Go, Downies!

The male downy woodpecker that has been coming to my house for the past 3 winters found a mate!! He brought his new female friend with him today :)

Go, downies!!

Snowflake on his cap

It's a black capped chickadee with a snowflake on his cap! :)

Merry Christmas!

May your holidays be safe and bright!

More returning friends

You saw in my last post that the first dark eyed junco of the season returned a week early on October 18th... well, on November 13th, 3 weeks later, his first friend arrived!

Today (Nov 14th), the Downy Woodpecker made his return to the suet feeder in my yard. That got me thinking about suet...

Check out this video from Sharon Stiteler, the BirdChick, on no-melt peanut butter suet, available from the BirdChick Store on the OpenSky Project.

Dark Eyed Juncos Return

They left 6 months ago to the day... and today, the dark eyed juncos have returned - 7 days earlier this year than last year. They're so cute, but I am not ready for winter!

It's 54 degrees and partly cloudy. Fall weather kicked in early this year. We didn't have much of a summer, and I'm wondering if that has anything to do with their early return this year. The white crowned sparrow returned last week.

Look Who's Back!

Look who's back! I love the return of the birds that fled south for the winter :)

Today, March 7th: The robins are back! One day later than last year:



The common grackles returned yesterday, March 6th - 4 days earlier than last year. Also yesterday, I heard a mourning dove coo - 5 days earlier than last year.

The red winged blackbirds made it back WAY early - one showed up Feb 13th! He called for one day, then laid low for a couple weeks, though still visited my feeders. Then, this past week, many more RWBB's showed up, and they all started singing and displaying - right about on time compared to last year (March 2nd).

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Obama Protects Endangered Species!

HOORAH!!!!!!

President Obama is restoring a requirement that U.S. agencies consult with independent federal experts to determine whether their actions might harm threatened and endangered species.

The presidential memorandum issued yesterday, which marks yet another reversal of former president George W. Bush's environmental legacy, will revive a decades-old practice under the Endangered Species Act that calls for agencies to consult with either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on whether their projects could affect imperiled species.

Full article @ The Washington Post - Obama Reverses Bush on Species Protection Measure

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