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.

Backyard birds

With a foot of snow on the gound, the songbirds left around my yard is always looking for food.  Today with the warmer weather, they were still emptying my feeders.

Black-capped chickadees are very numberous.  Here one leaves its perch to attack the sunflower seeds.

The niger seed sack was a battleground for the American Goldfinch.

Here a Housefinch tries to crack a captured sunflower seed.

Just another wild day in Idaho.

American Goldfinch - GBBC

I am right in the middle of the Great Backyard Bird Count.  Tomorrow I will spend most of the day photographing and observing birds - but if the weather is good and a little warm, I have promised a grand-daughter a fishing trip.

The last two days I have set up my blind in the backyard to take pictures out of.  The American Goldfinch can be difficult to get close to, but a blind usually solves the problem.

American Goldfinch are one of the few birds that molt most of their feathers twice each year.  Here is one that has started getting its summer plumage even though it is cold.

There is always a lot of fighting around the niger sack when they meet to feed.

Here some also battle the larger Housefinch over the sunflower seed feeder.

My favorite picture of the day is a goldfinch artistically leaving the feed sack in a style good enough for the Olympics.

Just another enjoyable wild day in Idaho.

Black capped Chickadees

Yesterday after church I heard the familiar call of Black-capped chickadees calling in my back yard bushes.  I immediately prepared the sunflower and niger seed feeders and here they came.  I will enjoy the chickadees, goldfinch, house finch and pine siskin all winter long.  The cold days will be bright by the colorful birds in my back yard.

Black-capped Chickadee

American Goldfinch in its winter plumage.

House finch

Pine siskin flying into the niger seed sack.

With snow predicted tonight, I will make sure the feeders are full for tomorrow.  I want the birds to stay to keep my days bright with their colors and battles.  These are not the only ones that will visit my back yard, but they will be here every day.

Sage Grouse opening day

Saturday was opening day of the sage grouse season, so I traveled out in the Big Desert, north of St. Anthony, to get some material for some stories for my newspaper writing.  I found some unexpected material by some water holes in the desert.  Hundreds of song birds were around one water hole.  Included among the songbirds were Mountain Bluebirds feeding on insects.

White crowned sparrows.

Other sparrows and finches.

                    

As I watched the songbirds, I noticed four chipmunks bouncing through the rocks and drinking out of the water hole.  I caught these two in an intimate kiss.

To write a story about the opening day of sage grouse season, I hiked across the desert to get some pictures of flushing sage grouse.  Here is one of eight I flushed and I caught it sneaking a peek back at me as it flew off.

It was time to leave the desert when this trucks occupants blocked the road and went gunning for birds, leaving their beer on the side of their truck.

Even Wild in Idaho did not have the guts to interview drunk hunters with a gun in their hands.

House Finch - Feeding time

This morning while watching the bird feeder from my blind I heard a continuous call from a young House finch. I observed as the young bird would follow an adult through the branches as if begging for food. Soon the adult positioned itself above the baby, upchucked some bits of sunflower seeds it had resently ate and fed the noisy baby. Not unlike their human counterparts.