Winter Birding

I love the cooler weather and I love seeing all the birds coming in!

I have dark eyed juncos, black capped chickadees, chestnut backed chickadees, downy woodpeckers (in photo), northern flickers, house finches, gold finches, anna's hummingbirds, bushtits, and a song sparrow coming in. I also have the "snarlings" AKA starlings coming in but I try to ignore them.

I am anxiously awaiting the pine siskins and varied thrushes as the weather gets colder.

The trees may be barren but the birding is plentiful!

Of Pigeons and Starlings

Good grief, all I am getting in these days are pigeons and starlings. Oh, yeah, and squirrels. I have figured out how to best use my birdcam but where are all my "good" birds???
I guess the bright side is that I am ready to capture them in photos if they ever show up. I'm thinking of letting the suet run out so as to discourage the starlings and getting some "hot meats" (seeds with chili oil) to discourage the squirrels. It worked before. Maybe then my chickadees, bushtits, northern flickers, and grosbeaks will return.

For the Birds

One thing I HATE about birding is when a new species shows up at my feeders, hang around for a few days and then they're GONE, never to be seen again!!

I get my hopes up that these visitors will be regulars and it's such a letdown when I realize that no, they aren't coming back. Did they find better grub somewhere else? Were they just passing through to their intended destination? I'll never know because they never say good-bye or give me a warning that they are leaving.

Case in point: Over the last few days I've had THREE black-headed grosbeaks in for the first time! Yesterday they were in and out all day long and I was getting quite attached. I could tell them apart even.

Today I have not seen ONE, not once. I feel lonely. I feel abandoned. Nothing but snarlings, I mean starlings. Don't get me started on them. That's a subject best left alone.

Wishing for a BirdCam

I have been looking at the Wingscapes BirdCam website for several days now and have decided that I absolutely have to have one!

I love watching birds come to my feeders and I love taking photos. However, watching and getting photos don't always go hand in hand because BIRDS MOVE AROUND!! My camera is always set up in my window but by the time I turn it on and focus, the birds I want to capture are usually gone. And that's if I don't make any sudden moves to scare them away while getting to my camera.

Enter the Birdcam - it would already be set up and triggered by motion when the bird arrives! Who knows what birds come to visit when I'm not home???

And just yesterday I had a male and female Northern Flicker walking around my patio - why, they could have been stars of their own video had there been a BirdCam set up!

I could have endless hours of fun setting it up in various spots and boring my friends and family with even more bird and squirrel photos. They should be used to it by now though!

So the question remains: When my stimulus check arrives, should I be practical and save it, or go for the BirdCam?? Decisions, decisions, decisions...