Wait, there's more!

I managed to get a couple of pretty nice shot of the Hermit Thrush...finally; do click to enlarge and see the Thrush loveliness.

I also got to hear them;
there were three or four working the berries! And they do sound like wind-chimes...or a burbling brook. Sweet! Is that unusual, to see so many at once?

I've been hanging around the house in my jammies for two days...with some sort of crud. No, not H1N1, but I am sick. So, in between sleeping, snuffing-up warm saline-water and sneezing 100 times a day...I'm trying to watch the birds...when I can; I can hardly look out at the bright snow. It makes my eyes tear and sends me into a sneezing fit. Ugh

We just had the first real snow of the season, which brought all manner of birds to the feeders...including hoards of both House Sparrows and European Starlings. This time of year I find the Starlings awfully pretty...but still pretty awful. Those, along with the Grackles, Blackbirds (Red-winged and maybe otherwise) and the Eurasian Collared Doves are eating me out of house and home. I cannot figure out how to discourage them...and they come in droves!

But also here today is the Hairy Woodpecker; I got another bad shot of him, but you can see, at least, that my home-made squirrel baffle is still in operation. I need to move that pole though, I don't have a clear shot of the feeder from my window. Arrgggg...

And guess who else stopped in;
the White-winged Dove! Lordy, I do hope this one finds a warmer place to stay real soon...the last one that came around this late, froze it's feet off. Seriously; it was really sad.

Here's an interesting shot;
which birds do not belong? Can you name all four (in spite of the lousy shot?)

FYI (the birds are listed in the labels for this post. As always, click to enlarge the photos...

Today was a Snow-day

So, I’d say I know I’m a birder because I had a snow day today and stayed home from work feeding birds and watching them the whole day long! I fed them often and tried very hard to keep those voracious Red-winged Blackbirds from mobbing every place the little songbirds tried to eat; to the point that I spent a couple hours at the back door where I finally spread seed just on the other side of the glass door. It’s fun to watch them get so full, it looks like their chests are puffed out in pride from cleaning their plates. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Pink-butts for an hour or two in the morning, too!

Today, I watched what I believe to be:

• Dozens of Dark-eyed, Slate, and Oregon, Pink-sided and Red-backed Juncos (the white-winged or ones with white wing-bars were not to be seen today)
• A couple Black-capped Chickadees (Mtn. Chickas must be in the Mountains!)
• Bunches of Pine Siskin (or what I think are Pine Siskins)
• Several many American Goldfinch
• Perhaps six Gray-crowned and maybe a Brown-capped Rosy Finch (what I call the Pink-butts)
• Lots of House Finches
• A half-dozen Cassin’s Finch
• One or two House Sparrows
• One or two what I think are Savannah Sparrows (they have yellow cheeks)
• 2-3 Downy Woodpeckers
• 2-3 Hairy Woodpeckers
• A couple dozen Eurasian Collared Doves
• About a hundred Red-winged Blackbirds
• Two American Crows

Generally I also see 2-3 White-breasted Nuthatch, a few Evening Grosbeak, several Purple Finches, American Robins, Black-billed Magpies, Northern Flickers, the occasional Steller's Jay and the usual Common Grackles who seemed to be missing from the blackbird mob today. Once in awhile, a Hawk (Sharp-shinned?) and a Great Horned Owl stop by for lunch.

What a lovely way to spend a snow-day; I heard geese go by overhead...
I love that!