This morning the red-bellied woodpecker returned to the feeder, no doubt on account of my birthday, which is today. He is so big he has to kind of hang underneath and peck at the seeds. The minute I opened the door to take a picture, he flew away, but here he is in the tree:
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| A fine fellow! |
It's snowing today, and this seems to bring out the mallards...or more likely, I just chanced to see their large group floating by today:
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| Some of the mallards |
I do remember when we had that blizzard and there were gulls and ducks all over the place...I suppose it depends on the food, which perhaps is more abundant during a storm. It's not very stormy now, however...just snowing steadily.
Mark and I had a discussion the other day about ducks' feet and how they stay warm. He said their veins are wrapped around the artery that goes down each leg, thus providing a heat exchange that keeps their feet from freezing. Interesting!
The main visitors of late to the feeder are the chickadees. They seem to be getting plumper and plumper...little round balls, they are, especially when grooming. The female cardinal was also there a bunch this morning:
Here she is with the mallards:
Haven't seen the titmice lately, nor the blue jay. I know we have a pileated woodpecker around here, too, but I've never seen him.
Well, I'll be darned: cue the blue jay. He just came to the feeder.
If one waits long enough...
Here's a tip, this one from my friend Kimberli: when you see a bird with your naked eye that you then want to observe with binoculars, don't look down at the binoculars and then try to find the bird. Keep looking at the bird, and bring the binoculars up to your eyes. Voila! This is a very good tip.
I'm going snowshoeing today with some friends, and will have binoculars in hand. Maybe some new birds (or old friends) will grace me with their presence! Wish me luck.
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