Male Cardinal in our Oak tree

Male Cardinal in our Oak tree. The picture was taken through binoculars. I also saw a young red-tailed hawk in our oak tree too. They were making chip calls.

Nests Need ID

Three nests need ID. The 1st was about 10 feet high in an oak tree. The 2nd was in a small oak about two feet from the ground and the same with the 3rd.

Young Cowbird in nest

Baby Cowbird in a nest. Eggs need ID. White with brown speckles. The eggs are about an inch long. There are two eggs. The nest was made of mostly sticks and lots of white down feathers. Any ID?

Mockingbird Nest

we visited this nest and it was destroyed.

Looks Like We Will Be Having Baby Downy Woodpeckers This Year!

I was watching the female Downy Woodpecker as she ate from the suet feeder. Suddenly, a male flew up and scared her away. Then a female Baltimore Oriole flew up and scared him away. I happened to look out my window at the oak, and I saw both Downy Woodpeckers sitting on the dead limb. I glimpsed a blur of feathers, and it took me a second to comprehend that they were mating! I’m so excited that I caught that out in the wild!!! Ive seen Barn Owls and Bald Eagles mating on camera, but I’ve never seen it with my own eyes out in nature! It was so cool! I have seen the Downy Woodpeckers pecking at it, but they were moving up and down the branch, so I thought they were only searching for bugs. I’m thinking about climbing that tree in search of a nest cavity, but I don’t want to have to go to all that work to drag a heavy ladder up to it if there’s no nest, so do birds typically only mate at or near the nest site, or do they mate wherever?