Another nice snowfall (it has been many years since I could utter that phrase around these parts). We probably got about 3 inches here and it was a nice fluffy snow (prepping us for our upcoming move to Montana no doubt).
Our yard birds were quite active before and during the storm and I had filed the feeders in anticipation. The hot pepper suet was particularly popular and attracted the greatest variety of avian visitors. The only species that did not visit the suet that I saw at the other feeders (or elsewhere in the yard) were the Purple Finches and a Northern Cardinal. The Red-shouldered Hawk also stayed on its usual perch in the front yard and didn’t come back to see what all the fuss was about.
Here’s a gallery of some of our wild neighbors during the snow. Birds on the cedar stick were photographed while I was standing next to our slightly open bedroom door. I could only stand there for short periods of time as I had to keep a fire in the living room fireplace to offset the heat I was losing:)
Suet party – there has been almost constant action at the suet hanging on a post on the deck. I attached a cedar branch as a perch for the birds wanting to grab a bite so you will see mostly pics of the classic “bird on a stick”. Most birds will fly to the stick first and then hop over to the suet cage. Some, like the warblers, do it so fast they don’t give me much of a chance to press the shutter. (click photos to enlarge)American Goldfinch showing hints of its color change in preparation for spring (goldfinches stayed at the sunflower feeders and never came over to the suet)Dark-eyed Juncos have been the most abundant yard bird during the cold weather with somewhere around 40 seen at any one time feeding mostly on the ground. But the snow caused some to crowd onto the suet feeder whenever possible, though they seemed to defer to most other species and waited their turn.A few Yellow-rumped Warblers have been at the suet.The male Pine Warblers were pretty aggressive and usually pushed their way in even when other (often larger) birds were feedingAll the other birds scattered when this Red-bellied Woodpecker came in. But he was quite timid and would fly off if I moved the tiniest bitWe had 4 Eastern Bluebirds at times at the suet, but it was usually just a pair, with this female being the most tolerant of my presence.Unlike his larger cousin, this male Downy Woodpecker didn’t seem to scare off other birds when it landed. In fact, it could be a bit timid to approach if other birds were already feeding.A pair of Carolina Wrens came and went throughout the storm. I always love seeing these guys as I consider them the most neighborly of our yard birds.A less frequent visitor was this Hermit Thrush. They are here every winter and often visit the suet feeders in extremely cold weather.The Tufted Titmice tended to stay at the seed feeders (as did their constant companions, the Carolina Chickadees). They will visit suet but seem content to feed on sunflower seeds when there is a crowd at the suet.I never got a great shot of the White-breasted Nuthatch, but I wanted to include this pic so you can see the elongated toe and claw gripping the branch. That is a great adaptation for their trunk-climbing habit, offering a useful grasping tool, especially when going down a tree trunk as they often do.Our Red-shouldered Hawk has been a regular visitor. especially on a branch overlooking one of our wildlife pools. This pic was taken the day before the snow, but the hawk was back on the branch as I was writing this blog after the snow stopped.
Thanks, Sue. We will obviously miss many things about our home and yard and our wildlife neighbors. But, seeing wolves from the living room of our new home (as we did in November on our last visit) isn’t too bad.
Roads End Naturalist 
Leave a reply to Yolanda Payne Cancel reply