Sparrows and goldfinches on the snow
This morning once the snow had slowed I cleared the ice off the bird feeders and tossed a few handfuls of birdseed on the ground around the backdoor. For the rest of the day we had a constant stream of feathered guests visiting the feeders and hopping about on the snow. Dom had borrowed a nice digital SLR from work so I decided to snap some shots. Sadly, a few of them are a bit blurry not because of the camera but because of all the fingerprints on the sliders. Still, I’m pretty proud of some of the shots I got.
Blue jays are easy to spot on snow covered branches. This one took off as soon as I got the camera in focus. I thought I missed the shot and only had a lens full of snowy branches. I was thrilled to see I’d caught him in flight.
Dark eyed junco on the snow
Junco in flight.
Chickadee on the feeder pole. So hard to capture as they don’t roost long but swoop in, grab a seed, and then dart off to a nearby branch.
Cardinals are definitely the most dramatic birds on a snowy day. And hard to capture. Every time he or his mate landed on the snow I grabbed the camera but they were off before I could begin to focus. I was pleased this shot of him roosting on the tree came out so clearly.
A nuthatch on the feeder. Usually we see these guys hopping up and down on the trunks of the trees in the back corner. Today they were there but also ventured to the feeder near the house.
Another view of the nuthatch.
This guy did stay on the back tree. I couldn’t tell if he was a red headed woodpecker or a northern flicker.
Tiny goldfinches on the snow. Their winter plumage is definitely less dramatic than their bright summer yellow.
Tufted titmouse perching on the back step.
Wren on the snow.
Another shot of the wren.
I think this little guy is maybe a sparrow of some kind. But I’m just not sure. He did pose for me very nicely, though.
Here he is again.
And from the other side.
And stretching out his little neck.
This big old starling was a very unexpected visitor.
I followed this on twitter yesterday and it is such an amazing story!
Great story, Melanie! St. Anthony has helped us so many times and usually in conjunction with my middle daughter’s prayers. He always comes through!
If I ever get to Heaven, I will be looking for St. Anthony to give him a great big hug. He is one of my best friends there – he’s always giving me a hand. I know he’s in Heaven because he never seems to get tired of asking the Lord to help me out with all the many misplaced items in my life.