Sunday, January 31, 2010

There's Nothing Like Snow To Bring the Birds!

There's nothing like a snowstorm to bring the birds to my back yard!







and there's nothing like TWO hawks, at the SAME time...



to send them for cover in the bushes and trees! *I think they were both Cooper's hawks.





Saturday was a gorgeous day, with the snow coming down all around.



It was about half as much as our snowstorm in December, but it was just as pretty.






The robins, mourning doves, bluebirds and cardinals feasted on seeds and suet.  There were also woodpeckers, finches, and northern flickers.




 And the hawks? They had lots of opportunities!



We don't know for sure, but we think they left the yard without a hot meal.

*Be sure to participate in the garden bloggers Thanks For 2 Day Sustainability Project and Garden Product Give Away! Your posts may be linked here through March 1, 2010 to be eligible for the Give Away. Let's share how we all contribute to giving Thanks to Mother Earth!

--Today I am thankful for the snow, that in the midst of winter, helps to bring birds to my backyard.



Words and photos by Jan Huston DobleThanks For 2 Day.

25 comments:

  1. Jan, what type of bird are those little blue birds with the tan bellies? I have never seen a photo of them before, but a friend of mine has the most gorgeous print with the exact same birds on it.

    Jen

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  2. Hi Jan~~ Your bird photos are outstanding. I'm especially fond of the cardinals since they are not indigenous to my neck of the woods. Doesn't it feel great to help out the feathered visitors? Beautiful snowfall too.

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  3. Jan, I would be beside myself to have that many bluebirds in my yard! What a gorgeous sight!

    My favorite thing about the snow is that it brings birds to the yard. I would never get anything done if I had the bird activity that you do! Wow, I am impressed!

    I think the Cooper's are kind of lazy hunters. They rarely ever catch anything here and they don't seem to try very hard.

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  4. Hi Jen, those little blue birds with the tan bellies are eastern bluebirds!

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  5. Wow..a post of Intense Beauty and Amazement!I am super-captivated by all these wonderful birds!
    Lovely!!
    Kiki~

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  6. Wow, wow, wow! What incredible pictures and a stunning array of birds. Lucky you! :)

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  7. What wonderful shots!

    my trees were full of some black speckled bird by the bushel,at least a hundred of em, lovely shots you got there! glad to see you are enjoying the snow!

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  8. As soon as I clicked on your post, those Bluebirds caused a great big smile. Thank You!

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  9. Mr. Hawk needs a hat! Great pictures!!

    George Africa
    The Vermont Gardener

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  10. You have some great captures. We have about eight male cardinals attracted to our feeders not to mention the females. It is a beautiful sight but I haven't been able to capture it as you have. Congratulations.

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  11. I always enjoy your bird photos. They are gorgeous, especially the groups of Bluebirds and Cardinals.

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  12. The bluebirds are soooo cute and I don't often see them here. We have no snow cover and I haven't seen as many birds at my feeders this year as in years past--both in total number of birds and in number of species. It bums me out!!

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  13. Hi Jan. That hawk has been setting there too long. The snow was piling up on its head. ;-)
    I would love to have all of those Blue birds. They are just beautiful and your pictures of them so wonderful.
    I am glad the snow slipped under us this time around but maybe you did not want it. It made for some beautiful pictures though.

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  14. Jan,
    Your bluebirds on the waterinf pan is something. never saw a hawk covered with so much snow either. Snowed in here.

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  15. Jan, WOW!!!!! These photos are SO impressive! I'm so envious of the bluebirds! We had them nest here for the first time last summer, but I've never seen them in winter. You've got so many! Every one of your photos is just great. I really loved seeing this. It must have had you really excited to be seeing them at your feeders, too!

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  16. Oh! Wow! Stunning shots, and what a wide variety of birds! I'm quite envious, not having yet found the right "mix" for the birds in my new yard! Well done, dearie!

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  17. wow, amazing photos of amazing birds. Lovely colours.

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  18. They are looking happy by that heated birdbath! Lucky birds!

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  19. Jan, These photos are stupendous!!! How lucky to have so many bluebirds!!! I am drooling! Wonderful wonderful images! You have a bird sanctuary there... they must fight over who gets to stay and set up housekeeping come spring! You have made my day! ;>))

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  20. Wow, Jan! Not only do you have a post of rainbow plants, you also have a veritable rainbow of birds. Those dear little bluebirds just made my heart so happy, then I quaked in fear for them all when I saw the hawks. Feel free to send the hawks up here to dine on my starlings...
    Thanks also for your thoughtful comments on my 'encouraging other bloggers' post. I'm swamped this week, it seems, but I will get something up about your project as soon as possible. I didn't see that post in Blotanical, but I found you easily enough, so I'm going back to look again. One thing I wish Stuart could do would be make it so that I could go to your plot and see all your recent posts from there. Even with you added to my favourites, I don't see them yet.

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  21. Jan, Your bird photos are so amazing. I'm so impressed that you managed to photograph the hawks, but I loved best the wonderful color of the male cardinal and the bluebird together at the feeder. -Jean

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  22. Oh my goodness Jan,
    Your photos are so beautiful. I love seeing the bluebirds - we do not have them here. The bright red of the male cardinals are so vibrant and we do get a few here, but I rarely see them. Maybe if it snowed???

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  23. It's your daughter! I just found out I can sign in to blogger using my gmail account, so now I'm leaving you a comment...

    I love the ones of the cardinals in the snow!!

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  24. Wonderful photos, Jan. I had to remember that you live in Virginia! WE are NOT seeing Bluebirds or Robins yet... but they do look Cold at your house. Yipes!

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  25. Beautiful photo's jan. I am trying to get more birds into my yard, but they sure are slow to find the feeders.

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Thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment! Please enjoy your TODAY and all of the gifts in YOUR garden of life!

Jan

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