Roasted Sunflower Seeds

First it looked like a House Finch but the behavior was somewhat different.  House Finch hardly eats at a bird bath feeder placed on the patio during the winter months.  So to find out who it really was,  I looked through the camera lens.  Aha !  Just as I suspected, it was a rare visitor:   a Purple Finch with the deep pink head and white eyebrows.

"I haven't been here for a long time, but I took a chance 

to come and check.  I am glad I found a lot of sunflower seeds here."

"I am almost full."

A Beautiful Morning

What a beautiful morning!  Although it gets cloudy and rainy soon, it is worthwhile to get up early and see this morning glow.

A flock of Canada Goose are flying to the east to find another feeding spot while the sky is clear.

"Gang, just follow me to the east this morning."

Every morning a Northern Flicker arrives to peck on the suet in my backyard.
I stock up the suet supply in winter.  When I am out of the supply, I can make a homemade suet, too.

"Thanks a million for the suet.  I need the fat and seeds to

 survive through the low temperature around here."

Hawk's Tweet

A cloudy day.  After several days of hard rain, birds were very happy to fly out this way to peck on their favorite suets.   When little birds make a lot of commotion, in comes a Cooper's Hawk.

"I've seen many little birds a second ago."

"Tweety birds,  why not come out to

 play with me?," tweeted the hawk.

Bright Pink

Oregon winter is rainy, dark, and gloomy.  Today is such a day.  One more day to the winter solstice when the day will begin to be longer.

The other day a male Anna's Hummingbird brightened my day.

"I thought I might cheer you up on a gloomy day."

Bare Branches

Winter is the best season to observe birds because all the leaves are gone.  On a sunny day, I saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch flying into my backyard.  It makes a unique sound like tooting a tin horn.

"I come here everyday.  If you hear 

anyone tooting a horn, that's me."

"A warm sun is always welcome."

Rainbow between Shower

Too much rain lately.  But once in a while, I can find a rainbow just like this.

Between the rains, birds can take a quick cold bath.

"A big splash!"

"I am SO light and clean."

"The sunshine is nice and warm for just a short while."

A Cold Bath

Yesterday when it was still dark and cold, I saw an Anna's Hummingbird taking a winter bath!!

"Ready to dive!"

"Yeah, getting cleaned!"

"Halfway cleaned.  More to go!"

The Bright Sunrise

Early this morning the bright sun started shining on the neighbor's maple tree.
Bundled up with the down feather coat, etc., I started waiting for birds to fly in and perch on these branches.  Soon,  to my pleasant surprise, one male Varied Thrush just landed.  A Varied Thrush comes once in a long while and looks for food on the ground, often in the shaded area.  Therefore it has been difficult to take a good photo, but not today.

"A nice day.  I'm out for my breakfast."

"Yuk, someone (backyard owner) is down there."

"I'm off to the next yard where no one is out."

Sharing the Sugar Water

Sharing is something to learn for everyone.  So with birds.  Hummingbirds have a territory and when two show up around the same time, one will usually chase away the other in my backyard.   Here is an example of a confrontation.

"I just don't like the other girl!"

But one sunny day in the front garden where there is only one feeder, there were two hummingbirds sharing the same  sugar juice.

"I don't like the other girl looking at me, 

but it's nice and warm here.  I can share the juice today."

"Slurp, slurp.....  tastes so good.  We are both happy."

Berries for Winter Food

In late fall, only a few leaves are left on the neighbor's maple tree.  

In my backyard, an American Robbin flew in to eat the Beauty Berries.  Last year maybe the same Robin was munching these berries, so it returned again for the same treat.

"People say these berries are a bit tart, but I like 

these when no other berries are around."

Frozen Bird Bath

It's been below freezing.  The bird bath water is frozen and melts some by noon.

"A nice, but cold day.  Any drinking water around here?"

"Knock, knock... on the ice.  Well, I can lick a bit then."

"Oh, no....  It's frozen all over."

A Predator Watch

In winter,  predators return to town to look for food.  The other morning I heard a crow squawking loudly.    There he was, busy harassing a falcon.

"I am a Merlin, a small predator."

"Just leave me alone, Mr. Crow."

"There's no chance for me to find any food here."

Cold, But Sunny Day

Today the blue sky appeared after two days of gusty wind.   Around 9:30 am, the sun begins to hit my backyard.  Many birds come over to find seeds and suets at the feeders.

A male Northern Flicker stopped over for the suet.

"I haven't been here for a while.  I'm

 glad the suet is here for our winter food."

A few Anna's Hummingbirds visit here throughout the year.  One of them stayed in the sun for a long time after slurping the sugar water.  She can let me come very close.

"I just like the warm sun."

First Freezing Temperature

Winter has arrived here.  The freezing temperature this morning caused the local schools to delay the starting for 2 hours.  When I went out to feed the birds, I felt the small pellets of ice falling on me.  The colorful leaves are mostly fallen, covering the ground.

Now I saw a winter bird that stopped over.

"Hi, I am a Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon). 

 I will be visiting here often during the cold months."

Late Autumn Friends

After a week of rainy and cold days,  our weather finally cleared for a day.  The birds are busy taking a bath to do cleaning.

"I don't mind taking a bath in the cold weather.  I really need 

to keep my feather light and clean for the ease of flying."

Finding bugs in every corner of the bush.

"I need to find bugs before they die out with 

the freezing temperature."

Looking far and wide to assure his territory clear of any invaders.

"No other pink helmet can be flying around here."

"See my beautiful pink helmet.  The 

chickadee behind is in awe of this color."

In a Little Town

One day on a country side, we had no scheduled plan, so we strolled around the town to find the roaster and the hen pecking the seeds at a cafe ground.

"Don't disturb my breakfast."

At nearby famous ruins, there are many kitties freely promenading on and near the priceless broken marble structures.  Since the ancient times, cats have been revered as a god.  Therefore, Turkish people too inherit the tradition of respecting the cats.

"I am a queen of the ruin.  I am well fed and everyday I let 

people take my fabulous photo.  Don't you like my golden eyes?"

On the Aegean Sea

In the past I've heard a lot about the beauty of the Aegean Sea, but I did not pay much attention to it.   One day during the trip, we made a stopover at a coastal town more like to kill time and, lo behold, unexpectedly discover the meaning of that praise:  a clear indescribable blue green sea water,  accented with little guppies swimming around.

Over the distance, Black-legged Kittiwakes (seagulls) and a Marbled Teal bobbing and hunting on the water.

"Hey, this will be my catch."

And on top of a nearby fisherman's shed, a Rock Dove was staring at me.

"I bet you are fascinated by us just like all the other tourists."

Ancient Ruins

During my recent outing, I saw ancient ruins along the Aegean Sea.  

There I found a thousand years old broken marble columns scattered on the ground or re-stacked for the past glory.   However, the top of such a column is currently being used by Eurasian Jackdaws for a safe nest. 

"It's big enough for several families."

At another location near an ancient Agora (market place), the birds can stroll observing today's visitors.

"I am making sure no one wrecks my playground."

Another Fall Visitor

It's nice to be back to my PC.  I planned to update my blog while I was away, but using another PC I could not access.   So now I can talk to you.  I hope everyone is doing fine.

=================

Some trees in our neighborhood are already dropping the leaves.  It still warms up by noon.   Our apples are worm eaten and sour, so they are left on the tree for birds to peck.

On the fence, I saw another autumn visitor, the White-crowned Sparrow.

"I made a quick stop-over today."

"Upon seeing a Golden-crowned Sparrow,  

I am assured this backyard is safe for me, too."

A High-pitched Warning

Lately when the sun comes out, I am on the patio sitting on a small gardening box with a camera, leaning onto the house where it is still shaded (in a sense, I am half-hidden).

Suddenly I heard the house sparrow's high-pitched, continuous chi-chi-chi-chi,-chi.......  I looked in the direction where the warning came.  There I found a young Cooper's Hawk just landed on top of the fence next to the blueberry bush, scanning the surrounding area.

Wow....I began to shoot photos, hoping the hawk does not see me.....

"I am starved."

Right then one of the neighbors started making noise in their backyard and scared off the hawk to somewhere else.  Surprisingly after a few minutes, it returned and even landed on the bird bath which I had never seen one there before.

"I just need to have a tasty bite right at this moment."

And then it came down onto the ground to thoroughly check it out for any victim.  But to my relief, every little bird was wiser and did not make even a wee little tweet.

"Being young, I didn't have much of luck today.  

Ta, ta, I am off to a better hunting ground."