First Snow and Birds Flying in for Dinner

Hey! Don't go hogging up the suet cake!

The snow is blowing and it's cold outside! So I decided to make a cup of Stash English Breakfast with local honey from Ligonier and watch birds. I was rocking back on my upholstered rocking chair by the bay window when a bird digging around the snow caught my attention. We were up to about 6 inches and it seemed to thoroughly enjoy rooting around and ruffling the snow from its feathers. I got a great shot and was like what beautiful bird is this with yellow stripes? Well, it's a White Throated Sparrow. According to the Audubon site it does indeed enjoy foraging the ground. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/white-throated-sparrow?site=pa&section=search_results#

A rotund, sweet bird shows up every winter. It flies the whole way from Alaska to my feeder. It is a cute slate grey Dark Eyed Junco. It's bottom looks like a ruffled petticoat under a pageant dress! https://www.audubon.org/news/juncos-are-original-snowbirds

Beautiful slate grey!

The beautiful golden, tubby bird below is a Carolina Wren. We call it the Chipmunk bird. When it is on the ground in foliage or high grass you swear it's a chipmunk!

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/science/2012/06/13/Let-s-Talk-About-Birds-Wrens/stories/201206130131

We love when the woodpeckers come to our tree. From young to old, we get them all!

Pileated Woodpecker Visits!

Wow! I got a treat the other day at my new pole birdhouse in my backyard. All my pictures have come from my big front trees with birdhouses hanging from the limbs. I installed a pole with one house on top and hooks down the pole with a handmade pottery nest and some apple salt block doughnuts in my yard 2 weeks ago. It took a couple days for birds to come. However Monday was a whole other level! A Pileated Woodpecker shows up not on the feeder but the wood pole. His claws clutched the pole as he looked around. I know he spotted me on the patio but, hammed it up and put on a show!

He wanted the suet on the side of the birdhouse. He hopped up, careened his neck and scooped and swallowed suet. This is my first close up on this giant beautiful bird!

More info on Pennsylvania Woodpeckers. 

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Education/WildlifeNotesIndex/Documents/woodpeckers.pdf