That was my view from my bedroom window yesterday morning. To no one's surprise the mandate was issued to work from home yesterday. A bit of a change from the 60's when I was out on Monday, and the upper 50's forecast for today. Nothing like a foot of snow to keep you on your toes!
The flock of House Finches that have claimed this feeder as their own weren't slowed much by the snowy coating. I usually only get to appreciate them as an accompaniment to my alarm clock in the mornings, but with the blinds open I was able to enjoy them as they feasted for an hour or so while I worked. They were as intrigued by my actions as I was by theirs, splitting time between jockeying for position around the feeder, watching me as they munched on their selected seeds, and dodging the occasional downpours of falling snow from above like this female.
It isn't often when I have the time or inclination to sit and watch birds from a window. I crave being out in the environment with them. All hiking aside there is something to be said for the close proximity I had to these preoccupied visitors.
The 'winter-wonderland' backdrop to their feeding station was gone in hours and they will soon be perching among buds and leaves, but I was glad to have their company while it lasted as I worked.
Update: After posting this I decided to compare back to posts from last year from around the same date to see what I was up to. I found this one, which was one of my forgotten favorites: http://daveabirding.blogspot.com/2009/03/blizzard-in-blizzard.html. I am sure that Blizzard is mad that his owner's slacker housemate, (me), was too busy shoveling and knocking snow off trees to take his picture this year. In my defence, this storm hit at night and his bounding would not have been well captured on long exposures.
You sure took advantage of the closeness of the birds to get some great shots! I really envy the snow that you have. It's so dry here that we're already beginning fire season. I've been on two wildland fires the past week already.
ReplyDeleteI like the late snow storms. We only had about 4 inches in the Oklahoma City area. But the drifts were up to at least 6 inches!
ReplyDeleteMontucky, I guess La Nina isn't doing your area any favors this winter.
ReplyDeletePete, I like them as well. I will always prefer my water in solid form, so getting a few days of snow instead of a few days of rain is just fine with me.