Friday, February 06, 2015

winter birds in my backyard

goldfinch IMG_1524acardinal female IMG_1562a titmouse IMG_1504ablue jay IMG_1467a black capped chickadee IMG_1487aslate colored junco IMG_1515a chipping sparrow IMG_1496acardinal male IMG_1512a The big bluejays get first dibs at my feeder, while little birds wait in the trees for them to have their fill and move on. I love the little catkin-like buds on my star magnolia where the little birds wait. With all this snow I am trying to keep the feeders full. I should get a bigger feeder because the birds empty it in a couple hours.

The big guys in the sky are the red tailed hawks. A pair hangs out in our back yard. I took these photos while the female was perched watching my chickens through the new glass roof. Look at her craning her neck to see in!

red tailed hawk IMG_1459ared tailed hawk IMG_1444

10 comments:

Lea said...

Great bird photos!

Unknown said...

Trying to find an email for you. I work at a Local to boston Garden center I am trying to put together a veggie sustainable seminar/workshop and i would love to include you. please email me or comment here

Anonymous said...

great photos!!

Marian (LondonUK) said...

Hi, great photos they are so beautiful, I love birds. We have 11 different types visiting our suburban London garden, the newest recruit is a Goldcrest. I was amazed to see it. The cheekiest and friendliest is the Robin who just sits about 6 inches away and watches me fill the feeders. If you are feeling the Winter blues or World blues they certainly lift your spirits.
Marian (LondonUK)

mw said...

I think your chipping sparrow is an American tree sparrow, which we are inundated with. They have a yellow lower beak and dark upper beak, and a black smudge in the center of their chests.

kathy said...

Oh yes. Definitely a tree sparrow. It has a rufous eye stripe and yellow lower beak. I enjoyed reading about this bird. They are here in the winter (like the juncos) the migrate up to the Northern tree / tundra line to breed. Thanks! I'll correct the photo title tonight.

kathy said...

You can email me at kathy@ skippysgarden.com

MH said...

Lovely photos! Just watch those hawks and your chickens. With as much snow as we've had, they are looking at all possibilities for food. I'm thinking of building a protected chicken tunnel after losing one of mine to a hawk last week. The hens miss their free-range time.

Lady of LaMancha said...

Great photos! What kind of camera setup do you use? I need to get myself a new lense for my Nikon, but my greatest problem is that birds of prey don't sit and wait for their photos to be taken! My latest post has long-distance photos of two endangered eagles, although the quality is not very good: http://ladyoflamancha.blogspot.com.es/2015/02/endangered-species.html

pussikats said...

What beautiful looking birds you have in your part of the world!