his honeysuckle patch...

...they take turns signaling to each other by flashing their tails...

...and when that doesn't resolve the problem they take to the air and battle it out.  These two birds were fighting for some time before the challenger decided it wasn't worth it and flew off. 

Posted in: Mourning Dove,Northern Cardinal,Northern Mockingbird,Song Sparrow