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Still feeding the birds and the squirrels. I've had a few customers taking a sip from the birdbath, but no bathing going on. I continue to toss out some peanuts for the blue jays. Sometimes they get to them before the squirrels, sometimes not. Today I think it was a tie score. The suet with pepper does not seem to appeal to the squirrels. We've had a few very windy cold days, then a little snow and I had very few customers. The morning after the snow, I had a ton of birds, especially dark eyed Juncos. The downy woodpecker is a frequent visitor and we've also seen the Northern Flicker, as well as the Red Bellied Woodpecker. Only the downy hangs around long enough for a photo op.
We have non-stop action. I've mentioned the dumb doves which keep flying into our kitchen. Duh,, In addition to the usual crowd we now have half-dozen crows showing up. Of course, we have our usual one to two dozen squirrels of all colors that are always helping to keep the snow/ground a little cleaner. Lainey, do you clean your bird bath in the winter? Donna, scrapes it out regularly with a wire brush and daily changes the water. I haven't notice any birds bathing but since its heated and clean, they may be doing it. We did see some very small tracks in the snow at the front of the house that we can't identify. You never know around here.
I've never had blue birds in our yard though folks not far from me have them at their feeders. I've had a fair amount of activity a few mornings, and have noticed more birds taking a drink of water from the bird bath.
I've been out and about often looking for winter ducks/birds. Folks who bird watch or photograph birds are friendly. They are quick to offer hints/tips as to where you might see a winter visitor. While out and about, I was directed as to where I might spot these birds. Females I believe, were hanging around a local fort near the ocean. Snow buntings. They were pecking around on the somewhat dead grass, moved over to the rocks when I approached. Made for a better photo. At the risk of oversharing photos...here's one of them. Also spotted a horned lark this week. I doubt either will show up in my yard...........
Not in my yard, but spotted a Peregrine Falcon near the water yesterday. Very cool dude!
From Wiki: The Peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive),[4] making it the fastest bird in the world and the fastest member of the animal kingdom.[5][6][7] According to a National Geographic TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph)
01-21-2020, 08:32 AM
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