My backyard birdfeeder has been very active lately. I have seen cardinals, titmice, chickadees, wrens, house finches, and blue jays this month. I also have hummingbirds coming to my nectar feeder and a pair of fat squirrels that lounge on the tree limb above the feeder like it’s their living room couch.

On the lake nearby I have seen blue herons, Canadian geese and kingfishers. And to top it all off there is a noisy young red-tailed hawk nesting in the pine behind our house.

It is a birder’s paradise.

RCPL has several books to help me identify the birds in my backyard. We have guide books like National Geographic Complete Birds of the World, Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of North America, and The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America for broad regional identifications, as well as books written specifically for South Carolina such as Birds of the Carolinas: Field Guide, and Compact Guide to South Carolina Birds. I like to have one of each or more.

I have just received a new pair of binoculars for my birthday, so with these and my books I will be on the lookout for more species. Have you spotted anything interesting in your backyard?