George has talked in his blog about how COLD it has been here on the Cumberland Plateau. Our lows have been in the single digits (F) and highs in the 20's for several days now--with more to come. As George said, "We haven't been above freezing ALL year!" BUT--for me, the bad news is that none of this cold is bringing us much SNOW at all.. We've had several mornings where we had a 'tad' of snow flurries --but never much!!!!! DARN!!!!
Anyhow--- because of the extreme cold, our bird feeders have stayed VERY busy recently. My new header is just one of my favorite backyard birds... I did manage to capture several pictures this past week... Above is always a favorite (besides the bluebirds). This one is a gorgeous female NORTHERN CARDINAL. They really eat and PUFF UP in winter. But, even still, doesn't she look cold??? (I keep trying to sweep the snow off of the deck for them.) Below are more!!!
We always manage to get a bunch of Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES at our feeders. They always manage to dart in and out --and it's hard to get good pictures. However, I did catch this Nuthatch at the feeder.
Last year, I had 'oodles' of Pine Siskins. This year, I have lots of GOLDFINCHES... We also have House Finches --but many more Goldfinches than House Finches.
This male DOWNY WOODPECKER is so pretty... The Downy's LOVE the Suet Feeders.
The male NORTHERN CARDINAL 'thinks' he is hiding in the Rhododendron bush.... BUT--when it's as cold as it is, the Rhodies close their leaves making privacy impossible for the birds... (We can usually tell the temperature by watching the Rhododendrons open and close their leaves. Note also the tiny covering of snow we have!!!! Grrrrrr.)
Here's another little guy which loves to come to the feeders. AND--he is a quick one also--so it's hard to get a good picture. I did manage to capture this CAROLINA WREN at one of the feeders.
One of my favorite visitors is Pete, our RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. Pete and Petunia and their clan visit the feeders OFTEN during the day. I love this one of Pete eating upside down!!!
Tomorrow I'll feature two more of my favorite birds, the Pileated Woodpecker and the Eastern Bluebird... SO---come back for more tomorrow!!!!!
Happy January of Twenty Ten!!!!! Stay WARM --and please, send me some SNOW (not too much--just a few inches will do)!! HA HA!
Hugs,
