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Thursday, February 16, 2023

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:



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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22 comments:

  1. 7000 ft? You were a way up there! You just about needed oxygen!

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  2. A very lovely collection of winter birds, Ken!
    Looks like the heated bird bath was a hit.

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  3. Gorgeous little birds there feeding

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  4. Such great photos. You do so well.

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  5. Oh lovely, hot springs for birdies! Bird Spa and Dinner! You offer them true luxury, dear Kenneth 👍 For this you will be rewarded with wonderful bird visits and get beautiful close-ups. And the sunset looked like a Valentine's Day present.
    ALL THE BEST from Austria!
    Traude
    ❤️
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/02/costa-rica-6-kapitel-tortuguero.html

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  6. A wonderful collection of bird and sky photos. When we're out at our desert house, I often notice hummingbirds attracted to the garden hose when I'm watering.

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  7. Good thing you installed a heater in that bird bath. What a joyful experience to see all these birds feeding and flying. Your photographs are top notch.

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  8. Hello Ken,

    The heated bird is a hit, a great perch for those closeup photos. I love the sweet Chickadee and Titmouse. You do have a great variety of birds at your feeders. The Bluebird is one of my many favorite birds. Great captures of the Hawks. The sunset is gorgeous. Wonderful photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  9. ...at 7000 feet, you live almost 2000 feet higher than the highest point of New York State. The mountains of the east are older and worn down compared to those of the west. Enjoy as many sunsets as you can.

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  10. Gorgeous bird and sky shots. Delightful!

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  11. The final shot is SWEET! I love the hawks too.

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  12. Your setting sun photos are spectacular. And you got good photos of the hawk. We saw 3 hawks yesterday and only got one photo! How nice to get the heated bird bath for your yard birds. You'll see so many come to drink!

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  13. How wonderful you installed a heated bath for your wildlife!!
    Great photos Ken

    Have a super week ahead, and thanks for sharing your post & photo(s) with us at IRBB!

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  14. Lovely images Ken. I really like that Chickadee. They're very similar to our Coal Tit.

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  15. Exquisite bird pics and I love your skies.

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  16. I enjoyed all your photos! What a change of environment for you--very similar to us moving from NYC to the Denver area of Colorado. It is so wonderful that you provide drinking water in a heated birdbath for the birds. We've had lots of snow this winter and I've seen the birds eating snow for moisture.

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  17. Thank you for sharing these marvelous shots at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/02/spring-is-here.html

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  18. you are so sweet to get them heated bath. and the images are nice too :-)

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  19. What fabulous shots the birds and skies and the mix of colours I enjoyed them :-)
    Have a sunsettastic week 👍

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  20. Thank you for looking after these lovely creatures.

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