East Tennessee November Birds

I'm visiting my father for Thanksgiving. He lives in East Tennessee, and his backyard abuts the western slope of Black Oak Ridge, down into forest. Lots of birds come through his yard and the edge of the trees. Here's some of the ones I've seen this week; not included are crows, buzzards, and a number of black-capped chickadees that simply will not hold still... There are a couple whose IDs I'm not 100% on, but most I am.

These fluffed-up jays were actually across the street...



... as was this mockingbird.

When I took this shot of a brown creeper, I thought it was a titmouse!

And here's why - they were hanging out together.

A female yellow-bellied sapsucker

My neice was much amused. "Can you imagine the bird convention? 'Hey, what's your name?' 'I'm a yellow-bellied sapsucker.' 'Oh... Hey, thrush, wren - let's find someone else to talk to...'"


A winter visitor: a white-throated sparrow



A mourning dove.



A robin on the grass ...


... and then on the bird bath.



A hermit thrush on ridiculously spindly legs...

And another one the next day...



The robin pushed him into the bush.

An eastern phoebe...

... and a few moments later, amongst the tulip poplar fruit.

The silhouette of a cedar waxing.

And a Carolina wren

A pair of cardinals eating the poplar seeds...







Way down in the woods, a pale hawk settled into a tree. I'm pretty sure he's a red-tailed hawk, but I could be wrong.

He looks like Lucky in The 101 Dalmatians

And here's star of the show - the logcock! This is the female of a pair of pileated woodpeckers that live on the ridge.