It took a while for the birds to be seen. I hoped they were all safe under shelter and protected from the snow.
If you have ever wondered where I keep my trail cam (aka bird cam), here it is. I woke up that morning, took one look and immediately brought it inside to clean and dry it off.
This is how close the squirrels get, taken the day before when the weather wasn't quite so swirly. At such times, all I get on these pictures is a big, fluffy tail!
But this day there were no birds - or squirrels - to take photos of. Just trees!
"Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees, that one could easily imagine its reason for being nothing more than prettiness."
~Mary Oliver~
It was still snowing much later when I saw the first Mourning Dove. The flakes were not as big as they had been.
Hard to see what was going on out there for a while!
By the next day the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining. The birds started arriving. First on the scene was the Dark-eyed Junco, and then two Mourning Doves.
The Dark-eyed Junco was joined by the House Finches and the male Northern Cardinal.
There wasn't too much fussing out there.
They all seemed to get on pretty well and were happy to share.
However, the Dark-eyed Junco decided to leave.
And shortly afterwards the male House Finch left.
Another Dark-eyed Junco observed from a distance.
These are the birds who arrive when the cold weather does, and they leave in the spring.
There was a lot of coming and going.
I asked my Dear Other Half if he would pretty please put out this interesting bird. It is another from our son and daughter-in-law. I am always delighted with their thoughtful gifts.
"Nope, not that way, I need to be turned around, for that lady with the camera pointing in your direction." 
"There you go!" The Black-capped Chickadee approved, so did the owl and so did the lady with the camera.
And the Carolina Wren said "Great job!"...
and wanted to know where was all the other seed?
"It's all been eaten? I'm out of here. See you next time!" said the little wren.
And that's my bird "tail" for today.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are keeping safe and warm.
What a great gift - and great shots.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue :) I loved it and you have probably read subsequent posts by now.
DeleteOH, a little Wren, how adorable! What a treat, Wrens are my favorite!! I love actually seeing the camera, and where they are in relation to it. The shots are stunning,especially the beautiful one of the Finch with wings spread taking off.
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing the wren as you can imagine. Not a frequent visitor so more enjoyed. They are a lovely bird aren't they? And such a hearty song. Thanks Ginny!
DeleteThis is delightful!
ReplyDeleteHappy you think so Cloudia, thank you :)
DeleteFantastic pictures and a wonderful bird tale.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ann and glad you enjoyed my tale :)
DeleteAnother fun post, Denise, and what a fun bird feeder gift which surely resulted in a series of fun shots.
ReplyDeleteGreat Dorothy, it was and I was so happy to get those photos, as you have probably read my subsequent posts by now :)
DeleteIt is wonderful that you can identify these birds. We have cardinals here in Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gigi, I remember your cardinals. In fact, I have a few photos of them somewhere on my blogs.
DeleteWonderfully taken. It's snowing here today.
ReplyDeleteThank you William, and I hope it's still not snowing up there?
DeleteAwesome birds!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne, I agree, birds are awesome :)
DeleteLovely wintry views.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine, I will probably have a few more now I know another snowstorm is on the way :)
DeleteAwesome day for birds. Juncos usually show up just before dirty weather. With snow like that birding is very quiet. They find a place to hunker down out of the snow.
ReplyDeleteThanks Red and for this info too :)
DeleteI smiled all the way through you bird tale all the way to the tale end tail.. i love the birds in snow pics and don't remember seeing any here before. that littl cam is pretty amazing to me. i love the levitating junco and the one with the wings lifted up at the cardinal. all of them are fantastic
ReplyDeleteGlad these brought you a smile Sandra :) It is an amazing cam and was a gift bought with an Amazon gift card sent one Christmas from my family in Germany. Their gift keeps giving me endless hours of pleasure. Always grateful to them for that.
DeleteI like all the birds but I do love a bright cardinal against the snow.
ReplyDeleteHi Carol, those cardinals do stand out in the snow I agree :)
DeleteThat photo of the cardinal and house finch is a brilliant one. It speaks volumes and screams for a caption! You probably got more than your share of photos of squirrel butt. But what a terrific location. Great pix.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanie and yes, I do, lol! They do make me laugh but the rewards with so many other birds is phenomenal :)
DeleteGreat photos, I love all your birds. Guess I'll have to get me a trail cam so I can join in the fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you Yogi, that's great!
DeleteMe again, I was so inspired by your trail cam I just bought me one. Should be here by Friday so we'll see what I get from our bird feeders.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, very, very happy you have bought one. I can't wait to see your pictures.
DeleteThank you for this lovely, lovely, lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed all of the photographs and your narration was perfect...
"And that's my bird "tail" for today."
Brilliant.
All the best Jan
Thank you Jan, you made me happy and so glad you enjoyed :)
DeleteOh I enjoyed this!! More snow to come this weekend possibly ugh!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tanya, and I heard about the snow. Stay safe and warm!
DeleteI miss the Red Cardinals (and all of the birds, really) in the winter. When we lived in the countryside in Iowa there was a hardy magnolia with no leaves in the winter, but I could see all the birds in the bird feeder in it. One day I saw 17 Cardinals in the tree and I wondered if they were pairs, but that would mean one female was missing. Once a black capped chickadee was on a branch right by my ear, watching me fill the feeder. All of a sudden there was his loud TWEET! in my right ear. I think he was calling the birds in the nearby double ravine of trees that running around the property that the feeder was filled.
ReplyDeleteThank you bobbieliz and loved your story. Thanks for sharing that.
DeleteWonderful bird tales and bird tails! That camera of yours is a delight capturer! Loved all the birds you captured.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ellen, happy you thought so :)
DeleteOh Denise, your "bird tail" is adorable! I love seeing the expressions and flights of the birds that you capture. The jenny wren is one of my favorite birds. I bet he was chirping a big thank you to the lady with the camera.
ReplyDeleteHi Martha Ellen and thank you :) The wren is a beauty and it feels good to feed the birds on these cold days, especially with that second snowstorm coming!
Deleteyour snow is so pretty and the birds are gorgeous!! it's funny for me, but the day the snow comes, the juncos do as well!!
ReplyDeletethe "bird" is such a cute and thoughtful gifts, they are good kids!! greg is just like chuck, a pretty please and i get just about anything i want!!
Hi Debbie, I agree with you there and I expect yours are the same. Chuck and Gregg are kindred spirits I know :) How interesting about your Juncos arrival. We get them as soon as the real cold weather arrives and when Spring comes, they fly back north (I am assuming).
DeleteWonderful picture story! Happy birding!
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda, happy you thought so :)
DeleteIt's so nice that you take an interest in the birds, Denise. And you take such wonderful photos of them too. I just love that red cardinal. He looks beautiful against the white snow. That owl hanging from the tree sure is cute. What a sweet gift from your son and daughter-in-law. That Chickadee and Wren seem to like it. ; )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Hi Sheri, and thank you. We had another adventure as I think you know now :)
Delete