After last night’s rainstorm, complete with thunder, lightning, and TV outage, we woke up to a chilly but dry morning and a bevy of bright-eyed little birds flitting around in our backyard buffet. Can you name them all? Take a look:
As you can see at a glance, the downy woodpecker was the dominant bird today, followed by the tufted titmouse, but I was delighted to see a blackcapped chickadee in the bunch. A bluejay flew in briefly, but didn’t pause long enough for a good photo opp. Even if the sky was grey, it was a cheerful, active crowd…a good start to the day!
Cleaning up the kitchen after lunch, my eye was arrested by the sight of a lonely bluebird huddled on top of the nesting box in falling snow.
The temperature was 18 degrees, and I could only imagine that, despite his fluffed out feathers, the little fellow was feeling a bit cold. Grabbing my camera, I snapped his picture, then soon discovered he wasn’t the only wind-blown bird in the backyard. At least one other bluebird, a downy woodpecker, and a robin were nearby. (Click to enlarge pictures.)
I’m looking forward to spring when sunshine and warm breezes will waft away the cold and snow. I have a feeling my feathered friends are just as eager for a change in the weather. How about you?
Thanks for visiting today. See you soon.
Trail Walker
Although the calendar indicates that we should be enjoying Spring, Mother Nature has refused to cooperate. In the weeks since the reportedly “gentler season” officially began on March 21, we have experienced mostly cold and/or very damp weather…the kind of weather that does not draw me out for trail walking with my camera. As a result, even though the birds have been out and about, this trail walker hasn’t been! Consequently, three weeks into the month, I have a very meagre collection of April images to share; however, here are a few birds that agreed to pose in the middle of their daily activities:
After momma great horned owl, pictured above, another regular to show up was my favorite, the red-bellied woodpecker:
Red-bellied woodpecker
Look at me, I found a peanut!
Looking for another one.
Following Mr. Redbelly, is another woodpecker, the little downy, but he didn’t pose for long, and, as light was leaking out of the afternoon sky, I only captured one image of him.
Other regulars willing to pose, despite the cold, were the perennial popular cardinals and blue jays:
Northern cardinal (male)
Blue jay
Last, but of course, not least, even though they are the smallest, is the black-capped chickadee.
Believe it or not, he had just walked through that arch on the fence post.
And came out with a large piece of peanut.
Daylight was vanishing, so I decided to close up my camera and head home for supper. On this chilly April afternoon, I was glad to be leaving the park with a few pictures captured on my memory card. Hopefully, the weather will improve soon, and I will have more pictures to share.
Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever.
Here’s hoping our weather (and other things) soon improve!
Feel free to leave comments. I love to chat with you.
Trail Walker
Red-bellied woodpeckers are my favorite birds to photograph. Besides being sharp-looking birds, they have ATTITUDE! Tracking them in hopes of a photo op is just plain fun, and they are so darn photogenic!
Then there this little bird…the brown creeper.
A lot of luck and not a little dexterity is required to capture his photo. These little birds are naturally camouflaged against the bark of tree trunks. If I am lucky enough to spot one, getting his picture becomes the next challenge because they are constantly on the move, flitting from tree to tree and scurrying up the trunks like highly competitive runners in a 50 yard dash. I count myself VERY lucky to capture this picture today!
ALMANAC
That’s it for this chilly April morning. It’s a good thing I made an early morning visit to the park because a persistent drizzle has moved in, along with cooler temperatures. The forecast is for more of the same for the next week or so. Did someone say something about global warming? Not in my back yard!
Thanks for visiting my corner of northeast Ohio today.
That’s what two walkers said when they saw a downy woodpecker take a peanut from my hand…”You must be the bird lady! How do you do that?” the man asked. All I could reply was, “They like peanut chips!”
I don’t make a habit of feeding the critters in the park. After all, they are wild creatures, and, for the most part, except during extremely cold and snowy winters, they are self-sufficient. However, I do sometimes entice the chickadees, cardinals, titmice, and woodpeckers with a small serving of peanut chips. These are bite-sized little tidbits that create no mess, and don’t do any harm to the environment, and I consider them payment for the many photo opportunities they provide for me. Chickadees and titmice are friendly little birds, and they don’t need too much persuasion to take a peanut chip or two from my hand, but this was the first time a downy woodpecker had ever attempted it. I was as amazed as the couple who happened to walk by. It was evening, and time for me to head for home, but first I captured a few pictures to share so you can enjoy the beauty of the birds, just as I do.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my corner of Ohio. See you soon!
The downy woodpecker is one of my favorite little birds. Put out a handful of peanuts and there he is, ready to put on a show. He probably doesn’t know it is a “show”, but I get lots of laughs from watching him. He can be very dapper, like this… or this…
But watch him for awhile, and his personality will begin to appear….
He spots me with the camera and gives me a challenging glare:
When hunger strikes, he hops and wobbles his way down the bench to pick up a peanut…
But above all, he is a goal-oriented little critter. He will flit around from tree to tree to bush to bench, but don’t be fooled by his casual and comical demeanor. When he wants a peanut, he’s going to get it.
Do you see what I mean?
Thanks for stopping by for a visit today. This is the first day I’ve been able to visit the park since the beginning of the week, and, despite the cold, it felt great to get out there and see the critters. See you again soon.
