Saturday, January 23, 2010

Bird Watching

Pine Grosbeak, Male
One of our winter residents

A quote from one of Thoreau's journal entries:

December 11, 1855
"When some rare northern bird like the pine grosbeak is seen thus far south [New England] in the winter, he does not suggest poverty, but dazzles us with his beauty. There is in them a warmth akin to the warmth that melts the icicle."
~ Henry David Thoreau
(The Heart of Thoreau's Journals)

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Sky Watch - Sunlit Trees

These are chilly days in the north. I took these photos late one afternoon when the sun's rays lit up the trees at the eastern edge of the forest. The two hardy birds you see are both finches - the larger one is a male Pine Grosbeak and the one perched on a branch below is a Redpoll.




Sky Watch Friday.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Happy New Year!

It's very cold here today, but we're surviving and enjoying the bright sunshine. At the moment, it's about -18C. I was outside earlier tidying up around the compost bin (I think the deer are visiting it at night, and they've scattered some of the vegetable scraps) and also replenishing the bird feeders. Just as I was about to leave and go into the house, another woodpecker arrived on the scene. There was a noisy commotion as one chased the other from tree to tree until he had had enough and flew to a poplar on the other side of the driveway.