The tiny ones
are very animated and adorable right now. Juncos and Goldfinches are a bit feisty with one another, resulting in lots of blurry photos when the SD card cannot compete with tempo and cold.
Another cold day,
but some beautiful little ones came to visit the feeders. I am happy about the Juncos and the Tree Sparrow, they usually feed on the ground. The Titmouse looked adorable as always. American Tree Sparrows can be easily confused with Chipping Sparrows, but one good ID sign is a spot on their chest.
They haven’t been visiting in a long time,
but along with the cold and snow, a large group of Starlings has found its way to the yard too. I do find their photos quite entertaining but truth be told, I could live without them pooping all over the place, trashing the bird baths and eating everything in sight… They kind of remind me of the Bumpus Hounds from A Christmas Story 🤪
Against the snow,
the Cardis continue to shine. There are several couples, and I think one of the males may be a youngster from last year, he has quite a bit of yellow/ orange still in his plumage.
We are now
in a nice stretch of very cold winter weather, with temperatures that make the inside of your nose feel funny when you go outside. It won’t be for long, so I am thoroughly enjoying. The snow makes for a great background, and there are lots of birds visiting. Each coping in their own way with the cold. A couple of Cowbirds have arrived, and yesterday I also saw a Grackle!
Finally a snow day today,
and since I knew things would thaw later, I got up really early. I was rewarded with sights of the new pretty Cardinal lady. She has so much red on her. She is in the first and last two photos. A male and another, less vibrant female, are in the other photos. I love the color combination of the female Cardinals, they are such elegant beauties.
We didn't get
any snow today but there is a lot of rain and temperatures are forecasted to go to freezing. The bird avalanche I was hoping for did not come but the week is not over yet. A good time to show off some Blue Jays from a couple of days ago. I love their expressions and patterns.
Continuing the color scheme
was this much-beloved visitor today, one of the resident male Cardinals. There are several couples around but they usually stay on the ground or go to the bigger platform feeder that has no camera. After having been so low on variety recently, it is really nice to see my favorites back on photo.
To send you off into the new year,
here are the Judgy Gracks of July (a personal favorite), August, September and October. Be safe tonight and see you in the new one.
I will continue
to post the birds of the calendars in the coming days, but there are still some Gracks left for this year. July, August, September and October are always fun months. The babies emerge, and Grack babies are super cute, many birds undergo dramatic molts, and the landscape changes color too.
Goodbye, 2023!
There were fun moments this year and I absolutely enjoyed the garden this year but I hope that next year will be a bit more exciting again when it comes to birds. The last four months of the year show a Chipmunk, a Chickadee, a Bluebird and a Junco. I hope for some snow in January, just for some fun photo opportunities, and would love a return of a Chickadee nest and of course the Blues.
May for the Gracks
had to be something special, and in the non-judgy calendar, you see the OG, Count Grackula himself. He has stopped coming this season, and I think he may have just gotten too old, but his white markings made him very recognizable. The good thing is, the legacy is carried on, there are more like him with white spots. All other photos show why I had to make two Grackle calendars, I just like their poses but they are so awesomely goofy when they look straight into your face.
All calendars will be on sale from tomorrow until January 2nd 2024 here: https://tinyurl.com/ff6bj43m
The summer months
are one of my favorite times for birding because it is the height of variety, and there are so many baby birds too. For July and August, I had a hard time choosing photos, so here you see some of the alternatives I considered, along with the two final choices, the Red-bellied Woodpecker and the dramatic Blue Jay (taking a sun bath). The immature Orchard Oriole was a fabulous surprise, and I always love the look of the immature Red-winged Blackbirds. Well, and I love Blue Jay babies in all their loud, demanding and adorable glory.
When the warm weather returns,
Grackles also make a comeback here, they are one of the earliest migrants to arrive. The weather is wild during the early months of the warm season, which means that there are tons of great Grackle photos with rain but also their beauty sticking out in front of the barren yard. Here are March and April of the regular Grackle and the Judgy Grackle calendars. The top two are some of my favorites I have ever taken, and I absolutely love the last one.
I am a May child,
so naturally, the calendar bird of May is something I can identify with or find particularly fun, and this time, with the regulars, it is a MoDo. The June bird is a juvenile Rosebreasted Grosbeak. I love the mix of patterns and colors that are going on with this one while the baby plumage is still there but the adult one is coming through. (The red on his beak is grape jelly.)
The Grackles
for February are for one, yet another that came on a snowy day, and the judgy one with a very intense stare. Photos like the second one are why I decided to make a judgy Grack calendar, they just have the best poses, and the world needs to see them.
March and April
of the "regulars" calendar are a beautiful male Cardinal and a gorgeous Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Spring is my favorite season, I just love when everything sprouts and blooms and great things await. I forgot to post the February bird here yesterday, so that is here now, a Whitebreasted Nuthatch with a nice big peanut. You can get my calendars here: tinyurl.com/ff6bj43m
It's getting a bit late,
but I still wanted to take the time to introduce the calendar birds. There isn’t much else going on here right now anyways. Now as you know, this year I made three calendars, so there are three potential images to grace your quarters in January. For the “Grackles through the seasons”, you’ll get a beautiful and sceptical Grack whose feathers shine gloriously against the white background. The male House Finch is the January bird for the regulars calendar. I loved the head tilt and all that snow! Choice 3 is a judgy Grackle, also in the snow. I have added links to the calendars on my homepage here.
