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Wednesday, February 9, 2022

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:


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

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

  1. Nothing like a few song birds to add splashes of color to a winter landscape!

    Beautiful series of photographs, Ken!

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  2. Lovely photos of the birds. I enjoy them even more in the winter months. My feeders have been busy lately.

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  3. Wonderful birds! I have that same feeder.
    What an amazing home. The dog is precious.

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  4. Absolutely bowled over by the snow capped vistas. And what an awe-inspiring sunrise and sunset.

    The avian wonders are complete charmers like always. I can't help but ogle at the Nuthatch, Cardinal and the Eastern Blue Bird.

    Such incredible gifts from nature to be thankful for.

    Have a blessed rest of the week, dear Ken. Hope you are taking care and feeling a lot more healthier.

    Love and warn wishes to you and Mary Lou.

    Here's a little story in free verse I wrote the other day:
    https://natashamusing.com/2022/02/before-i-die-whatdoyousee-fiction/

    Hope you enjoy it.

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  5. A great series of photos. I particularly liked the one of the grey junca displaying the white feathers.

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  6. I love those photos of the bluebird. You have a lovely home!

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  7. Such beautiful birds you show us.
    We used to have a house that had a heated driveway and it worked well but the electric meter about spun off the side of the house (just kidding). We had it disconnected.

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  8. Hello,
    The birds are happy that you placed feeders around the yard. It is good to have the feeder not far from your windows, for easy viewing and taking photos. You do see a nice variety there, I am sure even more will show up. Some of my favorites are there like the cute Wren and the beautiful Cardinal and Bluebird. Moncada the Mastiff is a beautiful dog. Love the views and beautiful sky. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thanks for leaving me a comment.

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  9. I love seeing birds in snow. Nice shots.

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  10. Beautiful bird photos! I liked the wind sculpted snow surface.

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  11. The view from the open wall is beautiful. Love your bird photos...the wren being my favorite.

    We birders enjoy your post. Thanks for taking time from your day to link in with us at I'd Rather be Birdin'. And happy day ahead!

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  12. Fantastic bird captures ! It could be observed through wind sculpted snow surface that Nature is great artisan . Thanks for sharing with Garden Affair.

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  13. the sunset is so beautiful - lovely birds too - hope life is going well for you

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  14. I enjoy seeing the Birds which remind me to take time to breath and to walk outside and see what I might see in my own yard. Have a nice day.

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  15. I love that you have a Great Room! Ha! The red bird against the snow is quite stunning. Thanks for joining in #Allseasons

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  16. Nice to see a Carolina Wren. We've never see one here.

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