Snowbirds

We have had a lot of snow in our area over the past few days, and the birds were really taking advantage of the feeders. At some points I could count fifteen or so each of white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos, and there were flickers, downys (downies?), carolina wrens, and, surprisingly, grackles and starlings. I will post later with pictures of the snowy scenes, and I encourage you to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb. 13-16). This will be my first year, and I am looking forward to it!

Did you notice that I changed my title picture?

Powder Valley

This weekend, I went to Powder Valley nature center, since I heard that siskins and purple finches could be seen there. No purple finches for me, but the pine siskins looked great in the morning light.


There were also cardinals, blue jays, juncos, titmice, chickadees, downy, possibly hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, along with white-throated sparrows, mourning doves, goldfinches, and an unidentified hawk.




However, the real treat came at the end, when I was walking one of the trails. There was a medium sized brown bird that I followed for a long time (mostly off the trail) until I finally got a good look at it(most of the time it had its back to me). The tail-flicking and rusty wing and tail edges (I'm sure there is a taxonomically correct word for those; possibly coverts?) identified is as a Hermit Thrush, a new bird for me. To end with, here is a picture of a carolina wren I took a week or so ago. They will sit on this chair right beside the kitchen window before going to the feeders.

Riverlands

These are some pictures from my trip to Riverlands Migratory bird sanctuary. They are trumpeter swans. The gray ones are juveniles. We also had an American White Pelican fly by, and ring-necked ducks, common goldeneyes, american black ducks, mallards, and the gadwall I mentioned in my last post.

A different kind of crossbill.

Doesn't this eagle look like its dirty?

A clean bald eagle.

What's That?

This is a duck I saw at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It was in a pond full of mallards. Any idea what it is?


Note: The duck in the picture is a gadwall. Thanks to Nisbett Family for that ID.

Michigan

What a great trip! There was lots of snow, and I saw three new bird species: pine siskin, brown creeper, and red-breasted nuthatch. There were also many other species around, including white-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, crows, and downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers. One of the biggest surprises was a golden-crowned kinglet. I had assumed that they went south for the winter, but I saw him or her twice in the time I was up there.

Look at all the snow that was up there!

Here are some nice chickadee and titmouse pictures.


Here is a blurry picture of a pileated woodpecker.
White-breasted nuthatch.
Waves at the Frankfort pier.
The sunset on our final day.
My next post will be about a trip to Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, here in Saint Louis, so keep checking back!

Patience

Sit tight! As soon as I get my Michigan pictures loaded onto the computer, I can promise you a post full of new and exciting pictures.