The north wind has been blowing for days. It has been holding steady at 17 mph with gusts as high as 47 mph. Brrr!!! This is with air temps below zero in the evenings to single digits above in the day. The snow is rotten and crusty. Dust is flying everywhere. I am ready for green things and fresh smells. I am ready for a little more humidity. In this wind some hardy or naive (not sure which) redpolls try to hang on the feeder and get some seed. They look like they are on a fair ride. Maybe they like it? Others go to ground. That has been interesitng, the jockeying for position is more subtle when the seed and suet dough is spread out.
The magpies when they come in, usually bring several friends and they scare away the smaller birds. They are so vocal. This one I could see him calling to his buddies and watch his breath steam. I always think they should have little fedoras on and be carrying briefcases.
Zoey, Vivi and I made a cool discovery this week. Not only do redpolls, pine grosbeaks, magpies, black-capped chickadees, and squirrels like the suet dough, so do snow shoe hare! I love how their coat perfectly mimics the rotten dirty snow of this time of year. I figure we have about a month before Brother Bear wants his share. Then the feeders will have to come down and all seed will have to be GONE! The blackies really, really want the seed.
6 comments:
O my! Just look at all those stunning photos of such wonderful critters! Would have loved to see the redpolls, grosbeaks or even the bunny! Great!
Trixie! When I enlarged these photos, I could count whiskers on those hares! Looking at your photos is like looking at another world, full of new nature.
Keep them coming, and stay warm. We have 50 mph wind gusts but we aren't freezing to death ;o)
I should disclose that all pictures in this post were taken from my kitchen window. We live fairly rural, so we get some great visitors. Glad y'all like the shots, because I love sharing them.
Redpolls, snow hares...can I come live with you?
Susan, you are welcome any time! Maybe we can do an exchange thingy....I may need refuge from the family when I come to Cincinnati!
HEY!
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