Two snowfalls within two weeks! Could Ms. Jeannie be any luckier?

These past few days brought four inches of snow and about an inch of ice which was much more than last time. Again, Ms. Jeannie marveled at the icy landscape surrounding her house.

And  again the birds proved to be one of the most enchanting elements of the whole production.

Recently, Ms. Jeannie watched a documentary called Birders, which followed a batch of bird watchers for one year in Central Park.

It was beautifully filmed and full of interesting information regarding birds and migration but the one thing that Ms. Jeannie really took away from it was to look and really observe the types of birds that are flying in and out of her own surroundings everyday. There all types of interesting characters who are there for all different reasons.

So armed with this new sense of insight Ms. Jeannie was sure to take an extra close look at the birds buzzing about in the snow. With the white landscape it was much easier to see  and identify the different types that had come calling to the great fill-up station in the sky (aka the bird feeder).

So over the course of one snow day this is what she saw…

For the past few weeks Ms. Jeannie was a little worried about her dove pair because she just kept seeing one – but alas in the snow both showed up together.

Speaking of pairs – Ms. Jeannie’s yard is full of cardinal couples…

She was a fast flyer and liked to hang upside down from the feeder. Ms. Jeannie usually saw her like this…

And last but not least is the mystery solved of these black birds that have been flocking in the neighborhood for months now. Usually Ms. Jeannie will see hundreds descend on the lawn at once but each time she’d go get her camera they’d fly up to the tree tops.  Exactly one month ago today – she took these pictures…

In such large numbers as they were they made these very loud noises – like a huge stadium full of choral singers all singing at different times. Of course once the birds flew up high they were two far away to identify. But every time there was any threat of rain (or snow!) in the forecast here they’d come by the hundreds.

With the help of the snow and their swarm landing at the feeder, Ms. Jeannie was able to get an up close view of the bunch for an accurate indentification…

In different light throughout the day the blackbirds tended to change colors from all black to dark dark brown with blue green heads…

They weren’t shy when it came to sharing seed – that’s for sure. When they  took over the feeder – they really took it over – kicking all the other birds out of the area.  These birds were named after Massachusetts naturalist and author Thomas Mayo Brewer who was friends with fellow bird lover John James Audubon.

In addition to having a bird named after him Brewer also left behind other creature legacies that carry his name such as the hairy tailed mole (aka Brewer’s mole)…

and the very handsome Brewer’s Duck…

Sounds like one lucky guy! If you could have an animal named after you, which would you choose? Ms. Jeannie would most probably pick a bird as well and if not an animal then a flower. If she were as lucky as Mr. Brewer then perhaps it could be both! 

Now that the great thaw is occurring today we are warming up once more here in the South and all the snow is melting away. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Now we have the spring daffodils to look forward to. These little beauties  were not intimidated by this last blast of winter weather in the least. Looks like a season change is on its way!