Flicker

That's a Beak! The flickers are so interesting to watch.
Actually, all the birds are, but you gotta love the flicker's accurate sense of dominance.


He looked as though he was giving me the 'eye' - maybe doesn't like having his picture taken...

Busy feeder

A flicker is one of the few birds that the starlings won't bother at the feeder. With that beak, we're not really surprised.

Flying (well, perching) Visitors

This little guy sat in the bush and waited for me to take his picture, sort of.

This one found something of interest on the flagpole, though not for long. I had to be very quick to get this guy!
We really enjoy watching the birds, which is why we fill the feeder even in the summer.
We get all shapes and sizes flying by our windows! From hummingbirds to ravens, chickadees to bluejays.
Unfortunately, the squirrel has found a way to the feeder as well. This will be war! [grin]

Visitors to the feeder

I do enjoy watching the different birds that visit the feeder.

Busy birdfeeder before blizzard

The birdfeeder was very busy today, with many different birds.

All getting full before the blizzard arrives.

Very tiny sparrows to very large ravens who were too big to fit on the feeder -

not that they didn't keep trying. They would grab the edge of the ledge, constantly flapping their wings, trying to get to the seeds.
They did clean the seeds off the snow under the feeder.

We have snow!

Snowfall and the bird feeder.

We made sure to fill it before the storm hit. It is supposed to be VERY cold the next few days.

ring necked pigeons

We didn't even know there were ring-necked pigeons. We had to look these up in the birding book.
In order to stay on the feeder, they had to keep flapping their wings. We almost expected the feeder to take off when there were several trying it. The one on the right found a different way, by stretching for it, and the pigeon posing was simply waiting its turn.

Hungry Bluejay

This Stellars Jay was one of six that were hungrily attacking our feeder the last few days, in preparation for the storms that we are wading through right now. Two-thirds of an inch of rain has fallen in the past 12 hours or so.
The Stellars Jay is the blue jay of the western United States, but has all the attitude of his Eastern US cousin. They are so fun to watch, although their attitude doesn't always bode well for the smaller birds. The jay is large enough that he sometimes has trouble with smaller feeders. Ours is a medium-sized one that the ravens can't balance on (it swings from a shepherds hook). The jays have discovered that they can reach the seed from the hook if they lean a little. They are learning to balance on the ledge of the feeder, some better than others; and, there is always the seed that falls on the ground. The little birds are pretty good at sneaking their bites at the seed in, avoiding the jays, and taking the seed to the nearby tree to eat.
We keep black sunflower seeds in the feeder right now. It seems to go over well with the birds here.