down underwear

When it gets cold near zero F, birds fluff their feathers out to hold their body heat among the down beneath their larger feathers.  This little Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens was seeking insects along the bark on the Boxelder tree, but paused to rearrange his downy underwear for maximum heat retention.

Common Redpoll

This week, some Common Redpolls joined the guild of mixed species in the wild woods.  Their perky attitude and bright red caps made them stand out among the other finches.  Usually nesting in the arctic tundra and boreal forests, they come south for warmth in winter. 

albino House Finch

At first I thought this little round white bird, roosting early this morning among the House Finches, was an owl.  But closer inspection through the binoculars make me think it is an albino House Finch. 

rosy finches

There are usually groups of finches in the wild woods.  Most often, they are the rosy House Finches and gold or olive Goldfinches.  Occasionally, I see Purple Finches among them.
 

waterplay

A sunny day today, with temperatures between 24 and 30 F.  The sparrows decided to bathe.  The whole flock took turns, and they seemed to be having fun.

post-lunch nap

Mid-afternoon.  We noticed the Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus sitting in the sun on a branch at the edge of the wild woods.  Usually when we see this bird, he is hunting, scanning for prey, and on the move.  Today he sat for almost one hour, sunning himself, eyelids occasionally drooping.  We wondered -- why so languid?  Then we noticed the subtle splotches of red blood on his bib.  No need to hunt with a full belly and warm sunshine.

samaras

Instead of snow today, rain and fog.  But the Northern Cardinals looked especially vibrant as they moved around and nibbled on the seeds hanging in the Boxelder Acer negundo tree.  The Boxelder's samara "winged fruit" are an important source of food for birds and mammals because they stay on the tree through winter, when other food resources might be scarce.

snowy woods

Although the 14 inches of snow that fell here on December 8 and 9 made the bird feeders more difficult to get to, the Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, and Red-bellied Woodpecker were able to find their way through to seed, suet, and bugs in tree bark.

snow critter

   near the wild woods today --

FeederWatch

After several inches of snow overnight, the feeder stations are all more difficult for the birds to use with their usual carefree twittering.  The chickadees were the first to start burrowing through the snow shelf covering the seed spouts on each station.  The seed in the tray was totally snow covered.

I put a chunk of suet on the tray but
it soon became covered with snow. 
The intrepid Juncos made little tunnels to reach in and nibble the suet.  They are ground feeders, preferring to walk and kick loose the seeds they can find among grass and leaves.  I also put some fresh seed in a pot turn on its side in the tray, so they could get sunflower seeds there even though the snow is coming down more heavily.




The birds' water bowl is heated just enough to keep it open for them to drink. 

all-season cabana

My backyard "cabana" is an arbor for the hummingbirds in summer.  Now, with a frosting of snow, it is still the perfect place to sit and watch into the wild woods.

the mushroom tree

First snow for this season; an inch of fluff last night and more on the way.  This tree, viewed from along the path through the woods, is the fallen elm that supports an assortment of fungi (including the one below).

shelf mushroom

 

This "shelf mushroom" was growing on a tree in the woods all summer.  This type grows on trees that are probably rotting inside, so there may be a new woodpecker tree in our future.  The mushroom looked vital from all angles, so I snapped photos thinking I would draw or paint it later.  Now, after some frosty nights, it is even more interesting.  Which one to draw . . . ?

Northern Shrike

Uncommonly seen, a young Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor sat in the Maple tree twitching his tail up and down as he watched for a vole (prospective lunch) below.

white spot Goldfinch

The American Goldfinches Spinus tristis were feeding this morning on seeds of the birch trees.  This Goldfinch looked unusual because of the white spot on his head; it may be an albino variant, or a molting mistake.

boxelder seeds

The Boxelder Acer negundo tree has dropped all its leaves, but the seed pods remain for the birds to enjoy all winter. This cluster, dry and golden in the sunlight, hangs among fading red sumac Rhus leaves on the edge of the woods.  The background green is the last-to-drop leaves of the invasive buckthorn Rhamnus.

larch cones

Although a conifer, the larch is a deciduous tree.  In summer it has lush green needle-like leaves; it will lose these golden leaves to the autumn winds as the needles dry out.  This tree, Larix laricina, is more than twenty feet tall; it grows on the edge of the woods in the low swale that is constantly moist.  This tree is also known as Tamarack Larch or American Larch.  Larch are used as a food plant by the larvae of a number of butterflies.

 

FeederWatch

Northern Cardinal, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, (shown) plus Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch,  House Finch, House Sparrow, Bluejay, Junco, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker -- the usual birds in the winter guild were all at the feeding stations during the first two days of this season's FeederWatch.

roost hole

Walking in the woods today, I noticed this hole in an old elm tree. It faces away from the usual windy direction, so probably a good roosting spot for some critter in the winter.

sunset on wild woods

Most of the leaves have dropped, but the sunset lights the branches, twigs, and remaining leaves atop the wild woods.

woodpeckers in the wild woods

Today, the female Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus came to the suet feeder.  She has a smaller red cap than the male, a thinner black eyeline, and lacks the red malar stripe he shows along his cheeks.
This woodpecker nibbled for a few minutes, enjoying the suet.  When a chunk broke off and she leaned back, it was impaled on the tip of her lower beak.  Unable to eat it while the suet was stuck on her beak, she flew to a nearby tree and perched about four feet up on the trunk.  Wiping her beak back and forth, she finally dislodged the suet; it fell into the leaf litter below.  She hopped backwards down the trunk to the ground, and shuffled in the leaves until she found her treasure.

October birds

We are getting ready for FeederWatch, the citizen-science project online for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  The “guild” of winter birds is forming in the woods, and the most noticeable visitor this week is the male Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus.  His red cap is continuous from his beak to its pointed tip, and he has a bit of red in his malar stripes on each side of his face.

molting birds

The Blue Jay, molting into his new feathers, will look drastically better when his neck is feathered fully and the crest on his head grows out.

juvenile birds

Day by day, the juvenile birds that hatched in and around the wild woods this summer are getting their adult feathers.  The young White Breasted Nuthatch will develop a more defined black cap and frosty white around his eyes.  The juvenile Gray Catbird will get more dark feathers on his head.  The Downy Woodpecker (licking suet in the photo) will grow more black and white feathers to replace some of his brownish ones. 

  

young fledgling birds

Several bird pairs have fledged their babies out of the nests in the wild woods.  This young Eastern Bluebird happily comes to the plate of mealworms. 

A brood of six Black-capped Chickadees come to the suet to eat and play tag around the feeder.

This Red-bellied Woodpecker is learning to enjoy suet too.  This juvenile does not have a red belly yet, nor the bright red cap that will develop later this autumn.