Surprise Snow Causes Spike in Feeder Traffic, though New Arrivals Give Hope for Spring

After a week or more of extremely mild weather--it got to nearly 70 yesterday--in which much of the accumulated snow had melted away, we were surprised to wake up this morning to see the all the trees covered in new snow and a lot still coming down. The temperature was just on the high side of the freezing point, so the snow was coming down in big, wet flakes. Even though the ground had thawed out rather thoroughly, the new stuff was sticking to the ground. It's now about 10:30 a.m.and the snow has nearly stopped, and what had been on the trees is beginning to fall off. Maine Public Broadcasting is, unaccountably, still saying "sunny and warm" for most of the state, including the southern end. Go figure.

The birds also seem to have been caught off-guard. After a period of relatively little traffic at the feeders due, no doubt, to the increased ability to find food in areas newly-free of snow, we've enjoyed a spate of activity this morning. Dark-eyed Juncos have been around all winter, of course, but today there's a largish flock around; I estimate it at ~30 birds. It's always a treat to see these gorgeous little guys with their dark gray plumage, and it's a bit saddening to realize that they will probably soon be leaving us for the season.

Another highlight has been the appearance of the first Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles of the season. We've had 4-5 each in a mixed flock. Very odd to be standing outside in the snowfall and hearing the "Ok-a-lee" song of the Red-Wings! 

Goldfinches are also around in good numbers this morning. This is the time of year when the males begin to acquire their bright yellow summer plumage, so we're seeing birds in all sorts of in-between stages. Some have already achieved a fair degree of "yellow-ness" but most are quite mottled, with bits of yellow here and there on their bodies.

The Red-wings aren't the only birds singing in the snow. The Goldfinches are tittering away and the Chickadees are giving forth with their "fee-bee" call. As we went out to collect the morning papers our semi-resident male Northern Cardinal was announcing his presence with authority, with what my son dubbed many years ago as his "laser" call. 

We've been pleasantly surprised to see a couple of Common Redpolls still around, as most of them seem to have departed for more northerly climes. 

All in all we've tallied 17 species. In addition to those I've already noted we've seen both White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches; Fox, Tree and Song Sparrows; Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers; Crows; Tufted Titmice; Mourning Doves; Blue Jays; and a lone House Finch. Most of these have been around all winter, but the first Fox Sparrow appeared this week and today has been joined by a second one.

NOTE: For various reasons I've fallen way behind in things I want to post to this blog. I'll try to catch up this week. Among other things I'm exploring ways to post better-quality videos; I apologize for the crappy way the ones that I've put up so far appear by the time they get compressed and uploaded here.

Yard bird #68

There hasn't been a great deal of interest happening in the yard lately but I was surprised and pleased to see a Golden-crowned Kinglet in one of the feeder trees. We'd just noted our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet in October, and this was the first Golden-crowned that we'd noted. Kinglets are lovely little birds, "little" being the operative word. They sometimes hover a bit as they feed, often near the ends of branches. A too-hasty glance can lead one to at first think one is seeing a hummingbird. David Sibley notes that the two species of kinglet "differ in many respects." Not the least of the differences is that the crowns that give them their names are displayed quite differently. The gorgeous yellow feathers on the GCK are pretty much always visible, but a glimpse of the RCK's red top is a rare treat.

Both species of kinglet are peripatetic little guys, so they're very difficult to photograph. I managed a fair shot of a GCK in some grass along the Murfreesboro [TN] Greenway a few years ago:

The one this morning seems not to have hung around long, as I have not seen it again.

By way of updating yard status, the Pine Siskins have put in only occasional appearances since I first noted them a week ago. The number of Purple Finches has also gone way down. A Red-breasted Nuthatch that was around off and on for awhile has also not been in evidence lately. I do hope he/she comes back! Goldfinches, Juncos, Chickadees, and Titmice are still numerous, and a pair or so of Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, plus White-breasted Nuthatches, spend a lot of time on the suet feeders.