During very cold times,
the Dark-eyed Juncos always seem to have a field day. They are not shy about getting to feeders and are hopping around all over the backyard in the search for food. Apart from being very hardy when it comes to temperatures, they also seem to be very focused on feeding and go about it steadily. They don’t seem to fight much with others or one another. And I think sometimes that stuns some of the other birds who cannot seem to spend a minute without making a ruckus (looking at you here, Goldfinches 😜).
The BBs
continue to stick around as well. In between visiting the nestboxes, they go to the caged mealworm feeder, filling their bellies and sharing the bounty with the Juncos who have also figured out how to get in there. The Bluebirds and I also have a little habit - in the evening when the daily traffic has basically ended, about five of them line up on the power lines and wait for me to fill the camera bowls. Then it is raining Bluebirds and I am finishing the birding day with a big smile on my face.
Snow days
are fun days for me when it comes to birding, especially when the sun is shining. The birds are hungry and plenty, and the photos just look better with the pretty background. The morning light is especially nice, and I have been bringing out the cameras a bit earlier to catch some of it. This House Finch clearly seemed to enjoy the warming rays. As a comparison, there is also a House Finch in normal daylight.
A longtime lurker
finally got lucky last night and had Starling for dinner. It took him a good two hours to get it done and finished. This is the Cooper’s hawk that has been hanging around. I let him finish it, and by the end, also birds and squirrels had come back. I always find it fascinating to see a bird of prey come down here. They are such majestic creatures, and while it might be cruel to watch, I am in the camp of “they gotta eat too”. There are enough Starlings around, and we got about half a foot of snow over night, so at least the hawk had a good meal before that. Photos are not superb, it was getting dark and I used my Canon, looking out my office window.
Almost forgot!
A Cardinal finally visited the feeders too! I have several around but they have been rather elusive lately. This is not Queen Red Eyebrow but her beakstick and matching outfit are impeccable as always.
Come good into Thursday!
The week
has started out busy and with interesting weather. Monday was cold, and in order to avoid slipping and falling on the ice sheet that the backyard was, I actually put big old socks over my shoes. (I have proper cleats now, phew). Now today, all that ice melted, and the yard is a big lake, and tomorrow we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow. There wasn’t a lot of activity today, but here are some shots from yesterday when the birds seemed very agitated. I am excited for more snow tomorrow, let’s see who comes to visit.
Stay warm and don’t fall!
Fun surprise visitor
today, where I actually put on my spikes to refill baths and feeders because the frozen ground made puddles treachery… I had a Common Redpoll visit! These guys usually seem to appear in flocks but in my yard, they seemingly only come in singles. I had one single one last year and one today. They are tiny and cute. I hope he brings his whole family back tomorrow. The bird bath is clean and feeders are full.
And here is the stuff of
I don’t know - nightmares or bursts of laughter. Can you figure out who this curious bird is? Have a great Thursday!
The Bluebirds
are showing some real interest in the Gilwood, they have been coming back every day to check it out and rearrange the wood shavings. I have seen her in there more often than him, which I take as a good sign. Yesterday, she jumped to the entrance and looked back down, jumped back down and looked back up, as if she was estimating the ceiling height. I built the box according to plans (here is a link, but I added a camera housing: Gilwood plans), so hopefully it fits her needs. Regardless of that she continues to crack me up with her grumpy little face.
Long time no Blue Jay!
Even if they have been present and are regulars here, shame on me. I always find it funny how these birds are seemingly greedy for food but at the same time alert everybody when the feeders have been replenished. Such goofballs! They look so similar from afar but there are distinctive differences between them. I especially love the ones with the dotted foreheads.
This time of the year
can be repetitive and a bit boring when it comes to backyard birds, but it is still fun to see the current regulars having a good time. There are many Goldfinches right now, the Chickadees are ever so present and adorable, and I wonder if the Juncos feel like they are on vacation.
It's Peanut!
What a fun surprise - I always have at least one Redbellied Woodpecker around, but in the last couple of months it was usually only a female. Today, however, he showed up. Male and female Redbellied Woodpeckers are easy to tell apart - the males have an all-red head cap while the females have a distinct blue-grey forehead. One might think they should be called Redheaded, but there is another majestic woodpecker with that name already. And you can see in this photo where the name comes from.
The week has been busy workwise,
and there was so much bird traffic, so it took me a while to go through the bounty. Without further ado, I present part of the blizzard crowd. The Juncos had a blast. To be continued. Good night and come good into Friday!
(Junco, Blue Jay, House Finch, House Finch, Bluebird, Junco)
We got about a foot
of snow, and the backyard is quiet and looks like it was frosted with marshmallow puff. The lady by the pond has grown Marge Simpson hair, and it does not look like there were any night visitors. Today will be a busy day at the feeders. I am excited to see who comes first to dig out at the Birdsy cams. There will be new photos later today too. I hope you have it warm, here’s to a great Thursday!
While the winter crowd
can be a bit boring at times, surprises can happen any day. I think this is part of why I enjoy birdwatching so much. Every day has the possibility of something fun happening. Anyways, yesterday, I had this lone Cowbird lady on the feeder, and I also saw a Redwinged Blackbird. They sometimes travel with Starlings, so it makes sense that they were around. Here’s to a good week with fun surprises!
I know I am posting
a lot of Bluebirds right now, but they are one of my favorites and I am so happy that they visit a bit more regularly. One of the fun aspects with them is that they usually don’t come by themselves. If you get them, you get a group. I like to think that over the years, I have helped to enlarge the Bluebird population in my area, and when they come back here, it is my little reward for the work, emotions and money invested in monitoring their nestings, putting out food and creating a habitat.
If you want to know more or are trying to get Bluebirds to visit your yard too, sialis.org is an excellent source of information.
More MoDo,
it looks like it wanted to show that it can get even bigger 😆 These posing photos are always hilarious to me because the birds look like something out of Versailles and seem to look directly into the camera. And I guess they do see some sort of reflection in the lens. The second photo is interesting because that one seems to have escaped a predator or got hurt and is now growing new feathers in the spot. The feathers first come out as some sort of spikes called sheaths that encase the growing feather like a straw. At some point, the bird will start preening to pop them open and reveal the new feathers.
The Juncos
are plentiful this year, and they are loving the cold temperatures. Usually they do their own thing strutting along on the ground, trying to find seed, but when it gets really frosty, they will also visit feeders. They are such perfectly wonderful and round little birds, I love them. You can also see a bit more of the color variety in the third photo. Both the birds are Juncos.
A little addendum
to the Starling video. Yes, they can be a handful, yes, they are messy and invasive (in the US), but they are also quite entertaining and expressive. And their feathers are fascinating in their richness and variety amongst individual birds. In some of these, you can already see a change from the males’ winter look - they lose the dots, get that jewellish glossy look, the legs become more vibrantly red, and the beaks turn from grey to yellow.
Here is
the goddess of the snack drawer. Mourning Doves are smart, even if they might not appear so. My 20-25 know when and where the best food is. And they are vain. I have a love-hate relationship with them. Love for their goofiness and beauty, hate for their voracious appetite and feeder dominance (yes, they can be very aggro). But they truly do some of the best portraits. Happy Friday!
