Wild Bird Wednesday

Well, sure ...it isn't Wednesday any more..but, I'm here ..

So were all the birds we usually see about this time of year.  In the space of 20 minutes...I took 84 photos... not all of them good enough to use... so there was a lot of deleting.  Normal for bird photos ... Dave will attest to that.  He has a blog totally devoted to bird butts... I'm serious..check it out. He has the cutest photos.

We had nuthatches, black capped chickadees, sparrows, Northern Flickers, Downy woodpeckers, ... Even a robin came to see what they were all up to, but robins don't do bird feeders so he just had a bath instead in the birdie bath and carried on his merry way, looking for Mayday berries.

Black Capped Chickadee

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Male Downy Woodpecker

Female Northern Flicker

Male Northern Flicker

American Robin (but, he lives in Canada)

My lovely half hour sitting near the window watching the patio feeders.... what fun.

Have some fun going to Stewart's blog too....lots more birds to see over there.. click on the badge below to be immediately transported there.

... can't resist....

 They are just too cute to resist.  I know, I know... only Nuthatches of late...but...

This little guy was standing on the top of the suet cage... waiting.... trying to decide whether or not to join the one already nibbling away at the peanut butter and bug suet.














Finally he did flit down onto the cage and they shared... sometimes they do, sometimes not...

 

They were among the many birds hanging out that day.... it was a cold, snowy one.  All were huddled around looking for a seed or some suet.
Look at the shot from the kitchen doorway ..trying to see across the street... it's still winter in these parts.  More snow forecast for this afternoon and evening... wonder if I will bother driving anywhere tomorrow? ...  Maybe no Tai Chi tomorrow ......

I'm linking up with Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday ... check out lots of birds over there .... hey, there could even be some more nuthatchies..... click on the photo below to go there .  click on any of the birdie pics on here to enlarge and see the little guys BIGGER.

                                                                                 

more little Nuthatchies.....

And....a Downy....   Woodpecker, that is...

Just because they are so cute and I stood out in the cold to try for some closer-ups....

One little guy (or girl)  is pretty feisty and brave.  He just kind of peeps softly and stays right on the nut dispenser all the time I am there.  But, then... when I least expect it... he whizzes past my ear on his way to the Juniper tree.  Or to flit back to get my attention.  It is tough to get focused even with Auto Focus, and get a clear shot of him/her.... they flit back and forth to the lilacs and off to a big spruce across the street.... man, they're fast.

You can see them closer too if you like .. just click on the photo ....

This little guy comes to peck on the suet cage and then...kind of falls asleep or dozes for a bit....leaning further and further back...til almost a backbend... he is very flexible.  But, kind of strange...he stays on there til somebody bigger, like a Norther Flicker manages to get his attention and off he goes.  He even stays there while I shovel snow in the patio.  Weird. 

Nuthatches instead of idiot people

Nuthatches are soooo cute. ...   People in the news lately are not.

In fact they are total idiots and I am so sick of reading about them that I feel like the old buzzard joke.... you know the one..... Two of them sitting on the wires over a deserted road waiting for a car to come along and run over something so they can have lunch ..   Finally one says to his buddy...."I'm tired of this.... let's go kill something."That's about what I want to do.  Kill most of the stupid women who think sexual harassment is a look that to them appears to be a leer or a comment that they take as sexual misconduct..... arrrgghhh!@#$% .

GAG me with a BIG wooden spoon.  What the hell is going on?  Has the whole world gone nuts?  If something offends you women or you can't figure out a way to say 'NO' or 'SHUT UP'  or figure out some way to deal with reality and just carry on with life as the rest of us do  .... stay home babes....   it's actually a real world out here.   Get a grip willya?

'Nuff said... they are making my life hell at the moment... as are the other stupid women who are beating and starving their children....and locking them cages in the basement....   I'm so mad I could spit.  Who even wants to read the news anymore?

So, instead, because I haven't yet figured out a way to get rid of those last two miserable bitches I read about, who've totally ruined and injured some precious little kids .... I give you some cute nuthatches....

Red breasted ones at that.... even the males ..hahahhahah..... actually I am not sure which are males and which are females.  There must be some say to differentiate...but I don't know what it is.  Perhaps just the colouring is a bit more vibrant or something.  In which case these may be little ladies ...they seem a bit paler than some I've seen.  Stewart?  Do you know? ... Kenneth? .... any other birders out there? ..

Here is a Female Downy Woodpecker sharing with a Nuthatch.  They don't mind any bird on the other side except Sparrows.  They hop around and peck those and get rid of them.   The others all peck in harmony for some reason.

Head over to Stewart's blog and check out lots of beautiful birds.. or click on the link below.

Happy New Year

Cold and snowy and the brilliant sun is shining....

A new year .... so many possibilities .....

It has been so cold the birds are always searching for more seeds and the suet.. it is wild at certain times of the day.  As many as 3 and 4 Flickers hanging out on the wall of the patio and even clinging to the rocks on the side of the house..waiting their turn at the suet.
Sparrows by the hordes... plenty of chickadees and some nuthatches and Downy woodpeckers ...I think we may have a Hairy one too...but, not too sure about him...

This one is so cute.  The big and the small.... Northern Flicker and a tiny nuthatch.... these two don't mind each other on together.  The Downy on the other hand darts around to peck anybody on the other side...this is a bit fuzzy looking because the venetian blind was in the way but I didn't want to scare them off.  Just took the cute photo.




Just look at this cheeky guy.... trying to chase off the sparrow... who does look a bit nervous... he got pecked and just hunkered down for a second or two but, then, decided to get off.

Wild Bird Wednesday

The tiny Red Breasted Nuthatch.

I love these little guys ...and, little they are too.  Not much bigger than some hummingbirds really.  But, feisty.. just like a hummer.  They don't take any flack from the bigger birds and dart in and out and get their fair share of the seeds. Sometimes they even try to hog the feeder all to themselves...

They hang upside down from the mesh to get a seed, (which I'm sure is the proper way for a nuthatch) ... but, they also perch on the little wire perches..or...they don't mind taking seeds from the board near the water..or on the ground ... as a matter of fact... they are everywhere ..all at the same time it seems.















I have at least two different ones coming and going on a regular basis.. I only know this because sometimes there are two here at the same time.  Also these same ones or ..maybe others... enjoy my suet feeder at the back of the house.  Their favourite... peanut butter and bugs suet... which the Downy woodpecker and the Flicker ...and a damned Magpie also enjoy.  I do shoo away the Magpie when notice it there.  It can get plenty of other "food" anywhere...

If they don't take the seed and fly directly to their "stash" ...  which they save for rainy or cold days.. they will often beat the heck out of it on the patio wall.   Unlike the sparrows...they are dainty eaters and like to nibble tiny morsels ..much like the chickadees do when they take a seed and fly into the lilac and nibble it for quite some time before returning for a second.

Here is one just for Dave ...    http://burdzbuttz.blogspot.ca  ... a perfect butt shot... which I get plenty of ...I just wasn't quite as clever as he was in naming a blog after the fact.  I love your fun blog Dave .. and all of your perfect butt shots.. as well as all of your other beautiful bird photos.

Look...sometimes he shares.... let me see what is that other bird? .... mmm.... perhaps ... it was a Pine Siskin that day.

We all know this look...... "Hey woman....it's empty...... more seed!!@"      Worse than a pirate... "oi .. ....where's me grog wench ?!..."

Sheeesh.....  birds are cheeky.

And look how easily he does that major stretch.... wow.... .. I wonder if their legs are situated differently in their anatomy than other birds or if they just have stronger groin muscles ... I must search for a straight on shot or two to see if it is noticeable...

Check out many other beautiful and interesting birds on Wild Bird Wednesday (even if it is Friday today) .....


Just click on this badge to go there....