This Thursday I was outside for another dull, not-quite-spring birding trip, when I spotted a flash of orange-red above. One of the cardinals who always visit my feeder in the morning? So I thought, but I still raised my binoculars – just in time to see the beautiful orange stomach of the first robin all year! Naturally, I was ecstatic – I’d missed those cheery thrushes brightening my yard. But barely a half-hour later, I witnessed a whole flock of them descending on the crab apple trees! What a beautiful sight, especially during March, when the almost-spring weather makes birdwatchers long for warblers and buntings.
American Robins are associated with the arrival of spring, but if they can find enough of the berries that make up their winter diet, they’ll stay all winter. Last year, I had robins eating hackberries in my backyard at a time when most of their friends were on vacation down south! This year, though, I didn’t see so much as a single robin feather – until now. The flock must’ve been starving from their trip, because they blanketed the little trees, munching on crab apples, until I got the camera in hopes of documenting their appearance and found out they were camera-shy.
American Robin swooping in on a branch full of hackberries.
I’m happy to have my robins back! From now until real spring, I’ll be waiting a little more patiently, glad to be surrounded by these chipper birds’ reminder that it isn’t too far away.
This morning, I looked out the window and saw that a beautiful frost had descended over my yard! Days like this have always been among my favorite parts of winter – not counting the part where it ends!
This Northern Flicker obviously feels the same way I do about winter! I call him Fluff because when it gets really cold, I often see him on a tree trunk, so fluffed up he looks like a ball of feathers.
Winter blues aside, I couldn’t wait to go out and see what birds I could find and photograph against that gorgeous, glittery backdrop! As soon as I could, I dashed outside with my camera.
A close-up of some sumac berries I found, covered with frost.
It was so quiet out there, and everything was white. Tiny flakes of ice were floating in the wind as if it were snowing, even though the sky was perfectly clear and an airy blue. The lighting was excellent for photography, especially compared to how cloudy and grey everything normally is during the winter. I didn’t see many birds, but I could hear perfectly whenever one called, because it was so quiet and muffled by the snow. It was too cold to stay out for too long, but it was amazing to see my yard transformed into this little wonderland, literally overnight! Here’s what I found:
A male Ring-Necked Pheasant that’s been hanging around for a few weeks. This time, he was perched in a crab-apple tree, but flew away before I could get close enough for pictures. Failed to photograph.
An unidentified white/light grey raptor I couldn’t identify (and neither could Audubon Bird ID), soaring overhead. Perhaps a goshawk? Feel free to comment if you have an idea what it could be, I could use some help! Failed to photograph.
A few chickadees. Got one or two photographs, but no winners.
Four Northern Cardinals, three males and a female. Very active and zipping around chasing each other for the most part. Got mostly poor photographs.
Female Northern Cardinal in an icy tree.
A Northern Flicker, zipping past my head. Failed to photograph.
Unknown woodpecker species. Failed to photograph.
A male White-breasted Nuthatch braving the cold to search for lunch on a tree.
White-breasted Nuthatch taking on the frosty day.
Okay, so not very interesting. But still, it was worth the cold just to get out and see all of the beautiful trees and plants, fluffed up with frost! I’m happy that I was able to go out and see it before it all melted, which had happened by ten o’clock. Whether the birds liked it or not, I couldn’t tell. They certainly appreciated me filling the feeders first, though!
Frosty branches give the same old trees that you see every day a magical touch.
In conclusion, a beautiful day to help me enjoy winter while it lasts! I’m still looking forward immensely to springtime, though. Thanks for reading!
