I Shoot Birds: Brrrrr...baby it's cold outside.

Temperatures have dropped severely in the last few weeks, making it painful to get outside and do any photography for more than about 15-20 minutes. We don't have that much good light these days, so on clear, cold days when the sun shines for a few hours, us die-hards embrace the frigid weather and make the most of the opportunity.

When I got into birding last year (read about it here), one of my obsessions became putting up bird feeders around my house. I wanted my house and yard to be a bustle of feathered activity and I tried several different varieties of bird feeders, both handmade and store bought. It didn't take long for the Black-capped Chickadees and the Red-breasted Nuthatches to find my suet cages and little plastic bird feeders. I bought the generic "wild bird seed" and watched as a few birds here and there came to enjoy the feast. I noticed that the Nuthatches would sift through the seeds and pick out tasty morsels,
while more than half of the mix was carelessly discarded to the ground. What a waste! I had to come up with some other ideas. I noticed a neighbor across the street had over 100 Pine Grosbeaks and Redpolls coming regularly to her feeders during the colder months. I had to know what they were doing, so I went to introduce myself. I was delighted to meet a very nice older couple that were very warm and inviting. They even let me photograph the birds that were coming regularly along the railing of their deck to feed. The couple gave me a small bag of seeds and off I went to spread it on the railing of my own deck. Once finished I sat back and waited for the mass of birds to show up. Well, the Chickadees and the nuthatches showed up, but nothing else. That was it, despite my best effort thus far, I had only managed to give the Chickadees and Nuthatches some variety in their cuisine. This went on all winter until finally, towards the end, I had about 30 - 40 Redpolls show up for about two days, then they were gone. Then in early spring, a pair of Grosbeaks (a male and female) showed up for about two weeks, spending a lot of time in a spruce tree near my deck. I was hopeful that they would nest in that tree, but they eventually departed too.

Fast forward to this year. I built myself a large platform feeder and mounted it in the corner of my deck. I filled it with black-oil sunflower seeds, hoping that maybe the couple from spring would tell their friends and everyone would come to my deck for food. Well, I am thrilled to say that it has worked exceptionally well. I now regularly get around 30 Pine Grosbeaks at my feeder from about 10 am to 3 pm. They not only keep my platform feeder occupied, but also the deck rail and anywhere else I drop seed. I have noticed Redpolls showing up as well. First it was only one, but there are more and more coming around each day to wait their turn to eat. My platform feeder is a success and I plan on building more for others this winter as well. I also purchased beef suet and hung it in a net bag that previously held avocados from the grocery store (works fantastic BTW). Last year I had both Hairy and Downy woodpeckers come around often to grab a tasty morsel of suet. This year hasn't yet welcomed the woodpeckers to my offerings, but I hope to see them soon!

On my front deck, I still have about four Steller's Jay's that regularly come by for peanuts, almonds, and mixed seed. I have even trained them to take nuts from my hand which is a special thrill. I have been really enjoying the birds around my house, and have had 6 species in a day so far show up. We keep a "house list" at our place, noting all the birds that we can see from home which includes flyovers, etc. So far I believe we have around 22 species.

Last week, while my wife was at home with our kids, a female Pine Grosbeak hit the window. My wife went outside and rescued it. They named it Mercy and nursed her back to health and let her go. It was a good lesson for my 2 year old son in mercy (hence the name) and compassion to God's creatures. We now have snowflake shaped window clings to help deter the birds from hitting the glass and it has largely worked well. Hopefully we have no more accidents.

Photo opportunities the last few weeks have included Bohemian Waxwings, Ravens, Pine Grosbeaks, and Black-billed Magpie.

Below are some recent photos of the Grosbeaks around my house, including Mercy and a Raven shot as well.

As always, keep your eyes peeled and your binoculars handy!