Photographing Birds

With a warm, early spring, I have been doing a good bit outside (which I have yet to post about :-/ ).

Yesterday, we had some snow for the first time in many weeks--luckily the temps were above freezing.  Anyway, I had an opportunity to take some pictures of the birds coming in to my seed offerings.  This was a good day...several fairly exceptional shots--normally I get nothing special or only one.  I posted them on Facebook, but, I refuse to abandon my blog.

Goldfinches!

With mild weather at the end of 2017, I didn't start feeding the birds until November. By the time the weather had finally changed (and became brutally cold by the end of December), I was feeding regularly--mostly black oil sunflower seeds, but I also added a fruit and nut mix, some peanuts, and a nyjer seed sock.

Although, I saw bluejays, juncos, mourning doves, a white-throated sparrow or two, and a very occasional pair of cardinals, many other bird species were missing.  I hadn't seen any chickadees (normally the first to show up) since the fall...not a single tufted titmouse, no goldfinch, and until this past week, no downy woodpeckers.

This morning, brought a flock of goldfinches to our recently snow-covered ground. 

(We had 62 degrees yesterday...20 something today.)

...Oh, and I finally saw a nuthatch early this afternoon. :)

I enjoyed the new subject matter...with no further ado, I present the goldfinch:

A Colorful Spring

For a long while, I have been planning on posting about biodiversity--my plan has always been to photograph each wildflower as it comes into bloom each spring...and document the diversity of native wildflowers that I have added (or been lucky enough to find already growing on the property--these are few and far between...but they are here).  Instead, my first post about biodiversity will be reflected in a few bird species that really caught my eye this spring.

Growing up, aside from the more common feeder birds, I never had bluebirds or indigo buntings...and only a rare sighting of a Baltimore oriole (perhaps not even on our property).  Living in the country (and creating habitat) has given me the opportunity to see several species here that I was never lucky enough to see before.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet...I've got close to a rainbow...all spotted this year:

Of course, the biodiversity doesn't end there...I have many others--many common, some never common to me.  With spring, the catbird returned, later, the Baltimore oriole--which has nested here for several years (perhaps as long as we've been here...but I've only noticed in the past few years).  I am pleased to have spotted a rose-breasted grossbeak again this year as well.

Hopefully, some day I will document all of the biodiversity of plants and animals that have visited...or even made a home here.  For now, I had to share my colorful spring birds.

Snow Day 2017

Having an unexpected day off is nice.



After about two weeks of way above average temperatures in February, I was ready for an early spring--and even hopeful that we'd have no more winter weather.  Last week changed that with overnight temperatures in the single digits.  Although, I knew they were predicting some snow late last night into today, I was hoping to just have a two-hour delay.  That is what I got, but, once I was dressed for work (and not quite ready to go), our school closed.

Being off from work, I decided to finally start sorting through the tons of photos that I've taken.  Since I had been taking pictures, but never getting around to sorting them let alone posting them, I finally pretty much stopped taking pictures (except with my smartphone!).  However, instead of sorting photos, I began taking them again.  With the snow providing a beautiful backdrop, I began snapping picture after picture of the birds that come to the seed I put out for them.

After taking countless pictures, I switched the display from the traditional viewfinder to the digital display screen--that was when I was finally alerted to the fact that there was no memory card in the camera.  I had left it in the computer when transferring my last batch! :(

I will never know if those shots that I thought were so awesome really were.  So, I started again.  I was even able to recapture one shot of a few mourning doves still perched in the same spot in the distant trees.  The rest that I took still have the same mood as those lost forever.

Here are a few of the better ones:

      

 

Despite the snow, spring was in the air.  The trilling calls of the red-winged blackbirds filled the morning air.  Later in the day, I spotted a robin eating the berries from the sumac.  Later, perched outside one of our kitchen windows, the robin, too began singing.

Increasing Numbers?

Somehow I remembered the Great Backyard Bird Count was over the Presidents' Day weekend.  I compiled my lists each day, and I even managed to take a few pictures.

Comparing past years, it seems that I normally counted between 1 and 4 goldfinch in our yard (at least during the window that I was counting); this year, I had a difficult time counting them all!  I settled on 28, but there could easily have been more.  I'm not saying that my two acres is enough to support all of the birds that come for the seed I put out, but, I am happy to see the numbers going up.

In addition to the goldfinches, there were several more blue jays...and a grand total of 39 mourning doves!!!

     

Cheerful Sight

After weeks of unseasonably warm weather and what looked like a very early spring, temperatures plummeted and we got an inch or so of snow this weekend.  Although I was used to working out in the yard in 60-70 degree weather, I still got out and did a lot this past weekend...but what I want to share now are some of the photographs I got of birds in the snow.  Something that seemed to be lacking most of the winter.

I was thrilled to be out with camera in hand, and take shot after shot of the small flock of goldfinches perched in the largest dogwood in our front yard.  This dogwood has served me well (and wildlife well also)...I still recall fondly the various species that came in the fall for the berries.  What attracted the goldfinches here was many handy perches as they came for the black oil sunflower seeds I'd put out.

February is for the Birds!

I didn't actually look back at old posts, but it seems to me come February, I start seeing more and more birds.  It could be that I've actually been home to look and spent more time snapping pictures...or it could be the 10 inches of snow that has blanketed the ground since Wednesday with another inch falling today.

Yesterday, I snapped a lot of photos, then took the time to crop and correct them in between cleaningand decluttering--I'm actually having a very productive weekend.  Today, I did even more around the house, and still managed to snap quite a few photos...and I even made a welcome home meal for Jeff who was away on business this weekend (I decided to stay home in hopes that I would winter sow the native seeds I'd collected this year...It didn't happen, but that is okay.  I got a lot done and still have plenty of time--although, if I don't do it next weekend, I'll start getting just a little ants--and next weekend is the Backyard Bird Count...good thing more birds are showing up just in time!)

Here are yesterday's photos: