December 19, 2008
Snow days are a great time to see just how many of your feathered friends are using your bird feeders. You'll often spot birds that you don't usually see in your yard.Backyard tip of the week:
Take a moment during this snowy time of year to watch your backyard birds and to see what they do and where they feed during a snowstorm. You may be better able to help them survive the cold winter months by learning their habits and routines and by seeing just who is really out there. No matter what new birds you may find, a snowy backyard scene is a wonderful experience. Try sharing it with someone close to you. You're sure to love it!
Backyard sightings for last week:
Including northern cardinals, dark-eyed juncos, and white-throated sparrows. Carolina wrens, eastern goldfinches, house finches, purple finches. Red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, the tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, blue-jays, mourning doves, American crows, a few European starlings, some grey squirrels, and some white-tailed deer.
Cool sightings of the week:
Snow and ice fell from the sky overnight into Wednesday of this week, blanketing the backyard in it's winter splendor. Early in the morning, before I'd had a chance to freshen up the bird feeders, I found a wonderful variety of avian visitors to the new songbird feeder at the window. Along with the usual house finches, I spotted the white-breasted nuthatch. The black-capped chickadees also came, looking dapper in their usual striking colors, and obviously rounder than usual as their feathers were fluffed out to provide more protection from the cold. Before I knew it, the female cardinal joined the other birds at the little songbird feeder. A first ever sighting, catching a glimpse of the female northern cardinal so close to the bedroom window this past Wednesday was very cool!
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