Pinyon Jays and Downys

This evening I went hunting for a flock of Pinyon jays along the South Fork of the Snake River.  I found them visiting a house with feeders near junipers.  With the heavy cloud cover and lateness of the day, good pictures were hard to come by.  Here is a male feeding in a juniper.

Another male takes off from the top of a juniper bush.

I got permission to set up a blind on the property and the first day we have good light, I will be there waiting for some good photos.

I also found a pair of Downy woodpeckers flirting with each other.  Here is the male with his red skull cap on.

Here the female is playing a little coy as she glances at him.

What a great way to spend some time in the wilds of Idaho and the birds of Madison County.

Snow Birds

Yesterday morning I got up to six inches of snow and the birds were having a hard time finding a perch.  Each time they tried to land, the snow would give way and down they would come, birdy, snow and all.  Finally there were enough bare branches for them to gain some footing.  Here a male Housefinch is able to perch close to my blind.

A male Lesser Goldfinch is a bright spot in a snow-covered world.

As the day progressed a blizzard blew in and over a hundred birds, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, House Sparrows, flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins, Eurasian Collared Doves, Starlings, Sharp-shinned hawks and these Housefinch all came to eat.  They emptied my feeders twice and the hawks harvested a few of the munchers.

A great day to observe nature in the Wilds of Idaho.

Happy Valentines Day - bird style

 Last week I noticed three Downy, one Hairy woodpeckers and a couple of Northern Flickers in my backyard chasing each other around.  A male and female Downy would land near each other on the cottonwoods and spruce.  At first the female was quite coy and seemed to be flirting with the male.  She would hide behind a branch and peer out at him from behind it.

Every once in a while she would look out from the branch at him.  Just like a couple of teenagers in the halls of my high school as a budding relationship starts.

Finally she got aggressive and chased him from tree to tree.  In the fading light it was too dark for me to catch the action.  She finally tired of the games and went to the black walnut tree to look for food.

While he searched the cottonwoods for some hidden treats that some of the chickadees had stored.  He found a sunflower seed and harvested the meat from it.

As the sun set, he left for the heavy wooded area while she followed closely behind.  They have been back several times and it appears that the dating is in full swing - just in time for Valentine's Day.

What a great way to end a day in the wilds of Idaho.