Winter Storm Stella: Birds in the Snow

Although I have been thinking spring for a while, winter dealt us one of the biggest storms I can remember--so far, I believe we got a full two feet of snow!

Between my many treks out to shovel--with frequent breaks, I made sure to put out sunflower seed out for the birds.  I tried to place it where it had some protection from the snow, since it was constantly being buried by the newly falling snow--and inch or two per hour, I believe.

Needless to say, school was closed today--and will be again tomorrow.  Being snowed in has its benefits and one of them was being able to watch and photograph the variety of birds that ventured out into the snow for some free food.

Here are only some of the highlights--I've yet to go through them all:

       

 

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!!!

     

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:

Now They Show Up!

I think my numbers were down this year as compared to the last two that I did the Great Backyard Bird Count.  However, this morning, with a lot less light than I like for taking photographs, I saw twenty (count 'em), twenty mourning doves!  Now why weren't they around when I did the bird count?

I also saw three goldfinches later in the day after having only counted one during the time I was observing.   Last year, I had a whole branch filled with them (a rare sight for me anyway, but at least it happened during the count that year)!

Checking back, I realize that I saw the bluebird pair during the count last year.  I've yet to spot them checking out the bird boxes yet this year...but I hope to see them any day now.  I can wait, as long as they show up again and raise more broods here.  Spring can't be too far away.

Year in Review: 2012

It is that time of year again...and if I'm lucky, I'll get this posted before the new year (but no promises).

Despite the warm, nearly snow-less winter we had last year, I have a shot or two of winter from last January.  This year, late December, we had a couple of small storms that dropped about two or three inches of snow each, so we are up to about 6-8 inches.  That means this years photos will end with snow!

Here's hoping 2013 will be a good year for all.

Happy New Year!