Vertical and Delivered

Tags

downy woodpecker, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, house finch, osprey, postaday, white-breasted nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatches are again coming to our birdfeeder, feeding themselves at their preferred angle, i.e. vertically and upside down. Sometimes I wonder how they manage to swallow those sunflower kernels, but they do.

Most birds eat like the female Downy Woodpecker and House Finch shown below.

Female Downy Woodpecker and House Finch at birdfeeder.

White-Breasted Nuthatch going toward the sunflower seeds.

White-Breasted Nuthatch got a sunflower seed.

White-Breasted Nuthatch: “It’s easy, just like this!”

White-Breasted Nuthatch on top of birdfeeder.

Other birds have their breakfast delivered.

Osprey male fly in fish to female Osprey.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Tags

postaday, Red-breasted Nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow

For many years White-breasted Nuthatches were a familiar sight in our backyard. Then, two years ago, smaller Red-breasted Nuthatches started showing up and have now supplanted their larger cousins at the bird feeder. This spunky bird is less than half the size of a sparrow but it seems to be afraid of no bird. Over this last blizzard, it put on quite a show as you can see in the images below.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Red-breasted Nuthatch. They are adept at climbing and grabbing on to any surface thanks to the strong claw seen on their backward pointing toe.

Red-breasted Nuthatch losing grip on bird feeder?

No problem, jumping right back.

There, in a preferred position.

Red-breasted Nuthatch next to a White-throated Sparrow.

Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Red-breasted Nuthatch, maybe making sure the feeder still had some seeds.

Red-breasted Nuthatch: “That’s it, I’m out of here!”

White-breasted Nuthatch

Tags

photography, postaday, white-breasted nuthatch

A White-breasted Nuthatch perched on a branch of the magnolia tree next to our bird feeder. Usually this small bird looks sleek and unruffled, but as you can see from the photos below, this gal’s feathers stood up at one point. Maybe she did not like the crowd at the feeder?

White-breasted Nuthatch.

White-breasted Nuthatch. “You taking my picture?”

White-breasted Nuthatch.

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Red and Other Birds

Tags

northern cardinal, photography, postaday, Purple Finch, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch

These are recent photos of a few birds that come frequently to our bird feeder.

Purple Finch.

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Tufted Titmouse.

Northern Cardinal, male.

Northern Cardinal, female.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

dark-eyed junco, house finch, photography, postaday, white-breasted nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Dark-eyed Junco.

House Finch.

Small Birds in Snow Storm

Tags

american goldfinch, caroline chickadee, northern cardinal, photography, postaday, white-breasted nuthatch

Even though temperatures plunged and the wind was fierce, our area only got a dusting of snow. I filled the bird feeder beforehand, and for the past two days bird traffic picked up significantly, even while snow was falling. All the birds looked fluffier and bigger than in warmer months.

American Goldfinch.

Female Northern Cardinal, with Junco and Sparrow in background.

Male Northern Cardinal during a squall.

Male Northern Cardinal, in a moment of temporary calm.

Carolina Chickadee.

White-breasted Nuthatch.