TUFTED TITMOUSE
"Bad hair day?" This feisty little fellow is
very confident and fairly argumentative.
See what I mean? Notice the open beak, as he presents an off-camera associate of his with a series of epithets, hurled with much vim and vigor. In the interest of good taste, I decided to "bleep" the colorful language.
My, what big eyes you have!
The better to keep watch over the photographer, evidently.
He does love that suet!
NORTHERN CARDINAL
Obviously, the male cardinal...
so showy against a snowy backdrop.
And, the missus!
Female cardinal, in flight.
Early winter, before the bright green
onion grass turned brown.
BLUE JAY
"Hello - what's this? Fresh peanuts in the shell?"
"Wow, these must be the deluxe, jumbo-sized goobers!"
"But, with this sharp beak, all things are possible...
thanks, lady! Now, to get airborne!"
"Now, to tackle that plump peanut!"
"Finding peanuts in the snow? Priceless!
Now, if I could only remember where they were,
before the snow started flying."
"BRR! Maybe a little suet to warm up?"
So photogenic!
STARLINGS
Talk about juxtaposition ~ these greasy, noisy, pushy, rude, homely birds descend in sky-blackening hoards to raid seed and suet feeders. They waddle about the yard and granite steps, like they owned the place. And, they're not exactly hygienically-correct... leaving their deposits everywhere.
Their one good trait, during breeding season,
is that they consume enormous quantities of backyard
insects and are especially fond of slugs.
Oh, and when they line up, in this organized manner,
for a photo op... they're not so bad!
House Finch
Males and females.
Congenial, talkative little birds that frequently associate
with the house sparrows, conducting impromptu
sing-song sessions!
CAROLINA WREN
Not a great pic, but the only one, to date (camera-shy!).
AMERICAN ROBIN
Arrived back on January 26th, with a flock of about seven.
The others left, after a few days, but this hardy little guy remained... existing on our dry, wrinkled aronia berries, a few viburnum and holly berries and a bit of suet. He's still waiting for his "fair weather friends" to return.
CANADA GEESE
Practicing maneuvers this winter, for a trip they never took.
The recent arrival of red-winged blackbirds and grackles... massive numbers, who always seem to arrive en masse in one big, noisy gregarious group. The swamp is a huge attractant, especially to the blackbirds. When nesting season commences, the flocks will thin out and they'll each go back to their own kind. For now, my feeding stations are drawing in the hungry hoards.
If you missed the very large bird posting of 3/9/09 (10 birds were profiled), just keep on scrolling ~ it was posted as separate components, which may have baffled some readers... all I can say is, keep scrolling till you run out of birds. Have fun!Text & Photos ©Deb Lambert 2008/2009
New Garden Show Slated for March 29th Debut
