It has been very cold, and the local critters came out looking for food on this sunny morning. This is the first time that a crow came up onto the deck. It looks like it needs a bath, but all the water is frozen.
It snowed last night, but only about an inch. By afternoon, the snow melted and/or evaporated. A number of small birds (Dark-eyed Junco, Marsh Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse), and a Blue Jay visited the bird feeder. A Red-bellied Woodpecker chased the Blue Jay away. Later on a Squirrel got up onto the bird feeder to feast on some sunflower seeds.
Individual images in the slideshows can be viewed here.
The predicted winter snowstorm didn’t happen. When I woke up there was barely a dusting of snow on the ground. Once the sun came out there were lots of birds at the feeders. Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, Marsh Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, House Finch, Tufted Titmouse, and Northern Cardinal. I wasn’t able to get any suet at the meat market this week. They gave me some pork fat instead. Initially the birds ignored it. The Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse and Marsh Wren finally started to nibble on it.
Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.
Critters on my patio and in my backyard. The bird feeder and the area below was busy (Mourning Dove, Yellow-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, House Finch, American Goldfinch, and Northern Cardinal). One of the relatively new birds to visit is the Yellow-breasted Nuthatch. It like the woodpeckers are attracted to the suet. The squirrels stayed on the ground going after the Black Walnuts. Later in the afternoon one of the neighborhood cats stopped by causing the birds to fly away. The deer look awfully scruffy. Later in the evening I got an image of the waxing crescent moon. All of these image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a 1.4x teleconverter.
Individual images in the slide shows can be viewed here.
Birds (Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse) and Squirrels feeding on my patio. The squirrels have stayed off the bird feeder ever since I gave them last years crop of black walnuts. They carry the walnuts off to be buried as part of their winter food cache. Later in the evening, I got an image of the frozen bird bath. The pump was not able to maintain the fountain, but the underwater LED lights were still on.
Individual images from the slide show can be viewed here.