- Male Eastern bluebird
Weatherwise, February is usually a dreary month along the south shore of Lake Erie, but this year Valentine’s week brought a few birds to the backyard buffet that I hadn’t seen in a long while, most notably the beautiful male bluebird and the red-breasted nuthatch pictured above. To be honest, the birds I have been seeing most often when I look out my kitchen window are the ever-present pesky starlings. Starlings in small numbers are interesting birds with pretty feathers, but starlings never appear in small numbers. They invade! For that reason, I don’t usually take their picture more than once in a while when the backyard bird pickings are slim.
But this has been a good week, one that culminated on Friday with the appearance of a female bluebird and another appearance of a red-breasted nuthatch. The white-breasted nuthatch is a regular visitor, but the red-breasted variety is truly a rarity in our neighborhood. I’ve read that an irruption, or invasion, of red-breasted nuthatches is possibly due to a lack of spruce seeds farther north in the bird’s typical winter range. I’ve only seen a few so far this year, not nearly enough to count as an irruption, but when they appear in my backyard, I consider it to be an exciting event. Here are several that I have seen this week:
And here is another picture of the male bluebird as well as his mate, who showed up today. Contrary to what many people believe, some bluebirds do winter in Northeast Ohio, but that is unusual enough to create some excitement.
Here is a little gallery of the backyard birds I have seen this week. Click to enlarge…
And finally, my husband’s favorite, the smallest woodpecker, a downy.
That’s the backyard bird gallery for this week. As the old-fashioned expression goes, I’m pleased as punch to be able to include a couple of reasonably rare birds among the current collection.
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 
This weekend we had a hairy on one feeder and a downy on the other. As the feeder are at each end of the garden, they made charming bookends. Always a treat to see the various birds, especially when you get a variety that doesn’t often come to your feeders.
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That was a great selection Carolyn. They sure enjoy “bellying up” to the feeder and they provide hours of entertainment, whether you have a camera in hand, or not. I don’t recognize the cute little brown-feathered fellow. I agree with your husband – seeing that little woodpecker with his bright plumage is a treat.
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