Winter Bird Photographs

So far this winter has been one for the record books! It looks like we may break the record for recorded snow fall. We have also had record breaking lows and wind chill. My poor birds are having a hard time surviving the cold. In less than twenty-four hours I found three dead birds on my patio.

There were two house sparrows and a male cardinal. It makes me incredibly sad to see this. The temperatures are dropping even lower tonight; I hope I won't find more.

The birds are staying closer to the feeders as the temperatures plummet. This has provided some great backyard bird photography opportunities for me. Here are some of my favorites from today!

I was shooting from my kitchen sliding glass door, which was hazy from the bright sunshine.

The sunshine and the reflection from the snow made it so much easier to capture their dark eyes. It is frustrating trying to photograph them on the dull gray days, which seem to be almost every day during the winter!

 I love using dishes for their food. It makes the pictures a little more interesting than regular bird feeders and they enjoy eating from them, actually preferring them over the tube feeders.

My neighbor's wood fence makes a great backdrop!

 I thought I would have a little photography fun and put out a few stems of fake spring branches. It took a little while, but finally a few of the birds landed on them!

 This is my favorite shot of the day! I used this image tonight for my new business cards. I love my little chickadees! I hope they survive the weather!

I can't wait until spring!

Mockingbird Tales and a Little Coffee Humor

I have enjoyed photographing the birds today, especially the mockingbird! It was freezing and we had a few flurries so the feeders were at full capacity!

I thought this caption was fitting for this picture! I made it for my daughter because she is so not a morning person and this has been a running joke in our family for several years! I think I'll make an 8x10 of it for her to hang over her coffee maker!

It has been so cold the last few days and as soon as I fill the birdbath it freezes. I kept seeing the birds land on it trying to get a drink and I felt bad so I finally pulled out the heated birdbath. I got this one for $2.00 at a garage sale a few years ago. I have tried using it in the past and the birds wouldn't drink from it.

As soon as I put it out, the mockingbird landed and was drinking. None of the other birds were brave enough to venture in for a drink. I need to find something sturdy to hold it so that I can place it further out in the yard. Hopefully the other birds would use it then.

The mockingbird is new to my yard and he has quickly become a favorite to watch! He also chases away the starlings so he occasionally gets special treats of mealworms! I want him to stick around!

No Winter Whining

There is a new meme called, " No Winter Whining- Finding Color in Winter".  It is Jen from Muddy Boot Dreams and  Heather from, Life is a garden.

Winter is in full force today and the temperatures have plummeted! We are under a weather advisory due to wind chills to -20°, but I'm not whining! As the snow fell and the wind blew, I sat for a few hours bird watching! Camera in hand, of course!

It is kind of hard to complain about the weather when I'm safe inside all cozy and warm and especially when I am watching the birds! They just make me happy!

So here is my contribution to Finding Color in Winter!

Hope you enjoy!

Okay, so maybe a little bit of whining, but only because I wanted a caption and could think of nothing clever to say!

You can follow No Winter Whining on Facebook and Pinterest, Jen has the links on her blog post!

He Acts Like He Owns the Place!

 What crazy winter weather we have in Indiana! Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 63°! What a glorious break for those of us who get a little weary of the grey winter skies!Yesterday the temperatures started dropping and we had torrential rains with flooding. This morning when I went out to fill the bird feeders it was snowing and 16°!

I am still enjoying my mockingbird visitor! Here he/she is eating chunky peanut butter! I thought I would put a few meal worms, seeds and peanuts in a yellow cup to see who my first brave visitor would be. The chickadee was first but too fast to capture and the mockingbird was next. He is beginning to act like he owns the place!

Jan. 2 -More Winter Bird Feeding

 It is frigid weather here with a low of 9° last night! I was hoping for another mild winter like we had last year but it looks like we are in for a cold and snowy one!

 When I get up in the morning the birds are waiting for me.

 I had five male cardinals in the tree yesterday! They stop me in my tracks with their brilliant red feathers. I hope their spectacular beauty never becomes commonplace to me!

 The goldfinches will stay on their sock feeder while I fill the other feeders in the same tree.

The woodpeckers have now discovered the goodies on the front side of the tree! They prefer the suet dipped pine cones! I need to pick up more lard and peanut butter on my next trip to the grocery store to make more since we may be in for a long harsh winter!

Of Blizzards and Birds

Indiana had our first major snow storm of the winter season today. We were under a blizzard warning but most of the major snow and wind was south of me! We only had about four or five inches of snow and thankfully no one in my family had to venture out!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a new winter bird feeding station for a Lowe's Creative Ideas project. Since we had snow in the forecast, I went outside yesterday and replaced some of the food on the tree. It had been warm and rainy and some of the homemade suet had started molding and smelled sour.  I added more suet dipped pine cones and a few lights and ornaments to the tree. I also washed the tiny clay pots and put plain peanut butter in them.

Usually when it snows the birds gather at my feeders in large numbers and I wanted the tree to be ready for them!

It is beautiful flocked with snow!

  I took the pictures through my sliding glass doors that looked like this most of the day! There was also blowing snow that made getting good pictures even more difficult!

 Even though the pictures are not the best quality, I wanted to show the birds that landed on the tree today. It was such a joy to watch them so close to the house!

 The little chickadees are my favorites and they were in and out of the tree all day!

 I was thrilled when they started eating the peanut butter from the clay pots! I was glad that I took the time to wash and refill them on Christmas day!

 The dark-eyed juncos also frequented the tree once they figured out how to maneuver the branches. They are usually ground feeders. 

 I had several mesh bags saved in the pantry and hung a few of them on the tree with home made suet bars in them.

 The chickadees came to the same spot all day and conveniently feasted on suet and peanut butter!

 Here is a female dark-eyed junco eating seeds from the suet dipped pine cone.

 The chickadees also ate seeds from the pine cones.

 Juncos are very difficult to photograph, especially on cloudy days because their eyes are so hard to capture. I don't like bird pictures if I can't clearly see their eyes so these were heavily photoshopped to lighten them enough to see the eyes.

 Same with the little chickadees and their black caps and dark eyes.

 I put a few more lights on the tree yesterday and finally plugged them in. I couldn't wait to see the lights twinkling in the snow and the sweet little birds on the light covered tree.

 I found out this morning that my sweet and cautious husband had unplugged the lights and brought the extension cord inside. He thought it might be hazardous to have lights on in the snow if the high winds blew the tree over. Better safe than sorry, but I was disappointed that I didn't have the lights on in these pictures of the precious chickadee.

The woodpecker landed on the back side of the tree and was also difficult to capture. I'm hoping once he is comfortable landing on the tree that he will venture to the front side!

The robins were in the yard in large numbers devouring the berries from the Bradford and Cleveland pear trees.

A few months ago I read that cardinals eat pumpkin seeds. I love cardinals, especially in the winter and since seed is so expensive I try to save and be frugal however I can! So, rather than throw the pumpkins in the composter, I busted them open and left them on the ground. It isn't very attractive and several times I have looked out the window and regretted that decision. I no longer do! This is a terrible picture, but it is proof that they will eat the seeds! Hopefully more people will save their fall pumpkins for the cardinals during these snowy winter months when their food supply is more scarce! I'm hoping to catch them eating it again when the weather conditions are more favorable.

 I hope everyone is safe today after the severe weather down south yesterday and the winter storms up north today! It has definitely been an eventful two days of crazy weather!

And I wanted to wish you all a belated...

I hope that you were all blessed to be with those you love!

Also a huge thank you to Shirley from Shirls Garden Watch blog for mentioning Robin's Nesting Place on her blog! Shirl and I both have a fondness and fascination for the birds!