The Birds Again

We had a big snowstorm on Friday that left us with those 40-hundred inches of snow. :o) Actually, I haven't heard the official totals, but my guess is we got 6-ish inches. I'm not going to complain, we could have had 10-12" according to weather forecasts.
I was fortunate to be able to come home shortly after the snow started. I got the birdfeeders filled as soon as I got home, before it got too bad. The birds emptied them by late afternoon, but by then the snow had stopped and Greg had scooped the sidewalks and decks, so I went out and filled the feeders again.
By early afternoon we had new guests at the party, our local cardinal couple. Cardinals are pretty skittish, and any time I approached the windows, they flew away. I finally was able to stand there long enough that the male came back to the feeder and I could get a photo.
Here we have a sweet little American Goldfinch. He was dipping his beak into the snow on the deck rail - I suspect for the moisture.
See how big and fluffy they make themselves when it's cold outside?

This house finch was drinking snow, too. There are probably more house finches than any other kind of bird to visit my feeders.

I haven't been able to get a picture of the dark-eyed juncos, and there are doves out there now, but they all scatter every time I get anywhere near the window.

Tucker has stopped whining and crying at the birds - he just lies there for hours watching them, twitching his tail.

Birdwatching

One of my biggest backyard pleasures is feeding and watching the birds all year round. As you can imagine, we don't have many varieties winter-over here in the Heartland, but the ones that do stay provide quite a show!

Let me tell you, when there is snow on the ground, those feeders have to be filled daily. Right now, for food, I'm only using black oil sunflower seeds. I usually have a thistle feeder or two for the finches, but have you seen the price of thistle seed lately?! Ouch. All the birds we have now will eat the sunflower seeds, though. (I do not buy "mixes" since they pick out the sunflower seeds and leave the milo to sprout in my yard in the springtime!)

Tuesday morning we had dozens and dozens of birdies at the two feeders. They were mostly sparrows, house finches, goldfinches, and dark-eyed juncos. That's the usual "menu" of birds in my backyard in the winter, with the exception of the nasty starlings, and the occasional cardinal, bluejay, and nuthatch. I got a few photos through the window - the sky was cloudy early in the day, so the pictures look a little bleak, but we ended up with a beautiful, sunny, warm winter day. tree full of birdies - mostly American Goldfinches

female house finch - blurry photo because the feeder was swinging back and forth in the wind...

The feeders can be seen easily from the south-facing windows of the sunroom, and my kitty-boy Tucker parks himself there every morning to watch and cry. He starts out pawing the window, then resigns himself to the fact that he's only a spectator. Poor boy.

American Goldfinch - one of my favorite birds

What kinds of backyard birds do you have in the winter?

Baby birdies

These baby birds were hatched in a nest built in our Christmas wreath that was mounted on the garage. Yes, the wreath was left on the garage until way after Christmas. Okay, it's still up. I was going to take it down several weeks ago and I noticed the mama robin up there. I figured there were eggs, so I left it alone. This photo was taken a few days ago. I didn't see the babies today, but I'm not taking the wreath down until I know they've flown away. :o)