A Different Kind of Visitor...................

Today was a full out blizzard on and off. The snow was so thick, blowing, that I could not see across the road. I cleaned and filled the feeders several times. At first no one was about, then in the grape vines lots of twittering started as the Chickadees got hungry. They love sitting in there in the shelter. Then the Blue Jay scouts announced that the feeder was full and they all came down with a whole flock of Starlings. I had to go out and refill. My Crow came to call and I caught 3 of them at the feeder. Wow, that has never happened and so I threw out 1/2 a loaf of bread. That was demolished in a couple of minutes flat. So out I go and refill. I got a lot of pictures.



The Crows had to be really hungry to actually come to the feeder. They sat in the tree very close by.



The woodpeckers were in and stuffing their faces. None of them are as cautious as they used to be.


Look at this little guy, and his tail.


The Cardinal actually came down today, he has been really skittish of late



The Starlings in this next picture reminds me of a scene in Interview With The Vampire. They are such pretty birds when you look at the individuals




Meanwhile inside, someone was in my way

I had to keep evicting her.

I was happy to see the Tuffted Titmouse come in today. They are such pretty little things.



Someone else was being a pest and came by to see if the feeders had been filled again. Yes for the third time today.

So it was a very big surprise to see a hawk sitting in my tree. It was snowing so hard that I didn't get too many good shots.



I saw him fly over later in the day. I loved seeing him and would love some better pictures but I hope he doesn't come back. I don't want him to eat my birds.The Junco likes to eat off the ground and there is always lots down there for him.

The Chickadee's are always here, faithful little things


I love it when I see someone different come in, and I love that they all know to come here. I love how they sound out the alarm that the feeders are full and within a few minutes they have cleared their plates.

Monday storm.................

These pictures were taken Monday. We had a snow day on Monday it was snowy but clear first thing and the birds came in for a time.

It got worse as the day went on.


I feel so bad for the birds when it gets really snowy and blustery. Our grapevines are a good place to sit and eat out of the wind. The bigger birds prefer the tree.

The Junco's are all puffy.

This is a good view down 9th st first thing in the morning.

Everyone likes the fat stuff, the peanuts and suet. I will have to go out as soon as possible to restock. Boy these critters are getting through the stuff. I know come Spring there will be one heck of a mess by the feeders. I expect the small rodents and things that live under the deck will enjoy a lot of the droppings. Thats why Boots (the cat) hangs out around there.

The same view down the road later in the morning and for the rest of the day, it just got worse and all the birds and squirrels stayed away.

The Mourning Doves hung around longer than the others, they don't like to give up.

The front trees heavy with snow, got more throughout the day.

Before that the Blue Jays were stuffing faces as full as they could, they knew what was coming.

The apple tree was heavy with fruit. I wish that the animals would eat more of them. I think that the birds do get a bit as I hear them in the mornings chattering in the tree


If the deer came this side of the main road into town they would LOVE these apples. They stay over in the woods mainly though. There is a very busy road a few blocks down with woods the other side. Its got a stream running through and is sheltered so they mainly stay over there. On rare occassions we get them in here. A few times the odd bear rambles through but I am never lucky enough to see any of that. I bet the bunnies like the wind falls though.

Return of the Crows..............

Well, not just the Crows. The birds have been hungry because its gotten cold again. It has been warm so long that we thought it never would snow. Finally it did. Anyway, the Crow flys over now and then to check things out but has really not stayed long. He did stop by yesterday though and sat close enough for me to get a few nice shots. Such a handsome bird.


Last winter I observed some of the Crows hiding snacks for later. The Blue Jays do the same thing.


I like to be able to get a twinkle in the eye when I do close ups. Sometimes I can do that, but not often with birds.


The hardest one to get any life into the eyes is the Chickadee for me. They are small and with the black around the eyes, it seems near impossible to catch the light.


Chickadees are also hard to catch sitting still. They are so busy. These guys today were cold and so were lovely and fluffy.

The Tufted Titmouse has a larger eye, and sometimes it's possible to catch the light. They are also nice and fluffy and so cute.


Today besides a bunch of Blue Jays a lone Starling was hanging out but never came down while I was there. He has been hanging out for a few days now.

The Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker (I still cant believe thats a real name) was visiting us. This one was really brilliant red. Scarlet really.


A really beautiful bird who liked the suet. There is a new suet with seeds that only a Blue Jay has tried so far.

The Cardinals have been shy for some reason. They have never had a problem before but this year they seem to want to be alone when they come in and don't like it if I am watching. Must be a young couple because the old ones never had a problem. A nice variety came to visit today.



The Squirrels kept the birds at bay for a time but were on to other things so didn't hog the feeders all day and I now have enough feeders to let everyone have a turn. This Blue Jay is trying the new bird feeder

The Yellow Belly fled to the tree

Thats it for today. I guess I wont be doing Spring clean up any time soon. That's Ok I have sorted my sewing supplies and moved my fabric back into the dining room. Maybe I will soon have a few things to share on My Pretty Things. Its about time I got a few things done.