
The days last week when I shoveled a lot of snow – I think it was when I had gone back to dig out my car from the overnight plowing – I looked up and saw the local Cooper’s Hawk sitting in my neighbor’s tree. The last time I had seen it for any length of time was on January 22nd when it was sitting on my fence and then in my yard. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos below but they were taken through the kitchen window.
And even outside where things were clearer, I missed the hawk’s eventual departure from its perch.

I took advantage of the bright sunshine Tuesday and tucked around the backyard with the camera when I came back home. I was very happy to see the female Red-breasted Nuthatch in good light so I took way too many pictures. Here are a few…







I was also happy to catch a male House Finch at the bird bath. I don’t see them as frequently as I would like.



The American Goldfinches are still quite consistent, but their numbers are falling off a bit – everybody has spring fever.


You can see the feather wear beginning to unleash bright yellow for spring.



The birdbaths have become splash parties lately. Apologies again for the fuzzy photos but if I had been outside with the camera I would not have captured them because the birds would be out of the yard.




One thing the cold weather has been good for – giving me a break from refilling the suet feeders constantly.

I have had as many as seven Northern Cardinals in the yard at a time – but the time is always dusk or dawn. One or two cardinals might visit briefly during the middle of the day but they tend to not stay long enough for me to capture. So I am stuck with a fuzzy through the porch windows picture.

I’ve been out for walks a few times with not a lot happening, but there are moments when winter seems to be slowly losing its grip. The forecast for snow late tonight is to become rain by morning. While I hope the now-dirty snow will be washed away, things could get a bit muddy. But I have already heard some birds singing. And our choir may join them soon. We had our first in-person rehearsal last night since December.
