While not a fan of cold winters, the bright spot during the long, chilly days are the birds that stop by for a drink at the heated bird bath or to take advantage of our feeders. Some of our recent sightings.
Tag: bird watching
Watching Eagles
Have you seen the bald eagle camera at Codorus State Park in Pennsylvania? It is fun to watch the eagles whether you are an adult or to share with children. Right now the nest is covered with snow and it is well below freezing but the eagles are still on the eggs. You can see…
Snowy Day
Here are some photographs from our snowfall yesterday. The photo above includes a white throat sparrow, dark eyed junco, goldfinch and female cardinal – four different birds all sitting on same branch in the snow. While the temperature is in the single digits today, hopefully warmer weather and spring will be here soon. Snow fell…
Winter’s Joy
We are having a cold winter with some snow but the snow is not as deep as last winter. One of the joys of the winter is watching the birds at the feeders. Their color and constant motion add beauty to the cold winter. For feeding we use five main types of food – black…
Winter’s Blue
One of the joys of winter in our area is the profusion of Eastern Bluebirds. Once rare, the bluebirds have made a comeback in the last 20 years as residents construct bluebird trails and conserve natural areas. The bluebirds are year-round residents but tend to stay in the woods in the summer. Once the cold…
Happy New Year!
May bluebirds and contentment fill your new year!
Backyard Bird Count
This weekend is your chance to be a citizen scientist and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Take as little as fifteen minutes to observe the birds in your backyard and then report on the web site at http://gbbc.birdcount.org. The information from bird watchers across the United States and Canada provides important data for…
Having a Bluebird Day
Although I am not a cold weather person, one of the joys of the winter is the Eastern Bluebirds which arrive to feast on mealworms. Bluebirds have made a big comeback in the area in the past twenty years with many people providing boxes for nesting and an active Pennsylvania Bluebird Society. If you want…
Feasting on the Wreath
Each year after we remove the decorations from the Christmas tree, we put the tree in the yard to serve as cover for the birds during the cold and snowy days of winter. This year I purchased a wreath made with fresh greens including juniper which has lots of little blue berries. When I finished…
Rejected…. again
This year we were sure the Eastern bluebirds were going to nest in one of our bluebird houses. For the past several years, we have spent a fortune on mealworms, made sure there was always fresh water in the winter and pampered the bluebirds in every way we could in hopes of having a nesting…
2013 Great Backyard Bird Count
This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The four-day count is an opportunity for bird watchers from all over the United States and Canada to submit a list of the different species visiting their yards. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes…
Water for the Birds in Winter
A source of clean fresh water is essential for the birds. During much of the year, they can find natural sources but as winter hits in many areas, the creeks and puddles become frozen. During the winter, a birdbath will be very popular with the local birds. If you live where it drops below freezing…
Two Sparrows
There are two different types of sparrows sitting in our discarded Christmas tree (Christmas trees make great cover for the birds during the winter. After we remove the decorations, we move it to the patio for the birds). The upper sparrow is a song sparrow and the lower is the easily identified white-throat sparrow. Here…
The Pileated Feeder
The pileated woodpecker is a large, shy woodpecker that does not normally frequent feeders. Although, it usually stays in the woods, we are often treated to the sight of a pair of pileateds that live in the woods behind our house as they come to the edge of the tree line to feed. Though not…
Nature and Life Notes 