Yesterday was cloudy, cold and windy, so I did not go down to the lakefront to visit the crows. I decided to check out the zoo instead, only to find there were hardly any birds to see except a Downy Woodpecker afar.
So I spent much of the day looking out into the yard for activity, and it changed over the course of the day. My official first-bird-of-the-year sighting was American Goldfinch. These birds have become my biggest fans.
It didn’t seem worth going out into the yard to take pictures on a gloomy day, so I took all my pictures through the windows and sometimes the screens as well, which gives everything a warm and fuzzy appearance, I suppose. It was the only way I could capture the interloper below.
I am not sure what he was attempting to eat, but I think it might have been a European Starling. I’ll should see if there are any telltale feathers by the neighbor’s fence.
The Pine Siskins were still around, at least four of them. And one of my Northern Cardinals even made an appearance, however temporary. At one point I had over 100 birds in the yard, which became all the more evident when they all took off at once in a thundering rumble of wing beats.
But my most cooperative subject was the female White-Breasted Nuthatch who was hanging out in the sumac by the kitchen window.
The only species that visits my yard that I haven’t seen in a while is Black-Capped Chickadee. I haven’t heard them either. All I can hope is they haven’t gone missing totally in the neighborhood.
I am afraid I’m getting off to a lazy start this year. Naps were all too easy to come by. Choir rehearsal should wake me up tonight.
Best of Luck getting into 2019…!
100 birds in a yard is an impressive number. You must be providing a lot of good food for them.
Well I guess it explains when the feeders run empty. But they spend half their time flying away from whatever perceived danger lurks.
That’s a lot of birds! Haven’t been to Brookfield in years!
I think this is what I get for (1) planting a lot of trees on a small lot and (2) being the only person feeding birds in the neighborhood. As for Brookfield, when I first moved in to my house years ago the old couple next door gave me a couple passes to the Zoo. I’ve been a member ever since, but I rarely go except to walk the path that goes around their “swan lake.” The swan wasn’t even there this time.
Well, planting trees is a good thing, and according to Peter Wohlleben, trees like to be crowded together.