Female House Finch
Nobody tell this female House Finch that she is chowing down on bittersweet berries on this recent chilly winter day…or maybe we should because undoubtedly she is not receiving a very nutritious meal. That is why they are often the last thing to be snacked on by our feathered friends during the depths of winter. Fear not, birds – we will work our way into spring soon enough, and the songs of birds like the House Finch are filling the air right now… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHooded Mergansers
The icy cold and snowy weather of the past several weeks along with the beginning of the waterfowl spring migration season has sent some birds looking for open water and others finding their way north again. These Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) were zipping around looking for a warm spot on one of the more frigid afternoons recently. Courting continues, but the spring breeding season is sooner rather than later…
Read MoreGreen-winged Teal Size
I took this photo and I still can’t mentally process it correctly. Here we have a drake Green-winged Teal in front of an American Black Duck with Gadwall, American Coot, Mallard, among others. Teals are certainly small ducks, but that bird looks tiny compared to its friends. They are very close to one another and the little teal is closer to me…what a size difference in every feature! This guy seems like a toy in front of the Black Duck on a cold and snowy day. There will not be many more of those left… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreBrown Creeper
Brown Creepers must be the winner in the category of “most calm, friendly and tame birds that are yet the most difficult to get a good photo of” because they stay glued to the tree bark and rarely stop moving, spiraling up and down the trunk. They examine every crevice they can for any small insects or spiders, locking those big feet on the bark and staying steady with their long tail, using that large curved bill to snag their snack. I have plenty of semi-blurry photos of the species and even more that are too dark or obstructed. Today I took out my camera to photograph a few of...
Read MoreSnow Buntings
Now that the Horned Larks have had to surrender their crown of “Best Camouflage in the Grasslands” Snow Buntings like this one have claimed the throne. When viewing them from the front at their level the cap and collar stand out a bit with brown and orange tones, but the bird is otherwise becoming one more little pile of snow. If you have a deep snow cover keep an eye on fields, especially agricultural, plus the sides of driveways and roads where plows have scraped up some of the earth. This is the best time of the year to find their fluttering flocks descending on any exposed...
Read More
