Evening Visitor

The other day right before dusk, I heard the chirping of a bird right outside our bay window.  I don't recognize the call of many (any?) birds, so I went to the window to try to associate the sound with a face.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a Carolina wren that was making a late call to the black oil sunflower seeds I've been putting out.  He was on the step of the deck doing a funny little hope with a half-turn accompanied by a series of chirps.  It was dark but I got a video of it.

Today, I spotted him earlier and got a better shot or two:

Another Snow Day: More Bird Pictures

After shoveling out, I went around back, put some more food out for the birds (even though there was still some left), then, instead of going inside, I sat down on the stoop (with a cardboard box to keep from freezing) with my camera. The birds hadn't gone far while I was putting the food out, and soon started coming back to feed. The chickadees, of course were first, with the juncos and nuthatch not too far behind. Surprisingly the cardinals came fairly close with only a little trepidation. The snow was coming down still, but it was well worth sitting there enjoying the show, and getting several pictures worth sharing.

Flurry of Activity

This morning, the activity at the feeder caught my eye and I took some time to watch (which I should do more often). A blue jay performed a fairly graceful leap and a twisting turn, a branch swayed back and forth, something had spooked the birds. Approaching the window, I saw a squirrel scampering through the snow toward the feeder. The activity resumed.

I grabbed my camera and tried to get some shots of the squirrel. I brave little wren (which I haven't seen since I posted the earlier picture) perched on the branch below the feeding squirrel. Cardinals, jays, a wren, and two squirrels all feeding together. Suddenly, another bird flew toward the feeder--everyone scattered. As I tried to figure out what kind of new bird was visiting my feeder, it took off to perch on a tree on the edge of the property.

At some point as it was flying off and I noticed everything else had disappeared, I realized it was a hawk. Seeing it perched in the distance confirmed it. It was difficult to get a clear shot, but I'll post what I did get before it flew off, empty handed, about 5 minutes later. Not that I wanted to see it take a bird or squirrel, but it has to eat too.



Before the event.



...and after the missed attack. Perhaps there were too many choices, but, for what ever the reason, the hawk landed empty handed:

Carolina Wren

While putting away laundry on this rainy day, I became aware of a birdsong outside. It continued and was obviously pretty close based on how loud it was. Catching my interest, I looked out the window trying to spot it. Not really expecting to, I was surprised to see it just out side the window near the corner of the deck. Of course, I ran for my camera (something I should've probably done first).

Shooting pictures through he window is not the best way to get a shot, but after a few failed, blurry attempts, I got this shot right before it flew off. I'm almost sure it is a Carolina wren, but I'll get a lot of "second" opinions on Wildlife Gardeners forum.