Sorting out the Blackbirds....

Snow and bad weather always bring a flock of mixed blackbirds. I thought these were all Grackles and Cowbirds..... ....until I saw this one on the left. Any ideas what it is? 1st summer Red-winged Blackbird female? Rusty blackbird? That eye stripe is very obvious and so is the light colored eye.
Another shot of it. I didn't know it was something odd and had to crop this and try to lighten it up.

There seems to be a female Red-winged Blackbird on the left, also...the striped bird.

Mostly Cowbirds, but some Grackles mixed in.

If all of these female Cowbirds hang around, I should have lots of Cowbird babies being raised by other parents next spring.

I keep trying to get some good photos of the Cowbird male, which I think is rather handsome.

So glossy and shiny...even his feet look like "patented leather".

Here the feathers look a bit more iridescent like a Grackle.

And of course any blackbird mix seems to have a few Starlings mixed in.

Ready to go!

I'm just glad the blackbirds don't come all the time, even if I am curious about the different kinds. I couldn't afford to feed the huge flocks that travel together.

Carolina Wren, this way and that....

I love Carolina Wrens, but usually when they show up they move constantly and I end up taking lots of photos of empty feeders, and the edge of things it hides behind, or the top of its head. Yesterday it was interested in the new suet cake.

The "sitting perky" position.

An over-the-shoulder glance

Hanging sideways

Showing off all those lovely speckled brown feathers.

I especially appreciate this wren, because last week I found a dead one just inside the garage door. Don't know what killed it....not my cats. I was so horrified at losing one of my favorite birds that I tossed it into the bushes so a hawk wouldn't find it. I sort of wish now that I had saved a few of its beautiful feathers to study them more closely. They are very remarkable in color and pattern with all those little stripes.

Twisting around

Upright works best. This feeder leans a bit and I think he was having trouble with gravity even though I have seen these little birds every which way on the trees and feeders.

A tail shot :-)

"What's down there?"

Poor little wren will be glad when the bugs and such are easier to find again.

A flock of Waxwings are more exciting then a bald squirrel......

That's right....the best thing I had for Squirrel Sunday was a half bald squirrel (poor thing) so I was glad when a flock of Cedar Waxwings showed up and I could post them instead.

This was my favorite shot.....such fun to watch them eat!

They are such gorgeous birds, I can't get enough of watching them.

Stretching up to find a good crab apple

They have such an exotic look with that black mask and yellow tail tip.

Another one trying to stand on its head.

The crab apple tree is so "busy" with all the branches and apples, that it is hard to get a clear shot. I just about froze my fingers off taking these photos. I got to where I couldn't feel whether I was pressing the button down or not.

Lots of apples left

A rear view to show the yellow tail tip and the red wing spots.

The red brick of the neighbor's house and the red apples make a lot of red to work against.

There were about 20 maybe when I first saw them, but when I went outside only about 6-7 brave ones stayed around for the photo shoot.

Trying to sight through the branches the yellow tail tip and their yellowish belly were the main things that I could find to focus on. Of course my camera kept trying to focus on the pine tree behind them....I hate that and don't know how to make it zero in on the bird.

A more distant shot with 4 of them.

Some don't have the red wing tips. The one on top doesn't and the one below does. It comes from their diet of fruit.

I'm always so happy to get some good shots that I post way too many...but it's my blog and you don't have to look at them :-)

A final twisting shot.

And a prize won for the effort!

OK....that's all....I promise!
And if you REALLY wanted to see the bald squirrel.......

I hate to think how cold that poor squirrel is! I hope it has another squirrel to curl up with.

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I'm greatly enjoying the tennis! There have been some great matches. I'd like to say to my Canadian friends, that your young player....Milos Raonic.....has surprised everyone and made it to the round of 16! Pretty good for a basically unknown player! Should be interesting to see how far he gets this week. Only one American left....Andy Roddick, after John Isner lost his 5 match struggle. (Update: Roddick played after I had gone to bed and is out also)

Snowing all day.....

Taking a break from tennis. It's been snowing all day. The birds are not happy. A few bird shots from the front window.I like the little House Finches and the male was willing to sit for several shots.

The female looks a bit strange.....half of a sunflower seed shell stuck on the beak?

She nibbles at the seeds in that are still hanging on the vine on my tree.

A cold Junco

Ready to hop down on the food below before it disappears into the snow. Keeping the seed uncovered has been a problem all day.

An unhappy Mockingbird.

Warming up one foot.

Goldfinch looking for a free spot on the feeder.

Some of the ground feeding birds.

My Red-breasted Nuthatch can't find the peanuts under the snow in the cup, so he is trying some suet.

He looks a bit unhappy here.

Stretching......maybe the top is better than the bottom.

Time to head back to tennis and pretend the snow isn't out there. Too bad the birds can't do that.