Bluebird brightens snowy scene

Three major snow events have kept the ground mostly covered by the white stuff since Christmas. My newly-placed feeders quickly became popular with the common winter birds. Most numerous were the Dark-eyed Juncos (aka "Snowbirds"), which breed in the far northern expanse and high mountains of North America. The species winters over the entire USA with the exception of southern Florida and coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. 

Four morphologically distinct subspecies or "groups" (formerly considered as separate species) occupy Canada and the USA. The local representative of the species is known as Slate-colored Junco. Here a male junco shares the platform feeder with a male Northern Cardinal. Note its flesh-colored bill:

The female Slate-colored Junco is paler and tinted brownish:

Juncos have distinctive white outer tailfeathers:

The plumage of Slate-colored Juncos can vary, sometimes suggestive of the other groups. This individual, probably a male, exhibits chestnut chest and flanks slightly similar to the western "Oregon" race:

My list of bird species seen in our yard has grown to 25, of which I have photographed 19 through the windows of the front door of our suite. The latest included---

Mourning Doves:

A Carolina Wren:

Two Song Sparrows, fluffed up against the cold:

A White-breasted Nuthatch:

One male House Finch:

And, to our delight, a male Eastern Bluebird appeared briefly:

A blizzard dumped over a foot of snow on January 29. High winds sculpted the surface of the snow in the back yard:

Sunrise and the bird feeders as seen from the front door or our suite on January 30:

MaryLou walking up the long driveway to the house on January 31. It is almost 100 feet long and has two hairpin curves to surmount the 45 degree slope from the road to the house. Heaters underneath the pavement help keep it free of ice but are ineffective in heavy snow cover: 

View from the top of the driveway:

We enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset on February 2 from the Great Room on the main floor of the house:

Moncada, the three year old  (140 lb) Tibetan Mastiff ignored the vista:

Rain and above-freezing temperatures on February 4 melted much of the snow:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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