Summer Birds, Plants & Bugs In My Little Corner Of South Carolina (Part One)

 
Greetings & Salutations, Y'all!

Living in the Piedmont region of upstate South Carolina, one of this blogger's favorite times of the year is, of course, the summer. 

In spite of the sticky heat with temperatures that rise into the upper 90s F and the frequent hit-and-run summer thunderstorms, the summer months hold a special kind of beauty in the American Southland.  

The summers here in my little corner of Dixie are a perfect time of the year for a tall glass of sweet iced tea, or lemonade, while sitting on your front porch and watching the late sunsets -- that is if you don't mind braving the swarms of mosquitoes that seem to rise like the spirit of some ancient vampire that was somehow reincarnated as thousands of tiny bloodsuckers.

The summer months, especially July and August, bring with them a number of lovely sights and sounds in the form of plant and animal life. Tall fields of yellow sunflowers and summer flowers. The ever-present Kudzu vines along the roads. Beautiful glowing Lightning Bugs (that's Fireflies to some of y'all on the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line) that me and my siblings used to catch in Mason Jars. The noisy Cicadas making their music after sunset. Blooming Crape Myrtle trees of various colors. The beautiful (and tasty) blackberry and honeysuckle bushes that I enjoyed as a child -- and still do somewhat. Colorful green June bugs (June Beetles). And finally, the beautifully diverse species of birds that flock to my bird feeders this time of the year. 

Over the course of this summer, I captured some of those very sights that I grew up with and enjoy every year, which I would like to now share with y'all. This is part one of three -- the various summertime birds that visit me. 

A gorgeous American Goldfinch.

An amazing shot of the female Blue Jay that's been hanging
around my house this summer.

Little Chickadees looking for sunflower seeds.

Sparrows gathering in the feeder.

A lovely Brown Thrasher looking for food.

An American Robin underneath the feeders.

The Mourning Doves are greedy and love to drive off the
other birds to get more than their fair share.

I believe that this little fella is a Blue Grosbeak -- rare for
these parts.

Beautiful female Cardinal enjoying fresh birdseed.

Equally beautiful male Cardinal enjoying some suet.

A gorgeous Red-bellied Woodpecker enjoying some suet.

One of my feral cats, Sammy, loves watching the Cardinals too.

Near the end of June I captured a beautiful shot of this young
female deer in my backyard.

Some of these birds, such as the Cardinals and Mourning Doves hang around all year long and can be seen her in the other seasons as well. Other birds hang around these parts all year long too, including various birds of prey -- particularly Red-tailed Hawks -- and various waterfowls, including those ever-present carpetbagging Canadian Geese that never seem to want to leave. 

Be sure to check out part two coming up where I will show y'all the photos I've taken of the various diverse plants and flowers common to my corner of South Carolina in the summertime.