Still looking at my home birds....

Well, since no new birds are showing up, I'm still studying the ones that are here each day.I love the big Blue Jays.....they have gorgeous feathers.
At least 2 shades of blue and pristine white and black.....bars of beauty

The Goldfinch in winter looks so dull in comparison, but makes up for it when it gets its bright yellow and black and white summer colors.

Thinking of summer?

How nice of him to spread his wings when I clicked....the better to study his tail feathers :-)

I'm guessing female for this one....pretty dull in color. Harder to tell in the wintertime.

White edges to all the wing and tail feathers.

Junco....not much color here, but such a lovely shade of dark grey.

Up close, there are subtle variations in his feathers. I never get a good shot of the pink bill and this one isn't very pink. In most of my shots the camera blurs the bill....doesn't seem to like pink.

The woodpeckers have some of the prettiest feathers, of course.

Spots rather than bars.....and a splash of red on the head for decoration. I like that one stray feather on his back :-)

Going out of town tomorrow for a couple of days....may post, may not....depends on if we see anything interesting :-)

Home birds......

The home birds are really showing up and very hungry.I was trying something new....peanut butter balls rolled in corn flake crumbs...bite size (?). The Mockingbird grabbed one and immediately dropped it....must be too big, but came back later and got another one.
I do believe he is expressing his opinion of the photographer here....and it isn't a nice one.

I was trying to get shots of the different birds that I could crop close enough to study the feathers. I think this Mockingbird looks a bit young....his mouth still has that "pouty" look of a juvenile bird. He mostly comes and scares the other birds away, but doesn't eat a lot while I am watching.

It was a Blue Jay day....at least 4 of them out there. I never seem to get any real sharp close ups of them.

They like the "Driveway Diner" best and the corn feeder on the tree right above this area.

Mrs. Cardinal....still looking at feathers.

The ever happy Titmouse.

His feathers from the side.

The Carolina Wren posing briefly.

His feathers would be fun to really look at closely...the faint stripping and the little bars under the wings.

I thought he looked like he was trying to get his feet in a ballet position here :-)

Chickadee from the side.

I always wonder if I have both Black-Capped and Carolina Chickadees. If I do, I can't tell the difference, but sometimes it appears that some of my Chickadees are larger than other ones. I've read the descriptions in the books, but I really can't see enough difference to be sure. Since they don't "pose" very well....in and out very quickly....I never have really excellent shots to study.

Snow "flurries".... Snow Geese, that is!........

The photos don't change much, but I can't get enough of watching these geese while they are around! We arrived just in time for a "flurry" Saturday, as they got stirred up and swarmed over the field before settling down again. (Some photos might look better if you click to make them bigger, others might look worse, if I have cropped them alot :-)
Smoke stakes on the other side of the Ohio River at the power plant in Mount Vernon.
The mix this time was Snow Geese, Greater White-Front Geese, a few Canada Geese, and Mallards.

I forgot to take a step stool again....darn that grass at the side of the road! I gave Mike the camera at one point, so if there is no grass in the way, he probably took the shot.

The Greater White-fronted Geese were staying together in a group on one side of the road and the Snow Geese mostly on the other side.

A bit dark, but I like their white "v" on the tail against the dark trees.

There were a lot of hunters out surrounding the "safe" area, hoping a few would stray across the invisible line to their side. We heard a few shots, but not many.

Squirrel Sunday.....

Two days after Christmas, and here at our house

Peeking out of the window is the cat we call....."Mouse".For what to her wondering eyes should appear?

Well.....it's definitley not "tiny reindeer"!
It's those squirrels! In the drive...on the tree..on the house!
She just can't stand them....(this cat, named Mouse)
**
She'd chase them away and show them "what for"......
If mom would just come and open the door!

Star's not afraid, he laughs and makes fun,
"That cat can't catch me, he's too fat to run!"
So Star keeps on eating without any fear,
And Mouse keeps on dreaming.....(sigh)..."Maybe next year!"

Redbirds....Cardinals are always plentiful

In the winter it is easy to see the Cardinals that hang around my bushes. I always wish when we have snow that I could get a really good photo with them scattered here and there in the trees and bushes...sometimes 6-7 pairs at a time.1-2-3-4 redbirds outside my door!

I stepped out into the garage to try to take some bird photos and saw this group in the Forsythia bushes at the end of the drive. They love the dense tangled branches of the Forsythia and hang out there with the House Sparrows most of the time.
There were actually 5 males and this female joined them....they all seem to be ignoring her.

In the middle of a tangle of branches is not the best place for photos.

The female moved up to the corn and sunflower feeding station....do you see the male peeping around the corner underneath?

The Red-Bellied Woodpecker likes this feeding spot also. It provides him a bigger place to land and a choice of food.

"Hmmmm....do I want corn?"

Maybe not today.....the seeds look better.

One of the Titmice checking out the new suet block.

Apparently it is satisfactory.

But sunflower seeds are better!