My Bird Feeders (The Big Picture #2)

If you've been reading my blog awhile, you may have seen my post called "The Big Picture and the Big Owl".  Or maybe not, because that one didn't get a lot of hits.  So here's a link, if you missed it.

Back to my topic... the idea for "The Big Picture" series is to share with you some of the settings where I take my close-up photos.  The main place I do-- especially during the winter, is looking out our windows at our bird feeders.  One of my readers commented on FB that my last post was like taking a virtual walk (And, I have to add, this reader just celebrated her 90th birthday - Happy Belated Birthday Tommie! I hope if I make it to 90 I'll be as sharp as you are-- "virtual walk", indeed!)  

Okay, again, back to our topic!  My bird feeders...

 This is the view from our kitchen window.  There's a crab apple tree on the right, 3 feeders on a pole in the middle, and a bird table on the left.  The birds also eat on the railing and the deck floor.

We have 3 windows that look out onto the bird feeding area.  Next, we'll go to the bedroom window.  I don't typically take many photos from this window because I have to stand on a chair to do so.

It is a good vantage point, though, for seeing the bird table without any railings in the way.  The bird table is an old wooden picnic table.  It offers the songbirds two levels of feeding (table-top and on the ground) plus good protection from the elements, as well as from hawks who might be looking for a meal.  We put the evergreen boughs around the sides and back of the table before the first snowstorm, pushing the stems into the soil to hold them in place.

As you can see, it's a very popular spot...

 for more than just birds!

 I know sometimes deer visit at night, because I see their footprints in the morning when I go out to put more food on the table, but it was surprising to see these two in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday!

Squirrels (both grey and red) visit as well.

Ruby was here when the deer came, but she did not see them, because she was in the kitchen with me at the time.  She is too short to see out the kitchen window, but she does like to watch the birds from the dining room.  That window sill is just the right height for her, a perfect chin rest!  Might as well relax while you're bird watching.

This is the "big picture" from these windows:

You can see we have lots of trees for the birds to fly into and out of when going to the feeders. 
Did you notice we add to the hiding spots by putting our Christmas tree out for the birds when we are done with it?  That makes another protected spot during a snowstorm.  I throw some seeds for the ground feeding birds like juncos and sparrows under it, too.  When it's not snowing, I throw seed right on the deck.  I was delighted to see a little flock of Pine Siskins busily eating there on Friday.

The Chickadees and some of the other small birds like to get a seed from the feeders and bring it over to our Japanese Maple Tree to eat. 

It's fun to watch them so close.  Though they are only a couple of feet away, it's a little hard to take pictures of them there, because of all the twigs!  Sometimes they co-operate by sitting in just the right spot.

Mac likes the dining room windows, too.   He watched the birds on Friday- in this photo, 2 Juncos on the ground.

Too bad he can't see over by the bird table -- the Mourning Doves are cleaning up the cracked corn.

How many do you see?  I count 11.  There are more in the apple tree...

The Doves are hard to pick out because they are the same color as the branches, but you should also be able to see 3 male Cardinals in the Hemlock tree.

Here's what to look for, if you are trying to count doves! (I see 9 in the photo above).

 The Apple and the Hemlock trees are great places for the birds to hang out while they are resting, or waiting for me to replenish the food!  I put it out every morning, and usually again mid-afternoon so they have a good meal before night fall.  During stormy weather I often put it out 3 or more times a day.

So, if you are going to virtual bird with me, how about finding the birds in the next few photos?  I'll post the photos 'extra-large' to help you!

Look for 5 American Tree Sparrows and 1 Dark-eyed Junco

There are 5 Blue Jays in this one... one is a little hard to find, but he's there!

One Chickadee, 2 Tree Sparrows, 1 Downy Woodpecker, and 2 Goldfinches.

Four Goldfinches and 1 Downy Woodpecker

Two female Cardinals, 6 Tree Sparrows, 1 Goldfinch, and 1 Junco

One thing I realized as I was taking photos for this post is that it's much more fun to watch the birds in person than 'virtually'.  They are constantly on the move so in my photos, you aren't seeing the action, nor are you seeing all of the birds.  Well, Ruby says there is lots more room at the window and she is willing to share.

Virtual Birding

During the night the wind blew and lots of snow came down, so the first thing I did when I got up was feed the birds.  I was not even back inside the house before they started coming... the chickadees first, then juncos, and so on.

As I watched out my kitchen window, more and more birds came.  Since church was canceled because of the snow, I thought it would be a good day to keep track of all the birds I could see.  Then I thought of a blog I follow called "I Love Shelling". The lady who writes it sometimes takes videos or photos along the beach in Sanibel, Florida and posts them on her blog for people to go "virtual shelling." Well, if you can go virtual shelling, how about virtual birding?

First, here's how it looks from my kitchen window.  You can see the shells that just might have been my inspiration for the 'virtual birding' idea.  Oh, and hey, if you'd rather go shelling on a nice warm beach instead of looking at snowy bird photos, just click here and there's a video near the bottom of the "I Love Shelling" page!

Here's a list of the birds I saw today:
Chickadees, Juncos, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, House Finches, Goldfinches, Tree Sparrows, House Sparrow, Bluebirds, White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Mourning Doves, and Cedar Waxwings.  Now, I must say that there are not photos of every kind on the list.  But see how many you can identify in the following photos:

There are 4 kinds in this photo. 

Here's a close up of the little one in the back of the above photo:

Two kinds here.  The one on the left has some leucistic feathers on his head!

Whoops, time for a short break while the snowblower man comes thru!

And the first two birds back after that were:

Now, let's see what might be happening out the back windows... looks like there are birds in the crab apple tree!

There are three (of one kind) in the photo above.  Here's a closer look in the next photo:

But wait, what's that?  Who's singing, "Gone away are the bluebirds?"  There are some here today!

Can you identify the three birds in the next shot?

There are two fairly easy to see birds next, plus parts of two Blue Jays.... can you find them?

I couldn't leave out this pretty female Cardinal.

Or the handsome Hairy Woodpecker.

How about three more cute chickadees?

It's pretty hard to capture chickadees in a still photo, so here's a short video of them flitting around the feeder.

In the afternoon, I took a hike on my snowshoes to see what I could see away from the house.

I was hoping to see a golden-crowned kinglet in the snow-covered hemlocks.  Even if there had been any around, they probably heard me coming.  The snow had an icy crust on the top that made each of my steps very loud!  I paused to listen once and awhile, but I only saw one nuthatch and one chickadee and....I think, three snow geese.  I was in the woods, looking up-- when three large (goose-sized) birds flew over.  I got my binoculars up in time to see they were all white with black wing-tips, but I didn't get a great look at them because of the trees.  We usually see snow geese in large flocks, up high, during migration. Seemed a little odd to see only 3, and flying lower than they do when migrating.

So, don't feel bad if you can't identify all the birds in my photos -- I quite often am left wondering what it was that I saw!  It was just really neat to see those 3 large white birds.... whatever they were!  I hope you enjoyed your virtual birding with me, too.

Oh, and I also have to share this cute fellow.  Not a bird, but he was at the bird feeders today!