Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Monday, December 13, 2010

Winter's For The Birds!

Cardinals seem to shine in the snow

We've had our first snowfall and with it bitter cold weather.


River Oats

Native wildflowers, grasses and purple accents pop in the snow.

Muhly

This cold weather is for the birds!


They puff up in the frigid air


and flock to the feeders!


some are more generous then others at sharing the fat rich sunflower seeds.



No matter, there is plenty of food for all!

White Throated Sparrow thanks Fairegarden for the id!

On a day like this all the birds are welcome!




The clever chickadees are almost always first on the scene, but, I must admit~

My heart belongs to the Tufted Titmouse!


Erysimum
Elsewhere in the garden~the wallflowers are still standing~


Do stop over to see what other bloggers are celebrating their First Snowfall with Nancy!


Warmest thoughts of you all,
xxoogail

32 comments:

  1. I have 6 feeders up and need to place a few more. The cardinals come all at the same times so it is fun to see them in numbers.We had 5 inches over the weekend with terrible winds so I have filled the feeders each day.

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  2. Thanks for sharing the lovely feathered visitors in your garden. That tufted titmouse is gorgeous, no wonder you love it so.

    Here it has just started to snow again shortly after the first snowfall of 2 weeks ago had melted away. There's plenty of birds in my garden too so the kittycats can enjoy live bird tv. ;-)

    XXX Yolanda

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  3. Brrrrr, I had to tighten the scarf around my neck just to read through your post. You sure have a welcoming habit for the birds. I love seeing the photos of them all puffed out. H.

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  4. Oh how beautiful, Gail! I may be mistaken, but the sparrow with the yellow bit is a white throated sparrow. What would we do without the birds in winter? And spring, summer and fall, of course!
    Frances

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  5. Thanks for sharing this beautiful pictures. For me in Austria your birds seems to be very exotic, even if they life in related habitats

    Best wishes, Katrin

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  6. There is nothing prettier than a cardinal in the snow.

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  7. I love seeing the birds all puffed up! Great shots.

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  8. I agree, the tufted titmouse is very cute. There aren't any around my house.

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  9. Great pictures. We are having what I guess is technically our second snowfall. Several inches, blowing and drifting, and so very, very cold!

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  10. Gail you really got some great shots here. I love the Tufted Titmouse too ~ wish I had them in my garden.
    Stay warm!

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  11. I love the birds coming to the feeders --- we have a Mockingbird on our deck every day.
    I hope we don't have the opportunity to post snow for quite a while....you can keep it. I would appreciate some warmer temps too. :-)

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  12. What a beautiful wintertime garden.

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  13. That Titmouse is the cutest. He or she is adorable. I'm sure the birds are appreciating the food you've put out for them!

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  14. Gail,

    Fun photos! I too favor the Tufted Titmouse. Yesterday the titmice were spinning the hanging feeder when they landed and took off it would spin a little faster each time. At one point two Gold Finches hung on for at least 50 revolutions of the feeder!

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  15. Just lovely...and I have serious cardinal envy. I can't imagine having that in my garden!

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  16. Such pretty pictures. I am sure the birds thank you for the warming food. You have quite a few different species at the table. Tufted Titmouse is one of my favorites too. Such a jaunty looking character, always chatty and full of energy. Hmmmm sounds like someone I know. tee hee..I hope you didn't have to drive in the snow. We had our first accumulation last night, 3 inches. You would have thought more with the wind making drifts.

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  17. Adorable birds! I hope the temperatures moderate a little soon!

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  18. The birds can't help being well fed when they visit your garden Gail. They all look very content in spite of the cold.

    Clay and Limestone wears winter well. It's beautiful there!

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  19. Gail, if you want to embed a video in a blog post just click share under the video, the blogger, and viola! there's the code.

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  20. Yes indeed winter is for the birds and it is such a treat to see them in the garden - your photographs of them are lovely.

    I really like the purple of the bench poking through the dried plants - inspired Gail - such a good colour.
    K
    xx

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  21. Dear Gail, You are sharing beautiful portraits of your feathered friends today! I love the White-throated Sparrow and the Titmouse too! I miss having birds come to feeders, but having a bear come once was reason enough for me to stop. They do have lots of seeds and berries in the gardens though. I know birds particularly like those yummy sunflower seeds. Your Wallflower still standing in the icy garden is so precious!

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  22. Everything looks so lovely and peaceful in your garden with a dusting of snow, Gail--glad you have some Christmas snow, too! I can see the birds know just where to come to get some tasty snacks. It's so cold here I'm hoping the birds have found the treats I've left for them, but I haven't seen as many as usual. Hope you are staying warm!

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  23. Dear Gail, your photos are so beautiful and capture the delight of the birds at the feeder. They are tough to capture in photos - the birds at my feeder are too quick for me! I hope to be patient and get some good shots eventually. I did finally capture the goldfinches at the fountain by taking the shot from inside the house! Stay warm and cozy.

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  24. Such beautiful photos, Gail -- thanks for your link...I'll be putting it with the rest today. :)

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  25. Love the closeups you took of the birds. So pretty. I need to get our birdfeeders up.
    Thanks for sharing your lovely pics,
    Suzanne

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  26. Indeed this weather is for the birds, dear Gail! I'm tired of winter (at least this frigid ice box we are in) and it technically hasn't even arrived! Your bird photos are grand! Get out the long-johns, dear friend :)

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  27. A gelightful series of snow photos Gail! I love seeing the tufted titmouse stop by my feeders as I've not seen them in my previous garden!
    Stay warm...here it's been snowing for a week!Best place for me indoors looking out!

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  28. Awww...you have tufted titmice? I'm soooo jealous! They're so adorable, I'm not surprised in the least that they're your favorite. Gorgeous photographs too by the way, it almost looks like you were perched on the feeder with them!

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  29. I could probably have a garden full of nothing but river oats and be perfectly content (so I think in winter, when there is nothing else green to tempt me). I wish I could snuggle that puffed up tufted titmouse!

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  30. Those are really great shots of birds. Your sparrows seem more colorful than the ones we have over here.

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  31. Gorgeous bird photos...Your snow photos are great too. It might as well snow here it's so dadgum cold...our humidity is -3 so no moisture.....my husband and I cannot ever recall seeing a minus in front of our humidity!! STRANGE.

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  32. Last year was my first time to have a pair of tufted titmice. I was so excited to have them spend the winter eating from my feeders. I haven't seen them yet this year.

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"Insects are the little things that run the world." Dr. E O Wilson