Sunday, December 21, 2008

First day of winter...

Here we are, the first true day of winter. Wow! Ummm...yeah...it's definitely winter. We have about 8 inches of snow, followed by about an inch of freezing rain and now it's snowing again. We are expecting another 2-5 inches tonight. Crazy.

The yard has been extremely busy. It was a full time job today just making sure that the birds had fresh food and water. Even though we have a heater in the bird bath, it keeps trying to freeze over and the food got covered up every 30 minutes. Even the seed in covered feeders and on the porch were covered in snow and ice because the wind is blowing so hard. I can't remember seeing Portland this way. We have literally taken over 600 photos in the last couple of days. Here are a few and we will be posting (hopefully daily) for a while. Hope you all enjoy and take care!

p.s. 3 days 'til Christmas!!


We have seen hardly any Robins this fall, but since the snow, they come in frequently for the fresh water.

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Hoping to find one of those rare snow worms!

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Getting a quick drink before heading of to find some food.
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One of the local Anna's Hummingbirds at "her" feeder. The Hummingbirds were in the yard in force today. We had to keep changing feeders out because they got clogged with ice and snow.
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A female Red-Shafted Flicker chipping away at the frozen suet.
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She let me get pretty close to her. I have a feeling that she was a little hungry.
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Here is one of the male Flickers. This photo was taken through our office window.
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Another Flicker in the back yard.
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Finally, the Townsend's Warblers are starting to come back into the yard.
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A Junco and 2 Lesser Goldfinches just chilling on our grapevine.
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The Juncos were getting closer and closer to the porch as the day wore on.
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A Spotted Towheee amongst the small flock of Juncos.
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More Juncos and the Towhee snapping up the fresh seed just thrown out. There is also a Golden-Crowned Sparrow eating with them. Can you spot him?

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5 comments:

NW Nature Nut said...

Looks like we had similar species today. I had a GREAT feederwatch day and took about a million photos which I will post throughout the week. Happy Winter!

Dawn Fine said...

Wow ..what a great snowy birding day...nice pics.. You are so good to take such care of your birdies..
Happy Holidays!

Mary said...

Wow...what a nice selection of birds in all that snow! Love the warbler...I see few. And the group shot of the robins is great and the flicker! Still can't get over seeing hummers in the snow. I'm glad I don't have to care for their feeders in that weather!

Beverly said...

Okay, finally had a Sharpie make a run at the feeders yesterday. NOW I know the difference between a Coopers and a Sharpie; Sharp-shinned Hawks are small! Sheeshhh, this guy wasn't as big as the Magpies who visit! Heck, he'd have had a run for his money with the doves! LOL


BTW, I don't think I've ever seen five Robins at once. That's almost a christmas card photo!!!

Okay...the real reason I'm leaving a comment? To leave you this address: www.PurelyPonds.com
...NOT because I think you'd like to hire a Colorado contractor, but because there's a bunch of really good information there...plus some good ideas in the photo gallery! Enjoy!

Aelinn said...

I've been lurking here... As I was reading this post, I told my husband how impressed I was that you work so hard to keep your food and water available, and that you really understand how important it is to "keep it up" when the birds are used to the stuff being available. Then, I thought I should actually be telling you how awesome you are, so here I am. Telling you you're awesome!