Hi everyone! It was cold again this morning, but it is warming up quickly even though the clouds have moved in once again. It is so much nicer for pictures of the birds when the sun is shining. It makes their colors shine so much more beautifully. Still, the clouds today are bright clouds, so it is not as bad as when it is those heavy, dark clouds. It is supposed to get very windy this afternoon too.
It will be a south wind though, and that is supposed to bring in some much nicer weather for a few days. I was out earlier this morning, just as the sun was beginning to shine on the deck, the clouds had not yet arrived, and I was ready for some photo time. I did get quite a few nice pictures of the Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, though the Boreal chickadees did not stay around long.
Baxter was looking a bit chilly yesterday morning.
For some reason half the pics I took of the Boreal chickadees did not turn out, they were just a bit blurry. Happens sometimes. Hopefully they will be back after lunch and I can get some more pics. I also got pics of the Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks. I tried for redpolls but they did not cooperate this morning. I also missed the Downy Woodpecker, though I did get some nice pics of him yesterday.
Here he is yesterday looking for the biggest one, which he found.
I have been spending quite a bit of time outside lately, taking pics of my birds and the deer. I have noticed there are fewer Pine Grosbeaks around now, so I guess they have begun their northward migration now. But there are a lot more Evening Grosbeaks around now and some of them now have their green beaks. Their beaks are light yellow in fall and winter, but turn green for the breeding season during spring and summer. It is an early sign of spring and that is always a nice thing to see.
Even Baxter, the Blue Jay, and his friends, have now got a richer blue color for spring as well. I guess Baxter has not been able to find a new mate yet, he still comes around by himself. So sad. He might have to fly a little further afield to find a mate. But hopefully he will bring her back here. That is normally the way it would work, the female comes to join the male in his territory. I saw one of the other blue jay pairs courting this morning.
This morning I put some peanuts on the bench for him.
Unfortunately by the time I got outside to take pictures, they were done. It is a simple courtship. The male gets a nice big peanut, opens it and gives the contents to the female. She flutters her wings while he feeds the peanuts to her. It is fun to watch them, but it would sure be nice to get a picture of it. Oh well, it is likely to happen again and I will try again. I hope you enjoy todays photos. Enjoy your coffee, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
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