Blizzards of 2010: Downy Woodpeckers

The beauty of snow on all of the tree limbs is that birds that are often hard to see - size and color - can be seen easily.  As the snow fell, the downy woodpeckers could be seen landing on the dogwood tree prior to approaching the suet feeders.

During February, all of the woodpeckers - even the downies - spend time on the maple trees to feed on the sap that is running.

All of the woodpeckers keep an alert eye for trouble while on the maples.

In a few months, the leaves will prevent this small woodpecker from being seen at this position on the tree.

This male downy also enjoyed visiting the suet feeder just outside of the back porch window (aka the Colvin Run Habitat observation deck).  This feeder was put up as the suet feeders were not reachable down the hill in the snow.  Within a day, the downies would allow me to walk on the porch while they were at the feeder.

Blizzards of 2010: Northern Cardinals

As I have mentioned many times, the cardinals are simply brilliant in the snow - even during the peak of the storms.

Even the female cardinals standout during the snow storm.

With the white or gray background, it seems easier to catch them in flight.  This male extends his wings with the feathers fully exposed.

This female is photographed making an approach to the feeder.

And this make is actually flying up to a tree limb, but he is flying away from the camera.  The result is a full exposure of his back and top of his wings.

Blizzards of 2010: Bird Count in the Storm

So here is the answer to the quiz in the last post.  If you need a closer view, just click on the photo.  Here are the birds clockwise starting in the upper left corner:

1. Two starlings on a tree branch
2. One red-shouldered hawk.  This hawk perches often on that branch with his back to the birds at the feeder.
3. Two cardinals at the sunflower seed feeder
4. One downy woodpecker at the suet feeder under the cardinals
5. One starling at the large suet feeder
6. One starling perched at the pole top
7. One cardinal at the suet feeder - yes you can hardly see this one

Interesting observation: the birds ate an inch of seed for every inch of snow that fell - refilling the feeder was tough with the snow above the knees.

Blizzards of 2010: Peak of the Storms

Yesterday's post showed amazing sunlight and brilliant blue sky.  These photos show the near-peak of the storm - very tough photo conditions with little light and falling snow causing focus problems.

I say near-peak because at the peak of the storm, only the most near-field trees were visible.  

Storm or no storm, the birds need to come to the feeder.  The white-throated sparrows were numerous around the feeder, even at the peak of the storm.  The sunflower seeds or the suet provides the nutrition to shiver which allows them to stay warm.  

To stay warm, the birds also fluff up their feathers as shown in this photo of the white-throated sparrow and the northern cardinal.

The northern cardinals - males and females - always standout in the snow.  Their bright red feathers as a background ensures that foreground snowflakes are seen.

So here is the quiz for the day - how many birds can you count in this photo?  Can you identify them?  As always, click on the photo to get an expanded view.

Blizzards of 2010: The Morning After in the Colvin Run Habitat

The 2009-2010 winter season brought three major snow storms - all resulting in blizzard warning being issued - to the Colvin Run Habitat.

I'll show a number of photos from the two February storms over the next few posts.  Yes, it is a month after the last storm, but who has enough time for photography and posting these days.  A month after the storm and today is the first day that there is no snow remaining in the Habitat.

All of the photos in this post were taken the morning after.  

Nothing like lots of sunlight and snow reflected light to get some great photos.  In the next few posts, you will also see less than perfect photos taken during the peak of the storms.

Enjoy!

Northern Cardinal and Carolina Chickadee

While observing foxes and bluebirds last weekend, I also took photos of the frequently seen cardinals and chickadees. Enjoy.

Two Foxes on the Snow

Over the last ten days, a red-tailed fox has been observed running across the lower meadow at the Colvin Run Habitat in the morning. The lower meadow remains covered with snow - from the snow storm we had two weeks ago - and as a result the fox is easily seen.

This afternoon, a fox was observed quickly coming out of some brush. The fox made a quick stop and appeared to look back (first photo). This fox then ran hard across the snow with an urgency.

With the first fox out of sight, a second fox came out of the brush from the same location. Clearly larger, this second fox walked casually and even took time to mark some shrubs.

After the marking, the second fox walked across the snow. Ten minutes later, the second fox return to the original brush.