"birding" fun

[SCEtoAUX]

We are heading into Winter here.
Funny how the birds did not bother with the suet for the first few days it was up. The weather was clear, sunny, and relatively warm. When the weather changed to cold, foggy, and rainy they started going to the suet. They know they need the fat.

[birder]

I often wonder how those little birds manage in the winter, this is our feeder with rb Nuthatch and suet feeder behind, interestingly we had all 3 nuthatch species at the feeder simultaneously last weekend, not often we get the pygmies. I had a great sunny day to take an Eagle picture, we were cold but with the sun the photo is much better. We have at least 2 Eagles at the lake, I was watching them try for some ducks last weekend also, a Goldeneye, unsuccessful, it was cold with some ice around the lake.

[Kevin WS]

Really nice eagle shot Glen. Well done!

[Michael Mash]

Nice photos Glen.
But . . . with that Nuthatch image . . .
Now we need to know . .
Is it live . . . or is it “Sherft” ??

[Don Boose]

Wonderful images, Glen.

I have only seen white-breasted nuthatches here in our back garden and general area, but have seen red-breasted nuthatches at Cape May. We have white-breasted nuthatches, black-capped chickadees, and tufted titmice hang out together in our back garden all year round.

Today, I put a few small pieces of seed-filled suet in the little platform feeder and was interested to see a red-bellied woodpecker worry one piece of suet out of the feeder and clumsily fly off with it up to a hole in a tree, where it cached its prize. After chasing off some blue jays it settled down to eat the suet. (Images 1 and 2)

Image 3 is a groups of some of our usual back-yard birds at the covered feeder a couple of weeks ago: hairy woodpecker, black-capped chickadee, female house finch, tufted titmouse in the foreground, gold and house finch, unidentified little brown job, and male cardinal in the background.

Image 4 is a close up of a hairy woodpecker.

Image 5 is a shot of a couple of bluebirds (unusual for this time of year, but they have been hanging out lately) and a goldfinch.

Here are the birds we saw on Christmas day in the back garden: cardinals, gold finches, house finches, tufted titmice, white-breasted nuthatches, white-throated sparrows, slate juncoes, red-bellied woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, yellow-shafted flicker, starlings, grackles, bluebirds, Carolina wren, red-winged blackbirds, and mourning doves.

Don

[birder]

Thank you for the holiday wishes and birds Don The Eastern Bluebirds are gorgeous, we have Western type here but they live more in field areas and just in summer. I do get to see the very pretty Mountain Bluebirds in spring migration but they move on North to BC. I think winter plumaged Golfinches are really cool with the subtleties of color that are more interesting to me than the bright but mostly solid colors of Summer. The Red Bellied took off with the suet! Ha. My son recently came across an injured Red bellied and was able to get the fella to wildlife rescue to heal his damaged wing. He was in Louisiana at the time...
Our feeder has had lots of Siskins this week all 3 nuthatches still visiting, Mountain and BC Chickadees, Song sparrows and Juncoes under. We had some snow last night so they are busy at the feeder today.

[Don Boose]

I have never identified a pine siskin in our back garden, but may have missed some, thinking they were juvenile or female house finches. I have seen cedar waxwings in our front yard trees on very rare occasions and wish I would see more.

I can add to the list Canadian geese, a skein of which flew low over Conodoguinet (which can be see in the lower left of Image 1, Post #1335) to the delight of the adult grandsons and me.

Incidentally, we spent the morning startling starlings. Squirrels sometimes get into the platform feeder and sometimes starlings and/or grackles mob the feeder. Don II gave me a remotely activated buzzer, which he attached to the bottom of the platform feeder. It works on most starlings, but the squirrels simply ignore it.

Don

[SCEtoAUX]

Have y'all ever noticed how the birds seem to hang out in the trees and bushes when you are filling the bird feeders like they are waiting for the hooman to get finished so they can get back to eating? I have taken a couple of steps after the filling then turned around to look and there are already birds at the feeders.

I swear sometimes it seems like a bird flies up the to the breakfast nook window and taps on it when the feeders are low. "Hey Hooman, get with it!"

[N96HBK]

Hi, all!!

I rounded up some of my favourite photos that I captured this year and arranged a small album. Not the best photos, as I'm still figuring out how to use my sister's DSLR....

As I started enthusiastically taking these photos this year, I began to realize and appreciate the wonders of Earth's nature even more. I hope these can give you all some smiles after a very exhausting and saddening year for us all.

Best of 2020 - Album on Imgur

Best wishes for everybody in 2021. Stay safe, everyone!!

[birder]

Very fun pictures! Is that little bird with colorful flanks a White-eye? Cute kitties too..