Because of the heavy snow I'm cleaning the bird feeders every 15 mins a couple photos (update x 2)

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Thu Dec 24, 2015, 04:54 PM - Edit history (3)

Newest photos on the top. The top photo was an oops. It is 2/3 of our Loch Ness yard decoration and the decorative mushroom feeder if you look close along the top of the fence. That is the view we have of the forest from our family room: http://www.fontenelleforest.org/

The second third and fourth photos are taken from our dinning room.

The snow is stopped and we are heading out. It will be several hours before I can reply to any questions.

OS








About an hour ago. I'll have some more later.

[TwilightGardener]

1. Love those northern flickers. I have one that hangs around and hammers

on my porch joists.

[passiveporcupine]

27. I had a log home with log home siding on the attic gables

A flicker decided it was aged enough to look for food (and it really was needing to be replaced) and pecked a hole clear through to the attic!

[rhett o rick]

29. In some areas where there isn't enough natural places for homes they will peck holes in homes.

I had to help a neighbor lady as one pecked 5 or 6 holes in her siding. I patched them and stapled up reflective streamers to scare them off. I looked into make a bird house for them but it was quite complicated as their nests get raided by starlings.

[TwilightGardener]

31. The one I have that hangs around will sometimes spend the night in a wooden nest platform

I built under the porch overhang. He (or she) tossed out some dried up dead baby sparrow hatchlings left in the abandoned nest, first--a sad little bit of housekeeping.

[passiveporcupine]

33. It was in the same home that I got my pet starling

There was a nest inside/under the roof of an enclosed patio, and it got too hot in the summer heat, and the babies all started coming out and falling on the cement patio and dying. I found one with a broken leg, still alive and raised him (his leg healed nicely) and had him as a pet for five years before he got away from me when I was cleaning his cage outside and a cat scared me...I tipped the cage and he was gone. He flew into a lilac bush, where I tried to get him to climb on my finger, but he was too excited and scared and flew off. I don't know if he survived or not (I'm afraid he didn't) because he was not prepared to live in the wild.

He was a wonderful pet and I still miss him. Starlings have really cute personalities, like crows and ravens. Very inquisitive and playful and they mimic like Minah birds. My guy would say "gimme kiss" and whistled part of "The Bridge Over the River Kwai. He was a real sweetie. My favorite memory was of him flying around his cage, chasing a fly, saying "gimme kiss...gimmie kiss". Yeah...like he wanted a kiss...he wanted to eat the fly.

[Enthusiast]

48. Cool story!

[TwilightGardener]

32. I love watching them probe around for buggies. I have plenty to offer, unfortunately.

[rhett o rick]

30. When ever the Steller Jays visit there is always a single flicker with them. nm

[Enthusiast]

49. Years ago when I hunted deer in the winter I noticed the different bird species in cooperation.

The woods would be silent. Then I would hear them coming from a distance like a wave. The noisy woodpeckers and nuthatches at first. Then all the others, the tiny titmouse, juncos, cardinals and chickadees mixed in. Clearly the birds were foraging as a group. The groups included all the species except hawks. There were often hawks on the periphery looking for an opportunity. I think the birds stayed together as a sort of warning system.

[rhett o rick]

50. I am guessing there is some mutual benefit. Maybe one is the watch out for the other or

both watch out for each other.

[elleng]

2. Nice pics, nice birdies, Steve.

Look at what we have here, in a MD DC suburb!

[Omaha Steve]

40. What kind of flowers are those?

And Merry ...

[elleng]

44. Azaleas

MERRY to you!!!

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. yay for flickers and the adorable acrobatic upside down nuthatch!

approaching 80 degrees in Raleigh and feeling very, very unChristmas eve-like.

[JonathanRackham]

4. Thanks for pics.

I like watching my feeders on winter days.

[BlueJazz]

5. I love birds. Thanks for showing this.

[roguevalley]

6. omg. cardinals. thank you for this. My mom's favorite bird. she died unexpectedly in front of me

and when she did everywhere I turned it was cardinals on tv, stuff, in stores. It was major. Every day for months, cardinals. The same thing happened when my dad passed but it was hummingbirds, his favorite. Seeing this is like getting a hello from my mother. Thank you, Omaha Steve. Sometimes you have no idea the good you do. HUGS!

[Duval]

15. My Mom loved them also.

She died Dec. 21, 1992. I love them and every time I see one I think of her.

HUGS to you roguevally.

[roguevalley]

26. and to you, Duval. Have the best holidays, my friend.

[Tab]

7. That's great, and I really like cardinals

No snow where I am yet (northern New England). Which is okay, I'm tired of snowblowing, and too tired for anything else.

[CrispyQ]

8. I love them all! Thanks so much for sharing!

Stay warm & Merry Christmas, OS!

on edit: My two faves are the one with the cardinal & blue jay & the last one.

[ngGale]

9. Love bird watching...

Beautiful, thanks.

[AzDar]

10. Beautiful birds... and that snow sure looks delightful from here in the desert.

Happy Holidays, OS!!

[leveymg]

11. We had precisely the same species wintering in Northern VA

Amazing that they range predominantly as far as Nebraska! Sure you're not in Fairfax County? But, I guess it's not snowing anywhere on the East Coast today.

At least you'll have a traditional XMas view behind the tree. Happy holidays, Steve!

[mgardener]

12. Wow

Beautiful pictures and your birds are so lucky that you take good care of them.
We are having a heat wave. I live 20 miles south of the Canadian border in NY and it is 58 degrees right now. I just fed my birds and squirrels in a short sleeve shirt. My husband just brought in some fresh dill about 3 inches high and there is fresh parsley in protected areas.
We have had light snow in Nov. and think the lowest it as been is 18 so far this winter. We are a zone 4.
No one can remember a Dec. like this.

Merry Christmas to all, Happy Holiday too!

[Duval]

13. Beautiful pictures! You have your job cut out for you!!

Happy Holidays, Omaha Steve.

[Gloria]

14. We may get a dusting over the next couple of days, but it's nice

and pleasant today here in Southern NM....after some pretty cold, gray days.

We don't have the usual cardinals here...ours are the grayish ones...and they are back now. And, you know it's winter when you see sparrows.
Growing up in the East, sparrows, of course, are always there! I haven't seen a blue jay in 15 years... love those guys.
Occasionally get a woodpecker down in the arroyo pecking away.
The fall brings the thrashers back and the mockingbirds, and you certainly know when the cactus wrens are arround!!!
The house finches are here most of the time, and little lesser goldfinches hang out here in the plants and at the niger feeder.
The finches and thrashers really love the jelly I put out and the occasional suet...

15 years ago I saw juncos here, but they have not appeared in years. Sometimes I get big flocks of migrating robins, but only a pair or two will stay the summer and through winter. I am at 4500 feet...the robins hang out in town below in the valley a lot more.

My best buddies are the quail...I tap the wall with the plastic dish after I toss the seed over the wall and they chatter and come en masse every morning...they are my personal flock!! I see the babies and then the next group of babies...sometimes they come into the yard...I just adore the quail!

And, of course, the hummers!!!!

[cwydro]

16. Love the pictures!

Thank you for taking care of the birds.

I'm a bird lover myself.

[oldandhappy]

17. WOW That is a lot of snow.

One time when I was a care-taker for my mom in VT, I had forgotten to refill the bird feeder during some really cold weather. A cardinal came up to the front window and pecked at it! Get out here lady!! Birdies are grateful to you, Steve. Thanks for the photos. Stay warm.

[Divernan]

18. Hey gang! Party at Steve's! (say all the birds)

Is the little critter in the bottom picture a female downy woodpecker?

I'm going to do the day after Christmas Audobon bird count - first time. The weather is obscenely balmy in southwest Pennsylvania - people are still mowing their lawns in December, in shorts!, and jogging in shorts! So the birds aren't as dependent on the feeders as usual for this time of year. However, I'm keeping them filled. I have 6 feeders, 2 in front yard, and 4 in the back, and my back yard is 400 feet deep in heavy Pennsylvania woods, slanting downhill, so I have a terrific view to do a bird count.

Short term, it's nice not to have to shovel and salt my driveway - but this record-breaking, abnormal warmth in December does not bode well for the state of our planet.

Have a lovely holiday, and thank you for all you contribute in your posts to DU and especially, of course, to Bernie Sanders.

[Omaha Steve]

21. Is the little critter in the bottom picture a female downy woodpecker?

Yes it is: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/lifehistory

The snow has stopped. The sun is out. So we put out a couple loaves of cheap whole wheat bread.

The squirrels weren't bothered by the snow. We changed their feeders a couple months ago and they love it. We have three different species in our area. Most of them will eat out of our hand from time to time.

[Divernan]

24. The place I stayed in the Scottish highlands had red squirrels.

These ginger beauties are tres adorbs, as the kids say. Interesting facts

Highland Region is the only part of mainland Britain with red squirrels but no grey squirrels. Elsewhere, red squirrel numbers have crashed. In part, this is because the introduced grey out-competes the smaller red. Red squirrels were themselves re-introduced to Scotland in the late 1800s after an earlier, catastrophic population crash.

When and where to see

Red squirrels don’t hibernate, but do spend a lot of time holed-up in leafy shelters - ‘dreys’ - up trees in winter. The Caledonian pinewoods of Strathspey and Deeside and glens west of Loch Ness are red squirrel hotspots. So are the mixed woods on either side of Loch Ness itself and the Galloway Forest Park in the south. One place that you are very likely to see squirrels is at the feeding station on the pinewood nature trail at Landmark, Carrbridge.

[shireen]

19. Snow!

Where are you?

It's 72F here in Baltimore. 72Fucking degrees. I'm so pissed. I love winter. This is NOT winter.

Thanks for the photos. I really needed that.

[Duckfan]

20. Nice shots Dude

National Geo....Oh wait that scumbag owns it now. Never Mind.

Well, at least they could be in National Geographic. But I hate to say

I hate Blue Jays. They are loud and annoying.

Black Crows are worse.

[marew]

22. Bless you! n/t

[Jack Rabbit]

23. And Sisyphus rolls the stone up the mountain in Hell

You know, Steve, that you'll have to do this all over again after the next snowfall.

[monmouth4]

25. Cardinals are a visit to you from someone in Heaven, or so they say. Merry Christmas Steve..n/t

[passiveporcupine]

28. Sure wish I had Cardinals here

I call my hummers "ornaments" when I see the red throats glowing in the trees. Thats what your Cardinals look like. Christmas ornaments in the trees.

And you just reminded me, I better plug in the heat lamp for my hummingbird feeder. I've had a couple of Annas hanging around and it's supposed to drop to 25° tonight and 19° tomorrow night. We are snowed in here too...it's beautiful, but I have to keep putting that food out for the birds and squirrels. They go through it so fast when there is snow. I don't have blue jays here, but I have stellar jays and they really love the BOSS.

[rhett o rick]

34. I am keeping the Anna's Hummingbirds in nectar. Not too hard so far. It's only got to freezing a

few days. That's when it's challenging. Last year when the nectar froze a hummingbird sat on a bush near and waited for me to put out fresh nectar.

[Skittles]

35. fantastic pictures!

what a treat!

[passiveporcupine]

36. Today I had a varied thrush out by the feeders

I don't seen them here very often, but really love them.

this isn't my photo, but this is what they look like.



But the reason I'm posting again is because of serendipity. I just went to the mailbox and there was a card from my cousin in Bend with a painting on the front of two cardinals in the snow with red berried bushes behind them...and her message was:

"This card makes me wish I lived in a part of the country that these were the birds at my feeders."

Oh boy, do I relate. But how weird that I got this card today...the same day I saw this thread and remarked that I wish I had them here.

[central scrutinizer]

37. The Angry Owl is back

http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33888968-75/angry-owl-is-back-in-salem.html.csp

SALEM — The year is ending the way it began in Salem, with an aggressive owl going after people.

At least two attacks have been reported more than a mile north of a park where joggers were attacked in January, said Julie Curtis, spokeswoman for the Department of State Lands.

Dwight French said he was jogging from his office to a parking garage Monday when he felt a bump on the back of his head. He turned around and saw an owl fly into the trees and stare at him. As he crossed a street, the owl hit him again and then a third time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

38. Pretty birds

[progressoid]

39. So that's where all the birds went.

We haven't had many this year. They must be at your house!

[Codeine]

41. Gorgeous! Birds here are uniform drab brown.

Occasionally a blue jay maybe. Certainly nothing like that.

[XemaSab]

42. Where do you live?

[Codeine]

43. Desert SoCal, in the city.

I'm sure out in the desert proper it's different, but our urban birds lack style.

[Omaha Steve]

46. I dug this out from two years ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024270619

[PasadenaTrudy]

45. The only place I've seen cardinals

was on a beach in Kauai! So bizzare. We don't have birds like that even in SoCal.

[Texasgal]

47. Thank you for taking care

of the birdies!!!

They need love at this time of year!

[gwheezie]

51. Thanks for great pictures

I love the pops of color from the birds.

[EdwardBernays]

52. Love it

Thanks!

[rhett o rick]

54. Glad to see you helping our feathered friends. I also wanted to thank you for the hummingbird

feeder recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YZ2K2SO?keywords=hummingbird%20feeder&qid=1453072080&ref_=sr_1_78&sr=8-78 I use them in conjunction with the next one below.

This is a good one. Inexpensive and easy to clean. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005XOZKC6?keywords=hummingbird%20feeder&qid=1453071847&ref_=sr_1_31&sr=8-31

This one with a flat bottom DOES NOT WORK; http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YLUOYK?keywords=hummingbird%20feeder&qid=1453071786&ref_=sr_1_21&sr=8-21 The liquid goes to one side and birds cant get liquid in half the ports. A similar version with a rounded bottom will probably work.

[Omaha Steve]

55. Our hummingbirds don't share

It is a constant fight over the feeders. No idea why since there is plenty for all.

[rhett o rick]

57. I believe it's territorial. A neighbor has that. One male will sit in a tree and wait for others

to try to eat from the feeders and then attack them. I occasionally see a couple in what is either a fight or a mating ritual, hard to tell, sort of like people. Stay cool Steve.

[Fluothane]

56. Awesome pics!

We do not see that too often in Florida! My wife had me start a fire tonight because she said it was "cold". Present temp in Jacksonville is 68 degrees!