It's cold out there...

Yesterday the temps were dropping and some snow was forecast.  The birds obviously knew it was coming and were swarming the feeders all day looking for more food then usual for the cold night ahead.

 House finch males

 Do you think they know their red color looks nice with the red dish?  

 This one had a very red area above the tail.

Female Junco 

 Male Junco

Mrs. Cardinal.....notice the hopeful daffodil shoots. 

 Carolina Wren

 It kept making stops to hang on this pole, and I kept trying to get a good photo of it hanging there.  It is so fast!  Flits here and there and everywhere.

Upside down view. 

 Tail up

Against the dead leaves it really blends. 

 Mr. Cardinal, bright red and alert.

 Finches squabbling at the feeder.....Goldfinches and House Finches.

A couple of doves in the grass out front. 

 I love House Finches but they seem to be prone to a lot of problems.  Particularly eye problems.  This one looks like it is developing the puffy eye look.  Soon it will be closed entirely.  So sad.

This one has a feather problem up top and a weird beak.  The bottom beak seems a lot bigger than the top one and sort of misshapen.

Some Snowdrops that thought spring was just about here.....wrong!  Last night we got a bit of snow...just a dusting...and the temp is about 11 degrees this morning.  Brrrrrrrrr!

Odds and ends.....

Well, the Australian Open tennis is almost over....I've been watching tennis the last two weeks more than birds....so I figured I'd better find something to post so you wouldn't think I had died.  These are some odds and ends that I snapped between tennis matches :-)

 One of the very cold male Cardinals.  We have had some really cold weather.  Much nicer to stay indoors and not do anything.

 A Red-tail hawk we saw out at Blue Grass one day.  We have been going there to look for owls and harriers.  Have seen some of both, but haven't gotten good photos, so I won't bother posting them.  We went on an "owl crawl" one day with a naturalist (and 50 other people!)  and found out where to look for the owls.  But in the late afternoon and with my dependence on autofocus, I really can't get good shots.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker all fluffed up against the cold.  Makes him look very well fed :-) 

.....speaking of "well-fed" 

I looked out on the deck one morning and had three squirrels busy eating all the food in sight.

 Sunset at Blue Grass while we were owl hunting.

One of my titmice.  This one has a slight wing problem, but it doesn't seem to slow it down.  It has been around for a couple years and that loose feather and slight droop of the wing must not be anything major, but I can always recognize that particular titmouse when it comes to the feeder. 

 My greedy Blue jays looking for their morning peanuts.

A very fat miserable looking Robin.  It was trying to fly up and get the crab apples, but they are at the ends of the small branches where it couldn't land.  So it just sat there all fluffed up.  I finally went out and pulled some off and dropped them on the ground for it.  My birds are so spoiled! 

Mrs. Cardinal 

 White-throated Sparrow

 Goldfinch.  I can see a tiny black spot on the forehead.  A male ready to change to its summer colors?  That's a hopeful sign!

 Another Goldfinch

 Female Cowbird that has been hanging around.  All the birds are so fluffed up trying to keep warm.

 Mrs. House Finch

The "front yard" squirrel defending the feeding box from an intruder that tried to come down and join it.  Squirrels don't share well :-)

Brown stripes seem popular.....

I was going through the photos I took yesterday and realized that we had a lot of little brown striped visitors at the feeders.

A Female House Finch enjoying a touch of sunshine along with her seeds.

 I don't usually see these at the feeder!....A female Red-Wing Blackbird.

 She was very hungry.  Other birds kept trying to move in on her, and she just ignored them and kept eating.

 They are very pretty birds.  I didn't see her glossy black mate anywhere.

 And finally....a cute little Song Sparrow is picking through all the little seeds that fall to the ground.

 A side portrait.  Usually these Song Sparrows are hopping around so much, I get blurred photos.

 This White-throated Sparrow isn't quite so striped, but I hadn't seen many of them this year.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker....

I saw this sapsucker in the maple tree earlier today.  I hate to tell him, he is a few weeks too early!  I don't think the sap is flowing in this cold weather.

 He was way up high. Look at that sharp pointy beak.

 Mostly I got back views.

 These two of him digging in the bark were the best.  A juvenile....not much red on the head yet.

Last week we had some warmer temperatures, but now it is in the 20's again.  A nice diversion to see a bird that doesn't often come to visit.