WV Nature.com

Some female Northern Cardinals in the snow…

sitting in a tree…

eating on the ground:

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I’ve taken several photographs recently of the “confusion’ brought on by the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had this winter. Here are some from today.

Crocus, not only up, but in bud:

Worse than that, my Dianuthus is in bud early as well:

I hope they make it through the cold spell this weekend. It is supposed to be under 10 degrees here, by Sunday morning.

The Junco (otherwise known around here as the “snow bird”) is a short, squatty little bird.  But this one was quite curious about me and my camera. He decided to tiptoe to stand up as tall as he could and lean over to get a better view of me.

I thought it was cute.

We have a cold, blustery, snowy weekend ahead.  We have mostly had an unseasonably warm winter this year, which has been good for the Carolina Wren. They are our little visitors from the south, who aren’t really meant to live this far north. They are not as cold-hardy as many of our birds in West Virginia and they rely on insects for the majority of their food sources. Because of these factors, sadly, a percentage of the ones living this far north, do not survive the winter. This little one looked rather chilly today.  I can’t help but worry about them.  They are one of my favorite types of birds.  They are so friendly and sweet.  And they eat the spiders that try to cover the outside of my front window with webs. They mate for life, staying with their partners year-round.

It’s not a great photograph, but I just wanted to remind people to try to do a little something for these guys.  You can help them by putting out little containers or boxes, especially near houses and windowsills, and it will help them keep warm over the winter. One pair lived in a little gift bag that I placed in my kitchen windowsill for several years, raising many batches of babies in it.

I have a pair living in a hanging flower basket on my front deck. They raised their last batch of babies there in the fall and have been spending the winter there.  I saw one of them this morning trying to make things a bit cozier in there.

The do eat at seeds and things sometimes, but it’s not their main food source.  If you know someone that raises meal worms for fishing, I’ve heard they love meal worms. I do know that they will often search the bottoms of feeders or the ground under feeders for broken little bits of sunflower seeds.  I don’t think they can break open the seeds on their own, as it is not their intended diet.  They love cat food. So if you have cat food sitting outdoors this time of year, you might find one rooting around in your cat food bowl looking for crumbs small enough for them to eat.  I’ve been known to put a little bit of Meow Mix cat food in a Ziploc sandwich bag, and tap on it with a hammer to create little crumbs, then place it somewhere they can find it.  They love this.

So if you live in West Virginia and north of us, try to show a little love to the Carolina Wren and help them get through the winter. They will reward you by helping keep down the insect population around your home, yard, and garden.

I like Nuthatches they are friendly and interesting birds. They move in very interesting ways. They often “hop” from one spot to another, and they are very adept at hanging  upside down, sideways, etc.

Here is one hopping to the feeder, from a tree. Notice how its wings are not out. A nuthatch can easily hop that distance, without ever using it’s wings.

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Here it is giving me a curious look that says, “What are you doing over there, watching me, pointing that thing at me?”

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This little Chickadee and this Goldfinch were not in agreement in regards to allowing the other to eat at the feeder. At first the Goldfinch managed to intimidate the Chickadee off the feeder. I caught this shot as the Goldfinch let out a loud, “SQUAWK!”, at the Chickadee for daring to return.  :)

This little Downy Woodpecker is a regular visitor to my suet feeder.

This little Goldfinch was looking very cold today.  But soon enough it will be warmer again and its brighter yellow hue will return.

This is the view from one of my favorite shady spots, under a birch tree.
(The photos are clickable for a larger view.)

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An Eastern Gray Squirrel at the park, enjoying his dinner.

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