Water in the desert

Our former home in New Mexico was at 7000 feet (2133 meters) elevation amid the Pinyon-Juniper woodlands. The period between late winter and mid-summer usually had scant precipitation. There were no constant streams or springs within a mile of our home. When I was watering a flower bed with a hose, it was not unusual for birds to respond to the sound of the running water and approach very closely for a drink. I installed a pre-fabricated pond with a small waterfall which was very attractive to wildlife. A cattle trough heater kept it open all winter.

Winter at our new home in Connecticut can also produce dry spells as we have been experiencing lately. The ground has been mostly free of snow and temperatures regularly drop below freezing. When our small bird bath started icing up, the birds lost a reliable source of drinking water, so I purchased a heated bath. It is just outside our main door. The birds that visited were too close for my long lens, so I took some of these window shots with my iPhone. 

This chickadee first tried the old bath. Finding it frozen, it flew down to the heated one:

A Tufted Titmouse then took a drink:

A female Eastern Bluebird visited the suet feeder:

A Song Sparrow displaced the bluebird at the suet:

The male bluebird remained high in the bare branches of the aspen tree:

Mourning Doves were abundant. They competed with the cardinals for the safflower seed in the platform feeder:

The male Northern Cardinal enjoyed the seeds, while his mate foraged on the ground:

Although it was still cold, the winds had died down and I spent some time walking in the back yard. I saw this Hairy Woodpecker some distance away, probing the trunk of a tree which had been damaged during the recent wind storm:

A Red-shouldered Hawk flew in and settled in a tree next to the house. It was partly obscured by tree branches, so I found it difficult to obtain a clear shot:

A second Red-shouldered Hawk flew in, calling loudly and  both circled above, against the overcast sky:

A wintery sunset on February 13:

On February 14 the setting sun shone through the trees and reflected off the back fence before disappearing behind the ridge:

This week's header: Red-Shouldered Hawk portrait

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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