Feeding the birds

In all of our previous homes (New Jersey, El Paso, Texas, New Orleans, Dallas and New Mexico) we maintained bird feeders, but within weeks of moving into Florida the feeder was beseiged by Muscovy Ducks, pigeons and Monk Parakeets. They spilled its contents within minutes. 

Local ordinances also forbade feeding of wildlife. The prohibition was principally aimed at the exotic ducks which were very numerous and regarded as a nuisance. My choice was limited to hummingbird feeders, during the winter.

The feeders at our new home in Connecticut have been up for about a month. They are located quite close to the front door of our ground-level suite in our daughter and SIL's home. 

One is a tube feeder filled with black oil sunflower seed and also offers a suet cake. The other is a hanging platform feeder with white proso millet seeds and when available, left-over fruit such as berries, cherries or grapes.

The latest of the 22 species which I have photographed at and around the feeders to date was a Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker, here partaking of a suet cake:

The flicker is our second-largest woodpecker (exceeded only by the Pileated and the extinct Ivory-billed Woodpeckers). It is a male, distinguished by his black "whiskers," lacking in the female:

The suet attracts other woodpeckers, here a Red-bellied female...

...a Hairy Woodpecker...

...and the similar, but smaller and short-billed Downy Woodpecker:

This past week, House Finches descended on the feeder:

Some bird photographers take a dim view of feeder scenes, regarding them unnatural. In New Mexico, photographers sometimes carried in their own branches and tied them to the railings near the Rosy-Finch feeders on Sandia Crest. I'll admit that a sparrow can look so much better perched in a tree than when competing for seeds at a feeder. 

A White-throated Sparrow alighted on a twig very near the window:

An American  Robin gobbled up the grapes in the platform feeder:

Last Thursday was the third-hottest February 10 on record in Glastonbury. The temperature reached 53.1 degrees Farenheit (11.72 C), compared to 35.8 F (2.1 C) on a typical February 10. The next morning, nearly all the snow had vanished. This is a bird's-eye view of our "front door" from the feeder area. I clean the glass frequently to permit the best images possible through the double-glazed panes:

After a beautiful sunset the next night (February 12),...

... the snow returned with vengeance (iPhone scene at 9:00 PM, illuminated by the door lamp) :

Snow was still falling in the morning:

Tufted Titmouse and snowflakes:

An Eastern Chipmunk maintains a burrow under one of the slate steps in the path which leads down to our door:

It is interesting how the Rhododendron survives through the coldest part of the year. Its leaves hang down and curl up as if lifeless, yet spread out and appear fresh and green when temperatures rise:

Diamond Lake is downslope, just across the road from the home's 5 acre property, its surface now frozen,:

Early on February 15, from our high perch we looked down into the Connecticut River Valley and watched the Snow Moon set over Hartford, 11 miles away:

Share your bird sightings by contributing them to to these Cornell Lab Citizen Science projects:

Participate in the worldwide Great Backyard Bird Count (February 18-21, 2022)

Join Project Feeder Watch 

Enter your sightings and view the global distribution of species in eBird

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to:

Garden Affair

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

________________________________________________

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