Friday, February 5, 2021

A Few Winter Birds

 Yes, it's been a very few birds this winter, just a handful of Chickadees, the Nuthatches, and the occasional woodpecker.  Even the Goldfinch, who we've seen lots of the past couple of years, have only been rare visitors.  But here's what I've been able to gather, with a lot of cropping.  Sure shows the value of a good lens compared to an iphone!  I've been very pleased to be able to successfully use my big old Nikon and handhold it to get these.

The most unusual visitor for me has been the Red-bellied Woodpecker, a bird I'd never seen at all until last year.  It doesn't come very often, but when it does it's nice to see it.

This is my little flock of Chickadees, sometimes a few more, but they typically travel in a small group like this over the winter before disappearing in the summer to breed.

They fly quickly back and forth between the feeder and  te spruce tree, in their bouncing flight that's easy to recognize.

This is a terrible photo of the White-breasted Nuthatch, but at least it does show it in its typical upside-down pose that makes it so easy to recognize.

The nuthatch in its natural habitat, a tree!  These nuthatches typically follow along with a group of Chickadees over the winter.  I almost always see them together.

Finally, a terrible picture, but it's the best I've got to show the visiting Downy  Woodpecker.

I've been trying to capture the snow sparkles, these from yesterday's sunny day.  They almost never show up in a picture, but this heavily cropped photo does reveal them, even if it's a little blurry.

Today our winter weather has returned with blowing snow under a Wind Advisory.  We were surprised my PSW got here.  It looks like we're in for a long stretch of cold and snow, but that is typical for the middle of February. 




15 comments:

  1. You got some great pics of the birds. The chickadees are so cute. It is terribly windy here too. What a change from yesterday which was mild and sunny here!

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  2. Red-bellied Woodpecker has undergone a significant range expansion in recent years, and I recently was advised of one being sighted in Hearst. Sometimes, on our walks here, it is the most common woodpecker we see, outnumbering Downy even. It is a spectacular bird in my opinion. And in a couple on months it will be joined by Northern Flicker. Spring is on its way!

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  3. Sure is nice to be able to help out our little feathered friends through the Winter. And yes, its much better to use a quality camera and lens for nature shots and especially birds. You got some good pics there.

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  4. I enjoyed seeing the photographs of the birds.
    Nice to see the snow sparkles.

    All the best Jan

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  5. Our birds seem very ordinary in comparison, the Tui here with white under the beak, starlings with iridescent feathers, not many with that lovely red. Snow sparkles, they are so good to see as we have another almost hot day here,.

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  6. We have chickadees in the bushes at the back of my building property. They're often chattering away... until you stop and look at the bushes. Then they're silent. Until you walk away.

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  7. Chickadees usually travel in a loose group of 10 - 20. Just wait and they'll all go buy you.

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  8. We have Chickadees all year round along with Woodpeckers and Nuthatches...we enjoy watching the birds also!

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  9. Good for your PSW!
    I love winter, the snow and the changes of seasons entertain me.

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  10. Hello,
    Your yard birds are great, I love the Chickadees! Take care, stay safe and warm. Happy weekend!

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  11. We've got cold weather coming, but so far it's been a very mild winter here. I heard that there are outbreaks of salmonella at feeders around here.

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  12. Love the birds! I miss them here, no bird feeders for some reason.

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  13. The bird population in North America has supposedly decreased by 30% over the last few years, we have few at the feeders as well. You might want to consider trading your heavyweight Nikon for a micro four thirds system from Olympus or Panasonic -- less expensive, much smaller and lighter and producing photos that are every bit as good.

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  14. you are seeing a lot of pretty birds and i am glad you are able to capture some pictures also. i see all of these here and have a lot of trouble getting good pictures of the red bellied woodpeckers. i featured the girl on my blog on friday, the pictures were not the best but still proof that she visits!!

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