Sunday, January 24, 2010

Backyard birds

With the annual Great Backyard Bird Count coming up in February, I have been watching my backyard bird feeders with great interest.  Wind, fog, cold, snow, overcast skies and the occasional sunny and warm day, the birds keep coming.
Here are some Cedar Waxwings huddling on a branch with a few dead leaves hanging on.


Here a flicker gets out of the wind by huddling close to a tree trunk.



Both a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker visits my feeder trees for a bite of suet.






Just another end of a wild day in my backyard in Idaho.

21 comments:

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wonderful pictures, wonderful birds. Is the February count a different thing from the annual Christmas count?

Keeper of the Skies Wife said...

Those were amazing photos!!!! My husband and I were in awe.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

The Waxwings are the only ones you mentioned that I have not seen in my backyard. I've seen Hairys but not often. I have seen Waxwings but not here. Beautiful set of birds you showed.
Betsy

Angie Moore said...

Lovely images.

Susan Ellis said...

Must be woodpecker day in the blogosphere today...great shots you took! Your camera would have come in handy at our feeders this morning!

Monts said...

Hi Bill
Great shote love the Northern Flicker and the Woodpeckers, good luck with the garden count we have one coming up next weekend so my 5 year old Grandson and I will be checking it out.

Dagmar said...

Gosh you have such wonderful birds in your backyard...
Great shots Bill

DayPhoto said...

Great bird shots! I need to try my hand at bird photos, but we never seem to have interesting ones when I'm home. Starlings, but who finds those noisy and messy birds fun to photograph.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/

troutbirder said...

Great pictures. Looking forward to the count myself. Somehow I missed your wonderful coyote pictures. I've only seen them in summer in Yellowstone and always thought them rather scraggly looking creatures. In their winter coats they are very very handsome. Thanks

Kilauea Poetry said...

These are all great..I really enjoy looking at the Flicker huddling close to that tree!

Mary said...

Great photos, Bill. We will be away from home for the great bird count, but look forward to hearing the results from all over.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

So good of you to feed these little creatures, they are so sweet, pretty and look to be quite cold. Life is better for them, when we care for them. Good reminder, very good post~

Donna said...

Wow, Bill, how embarrassed am I of my little point-and-shoot junco photos after viewing your incredible blog! You really live in God's country! What an abundance of nature! Loved the coyote photos, the eagles, deer, the moose fighting, the deer... I've just had a wonderful time looking at your little corner of the world - thanks for sharing your talents and passions!... Donna

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Bill: Excellent photos of your birds, I love the color on the waxwings.

Deb said...

Your photos are amazing. Do you shoot with a zoom lens?

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Yesterday, I was nearing the lock separating the sea and the lake, I saw two sea eagles swooping down the sea and catching fish as big as itself.

Such a pity, my camera wasn't good enough to take the photos.

Sunny said...

I love Flickers, I've never seen one huddle like that. Great shots.
Sunny :)

Anonymous said...

I love the waxwings. None like those around my backyard.

My Birds Blog

NatureFootstep said...

I was looking for skywatch, but ended up here. So many great birds. Beautiful :)

sunnymama said...

Great shots of your backyard feathered visitors. :)

Larry said...

Beautiful shots Bill! I love the Flicker hugging the tree. A very nice comparison of the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers too.