We woke up to a heavy, wet snowfall and a symphony of chirping in the back yard. Apparently our bird feeders are on the map. As we watched, dozens of birds were gathering in nearby trees and swooping in for a snack. They swarmed around all day, now and then scattering because of a passing vehicle or a sudden plop of show from the upper branches.
We had lots of finches and sparrows all day. The juncos put in an appearance for an hour or two. A couple of chickadees stopped by.
A downy woodpecker and a nuthatch took turns at the suet feeder.
A female cardinal graced us with her presence.
And our first-ever red-bellied woodpecker visited twice!
We introduced our feeders sometime last winter, and it takes a while for birds to find them, so today was an all-time high in popularity. Our feathered friends are definitely brightening up an otherwise blustery winter day!
And P.S., I want to thank
Abe Lincoln for his advice about feeders and about creating a welcoming spot for birds. His photos take your breath away. I'm just taking snapshots through a snow-streaked window, but it's fun anyway.
17 comments:
Wow, great pictures! I cannot believe you were able to get those. My kids would be so jealous...SNOW! We had our first bone chilling day here. It probably wouldn't have been so bad had I not been sitting at soccer games all day. BBRRRRR!
Snow already! Wow! You got some great bird pictures!
Lucky you for the snow. And lucky birds for you!
Beautiful winter weather and little birds. I could watch the birds for hours. We have feeders, too, and I do.
These are wonderful! My inlaws keep their feeder full and close to the windows. I look forward to the show every time we visit.
And snow, wow. Nope, not jealous!
I also love to feed the birds and budget a fair amount of time and money to the wild birds. We might have some snow pictures this year, but then again, maybe not. I am still inundated by house sparrows who drive me nuts, but I see the juncos are holding their own with them! I have dozens of chickadees and goldfinch, too. We've got a couple of woodpeckers and Northern flickers-- oh, and a hawk that sees my birdies are tasty treats! Abe helped me appreciate the hawks.
It sounds like the word got out about where the good eats are. You got some very good pictures.
The woodpecker is a handsome fellow. I remember our years in Maine and the delight of watching the birds feeding. The squirils efforts to steal the birdseed were hilarious!
I really miss our feathered friends - we used to have about six or seven feeders plus sacks and sacks of cracked corn for the quail that would visit our yard by the hundreds. But when we moved I worried the new owners wouldn't feed them - they had become quite dependent, so we haven't done it again until we know we will be in one place. I almost added an addendum to the offer we were accepting that they had to feed the birds! Not like I could hold them to it.
Your photos are lovely. It is almost time for me to put out the feeders too, and we get the same birds at them you do!
What excitement at your bird feeders. The pileated woodpecker a delight!
I miss my birds so much!!!! I moved a couple months ago and I miss my friends! You're lucky that you have such wonderful visitors!
You have a beautiful collection of birds -- and the photos are terrific! Nice camera, good eye! (Bad snow!)
I enjoyed the visit and the photos of the birds dealing with the snow. And thanks for the link. That is special
The bird you called a Pileated Woodpecker is actually a "Red-bellied Woodpecker." Here is a link to a Pileated Woodpecker on my Photobucket.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s208/popslinc/Birds/720_3706.jpg
What great pictures.Our bird feeder area is always the busiest when it's coldest out. One winter we had freezing rain for days and there were birds at the feeders we never see usually.
I was happy for the link to Abe Lincoln's site, as well. Such amazing photography. It's great to know someone who knows birds so well. Thank you.
Great photos..it seems you have quite a variety of birds..and even a Cardinal! Pileated Woodpeckers are HUGE..you will go what in the world is that when you see one:)
Thanks for the correction, Abe. Funny that it's called red-bellied when it's the head that is red. This bird seems pretty rare around here; we're just at the northern edge of its territory.
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