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Thursday, January 25, 2024

Garden variety birds plus one

As compared to the breeding season, a greater number of birds visit our back yard during the winter months, but there is less variety in species. We had several bouts of light snow and very cold temperatures. This morning all the snow has disappeared, drenched by warm overnight rainfall. 

I did not venture out except for a medical appointment. All of this week's photos were taken through the windows in the comfort of indoor warmth. Poor light and the filtering effects of snow and fog created some very soft, almost monochromatic images. 

The bare branches of the small aspen provided a nice setting against the gray skies. Among the avian visitors this week--

Tufted Titmouse:



Female Northern Cardinal...

...photobombed by a White-throated Sparrow:

Eastern Bluebird:

Blue Jay:


White-throated Sparrow and snowflakes:

Dark-eyed Junco:

Carolina Wren:

To my surprise, I added a new species to my yard bird list-- Species # 77, a fleeting view of a Hermit Thrush:

Just outside our front door, the heated bird-bath provided much-needed water even on the coldest days:

One night, very high winds scattered the heavy outdoor furniture, as seen through the porthole window:


For my REFLECTION meme, I selected this warm photo of a Little Blue Heron before sunrise in Florida, June, 2015

This week's header: View from front door, January 24, 2024

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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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Thursday, January 18, 2024

White throats and red bellies

Sparrows are the most common birds to visit our yard and feeders. During the warm months, resident Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and a few Field Sparrows prevail, along with introduced House Sparrows. All disappear in winter, except for a few hardy Song Sparrows and House Sparrows, replaced by an influx of Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. Less common to rare during the winter are Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows, species seen more frequently during winter when we lived part-time in northern Illinois.

When I was a beginning birder in the 1940s we saw that White-throated Sparrows occurred in two rather distinct plumages, more evident in late winter, before they departed for more northern breeding ranges. The bird books identified those with dull-looking tan head stripes and more heavily streaked breasts as "Immature:"  




Those with bright white head stripes and clearer breasts were said to exhibit "adult" plumage:



Since then, studies have shown that the two plumages were not tied to their age or sex. Indeed, both color morphs occupy the same range and are genetically identical except for a non sex-linked gene. This excerpt from Birds of the World offers a succinct description of their differing behaviors:

Throughout its extensive range the White-throated Sparrow... exhibits plumage polymorphism (white-striped and tan-striped morphs) in both sexes, most obvious in the breeding season, associated with a difference in an autosome. These differences in plumage and karyotype are maintained by negative assortative (disassortative) mating – each morph mates with its opposite. Plumage differences are paralleled by differences in behavior and breeding strategy. White-striped (WS) males sing more, are more aggressive and more likely to engage in extra-pair copulation than their tan-striped (TS) counterparts. TS birds of both sexes provide more parental care than WS birds. REF: Birds of the World 

Dark-eyed Juncos visited the suet feeder...


...as did Blue Jays:


A Northern Cardinal perched In the bare Aspen:


I obtained only one decent view of a Tufted Titmouse:

White-throated Sparrows are aptly named for their eponymous patch, but the Red-bellied Woodpecker seems not to match its description. This is a female, which lacks red on her forehead. From this angle, she also appears to have a very white belly:

Ah, there's the red belly, on this male!


The cold rain and then two episodes of snow, followed by freezing rain, made MaryLou's walks out to put up and remove the feeders too treacherous, even though she relocated them to a spot nearer the home which was accessible on level ground but almost out of sight from the windows. The weather conditions confined us inside our house all week. Dreary skies were uninteresting, so I had to find old shots for my SKY and REFLECTION memes--

This is an image of sunrise through the dining room window, taken in February, 2022:

Our local lake before it froze over, in December, 2022:

This week's header: Garden steps 6 months ago, July, 2023


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Linking to:



Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

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

Thursday, January 11, 2024

First measurable snow

This week we had our first significant snowfall in 2 years. It was preceded by mostly dry and cold weather. Because of the prolonged sub-freezing temperatures, there was a lack of natural water sources for wildlife. We kept the bird baths filled. My observations and photos were limited to views through the windows.  

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker brightened the scene and dominated the suet feeder:


A male House Finch "gifted" me with its image when it flew up to our front door security camera. This was the first frame as it almost touched the lens:

An all-male flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds descended to feast on Safflower seeds in the hanging platform feeder:

It snowed all day Monday. About 8-9 inches accumulated. Gray skies and glaring white snow cover produced difficult conditions for photography. These horrid shots are all I've got. 

American Robins did their best to strip the holly berries:



Over a dozen Mourning Doves competed successfully for the Safflower seed, in the feeders and scattered on the snow:

White-throated sparrows congregated:


Dark-eyed Juncos outnumbered the Mourning Doves. White breasts converged seamlessly with the snow:


Tufted Titmice carried single Sunflower seeds, hacking them open on snow-covered branches:


A male Eastern Bluebird occupied a lonely treetop:

View from our front door:

The heated bird bath remained ice-free through a pause in the snowstorm... 

...but it was partially buried when the storm returned with full fury:

Male Gray Squirrels usually compete rather violently for a mate. Perhaps the cold temperatures encouraged a menàge-á-trois in a distant tree: 

The Ring security camera captured this creature on December 29, as it scampered down the garden steps. At first it looked all-white, but a closer examination revealed its black face and undersides. It was a Striped Skunk:

This screenshot provides a better view:

The ground-glass SKY was uninteresting, so I scoured the archives for a better wintry scene. I loved this photo of hoarfrost at the Ellis Trailhead in the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico, on November 15, 2011:

Likewise, I found a double image of Lesser Yellowlegs for the REFLECTION meme, December 27, 2009 in Florida:

This week's header: Northern Cardinal

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Linking to:



Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
________________________________________________

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