It's cold and snowy here....

We've had a lot of cold weather this winter and now we have snow.  We don't usually get a lot of severe cold or snow, so this is an unusual winter.  I was trying to get some bird shots today at the feeders and the food I'm throwing out as fast as they can eat it or it gets covered with a new layer of snow!  Sort of a lost cause.  I'm going to have a huge mess to clean up when the snow melts.

"I hate this snow!!!!" 

"Get over it, Dear and just eat the food before its all gone again!  Next year we'll go to Florida!" 

 Mr. Cardinal

 Mr. Downy

 A few of the Cardinals and other ground feeders.  I probably have 10 pair of Cardinals at least!  Lots of Juncos, lots of sparrows and some Pine Siskins all swarming the ground areas.

Everyone wants the suet. 

 The Red-bellied Woodpecker didn't seem to intimidate the Wren as much as it did the downy below.

 "Back off!  This suet belongs to me!"

Song Sparrow 

I had 3 Carolina Wrens 

 This poor little wren is missing most of its tail!  Causes it some problems, but it is surviving!

 I love the wrens

White-throated Sparrow

**************

Snow is really for the 5 year old's.....or those who are 5 years old at heart :-).  Unfortunately, my knee is not up to this any more, but it sure looked like fun!

"Ok....give me a push!" 

"What do you mean I have to drag the sled back up the hill????" 

"That was FUN!" 

"No fair, Mom, you're bigger then I am!" 

"Ready.....get set......"

The Snow Geese have arrived in the Henderson, KY river bottoms area.....

The weather is really mild right now so we went out for a drive to Henderson along the river bottoms area where the Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese and some ducks spend the winter.  We found a nice group of them not too far from one of the viewing areas and got some photos.

 If you search the photos you can usually find examples of the White adults, the Dark adults, and the juveniles of each.  The Greater-White-fronted Geese mostly hang out a little bit separate from the Snow Geese.

 These two photos give a more distant look of how they gather along the wet areas.

 I look forward to seeing these birds every year.  We never know what we will see and whether they will be close enough to get good photos or not.  Didn't see any swans yet this year.  The largest flooded field didn't have a single bird in the water or among the corn rows.  We will go back in a few weeks and see if more birds arrive.

 My flying shots are so-so.  I used to get better ones with my old camera.

 I love to watch them land.  It also gives you a view of what their back looks like in the darker adults.

A group of White-fronts.

Spring birds in the yard....

I've been enjoying the mild weather and sitting in the yard a lot so here are a few spring visiting birds at my feeders.

The most noticeable spring time visitor is always the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  They come through for about a month and them move on northward. 

 The male is so strikingly beautiful.

The female is less colorful but still a beautiful bird.

Another summer visitor is the Indigo Bunting.  There are times when my driveway is filled with red birds, blue birds and yellow birds....making a really colorful array!

This one was a wonderful surprise because I have not seen one in my yard before!  I believe this is the Great Crested Flycatcher and God sent him on my birthday, so I thought that was a pretty nice present!

 The Chipping Sparrow is one of my favorites.  Very small and quiet.  It just hops around in the drive looking for food.

 I've had a lovely male Towhee showing up occasionally.

 The Goldfinch male is in his summer bright yellow.

We had a swarm of bees pass through the neighborhood!  Mike was out walking and spotted them just as they landed on this tree.  So he came home for the camera and went back for photos.  They stayed for a couple of days and them moved on.

 We have had two pair of Wood Ducks on the lake this year.  I can't seem to get good photos of them.

One of my year round favorites....the Downy woodpeckers

 A White-throated Sparrow.  

 The female Red-Wing Blackbird is a daily visitor.

A pair of the male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

And back at the wetlands checking on my Eastern Phoebe, I watched it finding bugs to take to its nest, which seems to be under the old iron bridge where I stand to watch turtles.  I need to go back this week and see if there are any little birds flying around yet.  I hope I get to see them.