You’re probably thinking of buffleheads, which are tiny and cute! I saw some of them as well but I didn’t include that photo.
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Gah! Crape myrtles! Yes, I have those “volunteering” all over my yard too, progeny of the three large tree-form ones in my yard.
If it was invasive or spiky (or ideally both) the previous owner of our house planted it in multitudes. I’m slowly getting the upper hand on the leather leaf mahonias, vanquished the trifoliate orange, and re-homed the yuccas and agaves that required welding gauntlets. Privet, Asian honeysuckle, chameleon vine, and hollies will be with me forever, I think.
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Yikes. At least the myrtles are native here (I think). The previous owners of this house did a number on the red oaks. They are just now recovering, after 3 years! Not much else to the yard except these giant overgrown things that we successfully dug out and a damned crepe myrtle planted 6 inches from the corner of the house. We dug it out but didn’t poison it. I thought I got most of the roots but nope, it keeps trying to resurrect itself. Shoulda poisoned it
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THAT looks like an awesome club! Have a great time!
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Thx! Some of these guys are in their 80s and – especially after what happened to so many musicians during Covid – it’s important to see them when I’ve got the chance. But going to this show means I’m (probably) not seeing Kenny Barron this weekend…
P.S. Happy St. Patty’s, Happy Purim & Happy Nowruz! There’s my excuse for the evening…
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(Yellow-bellied?) Sapsucker. I see these occasionally but don’t remember hearing one. It reminded me of a cat (not the way a catbird does; more catoonish) or a squeak toy. These aren’t clear because they were taken through a screen or window, neither of which were clean.
(I just edited the 2nd so it’s a bit better)
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I don’t remember where you are, but that’s most certainly it throughout most of the US, southern Canada and eastern Mexico. Looks like an adult male.
There’s a rare/uncommon red-naped sapsucker out in Black Hills, South Dakota and a few other places…the adult female looks almost identical to the male yellow-bellied, but has a little white “chin” above the red part on it’s throat.
Cute! Supposedly they come around here in the summer but I don’t recall having seen any. I see what you mean about the call sounding almost cat-like! My Sibley’s guide describes it as a nasally “neeah.”
Makes me want a Monty Python spoof about the Sapsuckers who say “Neeah.” 
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I’m in Maryland. I looked in the field guide later on, and indeed the only sapsuckers (that would be around here) are the yellow-bellied.
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If you see the “Freedom Convoy,” (ETA: oops, I meant the “People’s Convoy.” Hard to tell them apart.) tell them Clutch said to fuck off 
My boss lives in MD and got into bird feeders over the pandemic and it’s been fun comparing notes about our shared visitors versus the ones that are non-existent or rare, comparatively. We both have really similar landscapes (open meadow, decent sized wooded area, other homes) so it boils down mainly to climate.
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Lol, I booked myself inadvertently into a famous seat.
Even better, I’m on a flight to Chicago!
ETA:
ETA2: the lyrics
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Care to explain for those of us who aren’t “hip”?
ETA: thanks!
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And in the other direction, when I left on this trip FROM Chicago, I supposed I could technically have sung:
Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of keys…
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Continuing the woodpecker trend, here’s a downy woodpecker – along with a tufted titmouse in the shot at the feeder. These are the usual suspects, along with red-bellied woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees. Today there are some house sparrows barging in. Every once in a while, an annoyance of grackles will show up and clean out most of the feeder at once.
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Nice!
Our other usual suspects right now are house finches, cardinals, the Hairy Woodpecker, goldfinches, and dark eyed juncos. Oh, and Mourning Doves. And Bluejays. We have a lot of usual suspects.
For a while I was getting a pilleated woodpecker at a tray feeder, and she’s still around (I see and hear her) but not visiting the feeder.
When you start seeing the warblers coming through I’ll know they’re only a fortnight away from us up here!
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(Hey I’m 4,000!)
We get most of those, too, but not necessarily at the feeder – mainly around it. I’ve noticed cardinals will go to the feeder, but won’t peck(?) directly at the tube. They’ll go thru the catch tray underneath, though. (I’m aware some birds will eat from a tube feeder and some will eat from a tray, but unsure/can’t remember why.) I think the slate-colored juncos have left for the season; I know they’ll eat sunflower seeds but I’ve never seen them eat from the feeder. Today we had some house finches there. We have a pileated that shows up at the feeder once in a while, mainly in winter I think (IIRC it’s when I had the suet up, too).
Yesterday I think I saw either a king bird or phoebe nearby; I’m not sure which.
And there are barred owls back there, (so far) only heard and not seen.
I am sure they live in our woods, but I don’t recall ever seeing warblers nor vireos. And I’d expect to have heard whip-poor-wills, but apparently they’re not around these parts. And, in spite of my location, in 19 years I’ve yet to see a Baltimore oriole here (not counting @ Camden Yards)
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