Birds of Winter, Part IV

Song Sparrow

Before the next bout of winter weather hits the Carolinas this weekend, I thought I would do a quick photo dump of last weekend’s winter storm, along with some photographs I took throughout the week. I hope you enjoy these.

Blue Jay
Purple Finch (male)
Pine Warbler (immature…I think). First year Pine Warblers can be tricky IDs, as their plumage can vary from gray to yellowish olive, and they can be easily confused with adult females, who have similar plumage. (Adult males, as you’ll see below, are bright yellow and are easy to identify.) I think this bird is immature because it appears to have a white eye-ring. Adults of both sexes generally have a pale yellow eye-ring.
Eastern Bluebird (female)
Downy Woodpecker (female)
Yellow-rumped Warbler. There are currently five or so Yellow-rumped Warblers who are visiting my backyard for suet and mealworms, and I enjoy watching them. They are so feisty! There are lots of high-speed chases when they’re around.
Purple Finch (female)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male). Note how wet the tree bark looks in this photograph. That is sap. These birds drill rows of holes in trees and lap up the sap, as well as any insects it may contain.
Chipping Sparrows
Red-shouldered Hawk (immature)
Dark-eyed Junco (male)
Left to right: House Finch (male), Dark-eyed Junco (male), and four Chipping Sparrows. This photo makes me smile. If you were to ask me to sum up, in one photograph, why I feed wild birds, I would probably pick this one.
Eastern Bluebird (female) and a Purple Finch (male)
Pine Warbler (male)
Eastern Phoebe
House Finch (female) with a male Purple Finch in the foreground
Blue Jay
Eastern Bluebird (male)
Dark-eyed Junco (male)
Northern Cardinal (female)
Cedar Waxwings. These were surprise visitors to the backyard on Wednesday afternoon.
Chipping Sparrows
Brown-headed Cowbird (female)
Eastern Bluebird (female)
Mourning Dove
Purple Finches and a Chipping Sparrow
Red-shouldered Hawk (immature)
Pine Warbler (immature, again, I think)
House Finch (male). Note how similar in appearance he is to the Purple Finch in the next photograph.
Purple Finch (male)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male)
Song Sparrow
Eastern Bluebird (female)
Mourning Dove
Eastern Bluebird (male) with a Yellow-rumped Warbler in the foreground
Pine Warbler (male)
Downy Woodpecker (male)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male)
Eastern Bluebird (female)
Red-shouldered Hawk (immature)
Left to right: White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch (male), Chipping Sparrow, House Finch (male)

4 responses to “Birds of Winter, Part IV”

  1. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    This winter in Pennsylvania has been brutal. Now, even the river’s surface is almost entirely sealed by ice. A flock of Canada geese huddle in one small opening that resists.

    Precious, tiny hearbeats… feathered-flecks of life. How do they make it through?

    I watch. I feed. I feel… I wonder.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. theusedlife Avatar
      theusedlife

      It’s amazing how adaptable they are, isn’t it? I was just outside refilling my feeders for the day. We got 8+ inches of snow yesterday, which is quite unusual for the Carolinas, and as soon as I got back in the house, I looked out the window, and the feeders were swarmed. It was like that all day yesterday during the snowfall, too. Dark-eyed Juncos and tiny Chipping Sparrows by the dozens grazing on millet and sunflower seeds nonstop to stay warm. I wonder, too, and I can’t help but want to go out there and keeping giving them more and more seed and refilling my baths and plant saucers with more and more warm water so they won’t have to struggle in the cold. And yet I know they’re hardy little creatures—and remarkably well adapted to survive.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Donna Avatar
        Donna

        No keeping up with watering here… then, the starlings tend to spoil the feeding party. But, you are right… they know how to take care of themselves. Our projections upon them of human ways shows our limited interpretation of the greater life.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. theusedlife Avatar
        theusedlife

        I’ve not had starlings at my feeders…I have had grackles, though, and I imagine they behave similarly. And yes, they do know how to take care of themselves. I often think that we provide for them materially, and they nourish our souls in countless ways.

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