A few photos

Sorry that we haven't been posting lately! We have been crazy busy with our suet company and our community organization. We are going to be gone all week, so we wanted to post a few photos before we went. We're traveling to New York City this week, so when we get back we will post some east coast birdies! Hope you enjoy!

Also Scott Lukens, the owner of the Backyard Bird Shop chain here in the NW, was on Garden Time TV this week and he mentioned NePo Suet! Thanks Scott! You can watch the short video here: http://www.youtube.com/v/QIt7tcKnaKk

One of our resident male Anna's Hummingbirds on his favorite feeder.


A Townsend's Warbler taking a quick bath.


A small flock of Bushtits bathing together!


A Brown Creeper in our Mountain Ash tree! This is a very rare visitor to the yard!



A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet taking a dip!

The first of season Spotted Towhee!

It's been too long...

Good morning to all! Sorry that we have not been up on the proverbial ball lately! We have been super busy with getting our suet company, NePo Suet, going and we haven't been birding nearly as much as we would have liked to (but isn't that always the case?).

So, without further ado, here are some bird photos and we hope to be a little better about posting in the future!

Female Anna's Hummingbird


Yellow-Rumped Warbler grabbing some suet.


We have seen the Spotted Towhee in our backyard quite a bit this winter!


The Sharp-Shinned Hawks are still regular visitors.

An Orange Variant House Finch.

A Red-Shafted Flicker having lunch with us!

An Orange-Crowned Warbler snooping around the backyard.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatches seem to be in smaller numbers this year (at least for us).

A beautiful male Lesser Goldfinch.

A Chestnut-Backed Chickadee hanging out on a sunny day!

Busy, busy yard!

Hello to all! Sorry for the infrequent posts, but we have been so busy with our other blog that the time just slips away. No more excuses though! I vow to post at least 3 times a week! Yep, you heard it here first. 3 times a week. I expect you all to hold me to it, too!

Anyway, the Varied Thrush showed up today! That is the latest in the year that we have seen him in the yard. Exciting stuff! Other than the Thrush we have seen; Warblers abound, Finches a plenty (House, American, Lesser and Siskin), Junco-Mania and a Robin-Go-Round. It's been a great time to be a birder! Here are some photos for your entertainment (hopefully).

The male Varied Thrush hanging out with some unsavory characters!


Such a gorgeous bird and such an unexpected visitor near the end of February.


The Spotted Towhee was hanging out all day long. Another rare occurrence. Usually, he comes in the yard for an hour our two in the morning and the evening, but not in the middle of the day.


Towhee looking pretty photogenic on the fence.


Then, the Towhee hopped up in the Curly Willow for some even better pics.


A well camouflaged Golden-Crowned Sparrow.

A White-Crowned and Golden-Crowned Sparrow just hangin' out.

The Lesser Goldfinches are looking as beautiful as ever!

Here's another Lesser just waiting for a spot to open up on the thistle sack below.

A Downy Woodpecker grabbing some suet. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this Downy had a yellow spot on the back of the head, instead of the normal red coloring.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the male Anna's Hummingbird to come around the other side of the feeder so I could get a better pic. Such amazing colors!

One of the 6 different Song Sparrows that were in the yard today.

Another Song Sparrow...

...and another...

Let it snow...

Here are just a few of the 413 (slight exaggeration) photos that we took today. Our thermometer right now reads 23 degrees and the temperature is supposed to drop down into the low-to-mid teens tonight. After that, it isn't supposed to get above 32 degrees until next weekend (and maybe longer). This is extremely cold for the Portland, OR area. We have about 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and it's still lightly coming down. Possibly another inch or 2 tonight. That would be so cool! We love this wintery mix!

Our yard was (is) absolutely alive today. Over 100 Juncos throughout the yard at any given time. Lots of Lesser and American Goldfinches. A few Chickadees, Jays (both Scrub and Steller's), House Finches and Pine Siskins, as well. We also had a First of Season Spotted Towhee today!! We wondered if the cold might bring them in but we didn't think that it would be the first day. Oh, and about 1 billion Starlings. They are EVERYWHERE. usually the only eat suet. Today, they have been in and on every single feeder in the yard. And the funny thing is they are eating the seed. We haven't ever seen them eat seed before. I guess when you need food, you take what you can get. Anyway, we'll post lost more photos over the next couple of days. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos and good birding to everyone!


The backyard a few hours ago. We now have another inch or so.


White-Crowned and a Golden-Crowned Sparrow sharing a lunch.


The Spotted Towhee!


Such neat looking birds.


A Song Sparrow in the front yard.


A Pine Siskin trying to stay warm.


A rare (for this winter) visit from a Robin!


Not only were the Lesser Goldfinches coming in in droves, but they looked like they were in breeding plumage.


Juncos on our front path. Michelle put some seed out there for them, too.


They seem to like to eat on the fence rather than the snow-covered ground. Can't say that I blame them.


A Junco posing for us.


Hopping around the back patio.


A House Finch and a Golden-Crowed Sparrow digging for seed.


American and Lesser Goldfinches abound!


Waiting in line for a thistle sack.