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…
The House Finch originally from the American Southwest was introduced to the East Coast as a caged bird in the 1940’s. Now they are a common sight all across the United States, Canada and Mexico. This one is a boy because of his red coloring – the females are just brown and white with speckles.
Mourning Dove. These are Ms. Jeannie’s favorites in the yard because of the cooing sound that they make.
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…
Male cardinal. The brighter the red the more attractive he is to the ladies:)
Female Cardinal. In the wild cardinals can live up to 15 years, and they are the official “state bird” of seven states – the only species to carry such an honor.
Blue jay! They also mate for life and there is no color difference between boy and girl varieties.
Chipping Sparrows – these are one of the most common birds with an estimated population of close to one billion.
A female Red-Bellied Woodpecker
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…
Ta dah – Brewer’s Blackbirds!
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.
Thomas Mayo Brewer (1814-1880)
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)…
Hairy Tailed Mole. Illustration courtesy of mnh.si.edu
and the very handsome Brewer’s Duck…
Brewer’s Duck photograph courtesy of ofo.ca
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!
Your bird photos are wonderful! I’m finding it difficult to maintain any enthusiasm for snow at this point but, then, we won’t be seeing daffodils for months. Enjoy your bit of winter!
LikeLike
Oh hag in there my dear! One day soon the snow will go and the flowers will grow:) One thing learned from Ms. Jeannie’s cattle ranch friends is that the snow brings with it good nutrients for farm animals, grasses and soil which means that this spring you will see a bounty of bright green grasses, happy grazers and a bevy of beautiful flowers:)
LikeLike