Friday, January 05, 2007

Snowy Morning Birds


Storm #5 arrived early this a.m. and already 6-8 inches have piled up. At 7 a.m., it was pretty monochrome-- lead sky blending into the foreground and even nearby mountains faded to invisibility. So the monochrome cat went out, pre-dawn, to investigate.

Her brother, more timid, did his birdwatching behind glass (while mom paced, worrying about the disappearance of the dogs, who finally escaped the drifted fence). At first Gandalf only saw a few Juncos, but then this Steller's Jay showed up, creating a little excitement.

The black-headed, crested Steller's Jay is common in the nearby mountains; they seem to migrate downhill only when bad weather threatens-- that's when we see them at the feeders. Today, all week, just the one so far, though.

Red-wing Blackbirds are not so timid, arriving by the dozens when there's birdseed out! Alas, in the photo, even the Red-wings are monochrome!

I guess recent evidence suggests this is primarily a snowy-weather-bird-blog. Mammalian wildlife is scarce today, though I did see two large canines dashing at top speed across the yard. Soon they'll be exhausted, and in for the day, I hope!

Answer to the Magpie quiz is at yesterday's post.

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