Snowy bird Alley

Snowy Bird Alley!, After two winter storms , some of the feeders in Bird Alley are almost buried.  I will be a while getting to replenish this feeder, Thankfully I have one feeder very close to the house that can be refilled from a window.  Next year I shall reorganize the feeders so that they are not buried in a storm.

Black-capped Chickadees for Camera Critters

   I don't feature Chickadees often as they are so common around here, actually they are the provincial bird for New brunswick, however I liked the poses of these photos I have selected and thought to share their beauty and sweetness with all.

Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

A Cardinal in the Afternoon Light forThursday's Challenge

 This week's theme of  'light' lends itself perfectly to these photos of a handsome red, male Cardinal  on an old wild rose branch in Bird Alley.  The strong afternoon sun highlights a square portion of the bird's breast. A 'golden square of sunlight' makes this photo uniquely  beautiful with the sun's golden rays highlighting the bird.  Stay warm, little fellow! Stay in the sun!

Thursday Challenge is a meme which offers a different theme each week. This week's theme is light. To join in on the fun you can find this meme at:http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html

Mr. Cardinal for Ruby Tuesday 2

Ruby Tuesday 2 meme features photos with red of any subject. To contribute to this meme please go to;
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or just click on the Ruby Tuesday 2 badge at the top of the column on the right hand side of this blog page.

An American Tree Sparrow for Mellow Yellow Monday

 "But, the American Tree sparrow isn't yellow!"  you say. Agreed,  Its feathers are not yellow but take a look at the lower portion of its bi-coloured bill, and you will see that its yellow.  The bi-coloured bill is a distinguishable feature of the American Tree Sparrow.  another of its identifying features is its  centeral dark breast spot.  Just take a look at the following photos and see if you can find both; the yellow  lower portion of its bill and its  centered dark breast spot!

Got pictures with yellow that you would like to share? Why not post them on Mellow Yellow Monday, a delightful meme that focuses on the colour yellow?Just clink here:http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/ to access this meme

A Happy Monday to all!

A Red Squirrel Visiting on Sunday

This little red Squirrel is  rather cute but a  it is  nuisance visitor as it takes a giant's share of the food provided for the birds. Its rather smart too,  for  as shown below it had figured out a way to get inside my new caged bird feeder, although it had a tight squeeze getting out of it quickly when I  frightened it away by opening the window and yelling at it!  Bye, bye Little furry buddy!!!  And stay away!!!!!

Red-breasted Nuthatch for Camera Critters

 A frequent, almost daily visitor to Bird Alley is this little Red-breasted Nuthatch.  It is always a very welcome visitor

amera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

A Male Cardinal for Ruby Tuesday 2

   This handsome  male Cardinal visits Bird Alley almost every day.

Yesterday we had our first significant snowfall in Bird Alley as shown below.

Ruby Tuesday 2 meme features photos with red of any subject. To contribute to this meme please go to;
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or just click on the Ruby Tuesday 2 badge at the top of the column on the right hand side of this blog page.

More Evening Grosbeaks for Mellow Yellow Monday

                                           The frontal view of the female evening Grosbeak does not show much yellow in this bird's plumage, however the back view  ( shown below) of the female Evening Grosbeak does show yellow!

      This handsome male shows off its bright yellow plumage and its yellow forehead visor is very 'winter-like'.  I think his colouring is beautiful!

I am always very thrilled when this species drops by Bird Alley.  In my opinion they don't visit often enough!  They are still around though; yesterday I saw only one  lone female Grosbeak  in a tree in the alley.  We are in the midst of a snowfall this morning so maybe the small flock of them will drop by for a snack.  I certainly hope so!

 Got pictures with yellow? Why not post them on the mellow yellow Monday meme by connecting to this link. http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/ Or You can click on its icon found on this page in the right column by finding it by scrolling down this page. If your plan is not to post a photo, then perhaps you will just want to enjoy all of the yellow contributions posted there

Early morning sunrise for Skywatch Friday

                                   Taken this morning while standing at the end of our driveway.
 My thanks to the hosts of Sky watch Fridayhttp://skyley.blogspot.com/ for continuing to host this very popular Friday sky watch meme. If you would like to post your own photos or just enjoy looking to see the photographic offerings of others, please scroll down this page and look upon the right hand side to click on the sky watch logo to go to the meme. A happy Friday to all.

My New Bird Feeder

   I have been a bit fascinated with this new bird feeder I bought last weekend and hung in Bird Alley.  I wondered if the little birds would be able to find their way into the interior of the cage.

The first species to check it out were the little Pine Siskins.  I began to worry about my feeder choice as the siskins did not seem to be able to figure out what to do at first.
 The first two birds to approach it appeared confused as to how to get inside, then they flew away!  But when this species returned again they finally got it mastered.With luck they appeared to 'fall in; the open spaces in the outer cage.  Their preference of entrance seemed to be through the cage openings at the bottom.

  It was a delight to watch the little Chickadees approach the feeder and enter into the caged area immediately. If I were awarding first place medals to the winners, then the Chickadees would be the winners.  and a close second would be the American Goldfinches.  They showed no hestitation as they entered the feeder and began to feed.

   Some birds were just to big to fit inside, such as this female Hairy Woodpecker shown below. She is probably wondering how that little Pine Siskin got inside the caged feeder shown below. The Blue Jays were a bit annoyed too as they could not get to the food in the feeder:  but there were other feeders nearby with tasty seed offerings.

  

A bird not too big but it did not get inside the caged area was this White-breasted Nuthatch shown above. Perhaps it goes against the nature of the species to enter an area like this. I shall be observing daily. to see if this species is ever able to master an entrance.
 
One very surprising  species to figure out how to enter the cage and feed there was this little male Downy woodpecker shown below.  what a surprise it was to see him inside.

I like the features of this feeder.  The bigger birds are not able to get near the food and scatter and waste it as the larger woodpeckers and BlueJays sometimes do.  And the outer cage should offer protection and safety from hawks to the little feeding birds.  Other years we have had preying Sharp-shinned Hawks terrorizing Bird Alley as well as an often visiting Northern Shrike.

My most recent photo capture of a different bird species feeding within my caged bird feeder was this little Red-breasted Nuthatch.

Oh No!!!!  How did that red furry creature get inside my caged feeder?????
What a terrible sight to see when I looked out my window!
When I opened the window to scare him off he ran around the center in a circle as if he couldn't figure how to get out.  Then he squeezed tightly through one of the wire openings!

And don't come back!!!!!!

 The most recent species to get inside the feeder cage was these American tree Sparrows.