Country Roads

What a winter we've had!! This winter reminds me of the winters we use to have with lots of snow and very cold weather. Both beautiful and hazardous with the drifts and slick roads. The weather has kept us indoors much of the winter so the first nice day we hopped in the car and took a drive and enjoyed the beauty of the snow!

City Elk

 

This picture was taken yesterday, just down the road from our house! There were about 50 head of elk!  We saw them on our way to the shopping center and went back to the house to get the camera!  There is so much snow in the mountains that the elk, dear and pronghorn antelope are coming down into the fields to find food.

Magpies ~ Opportunists

 With all of the snow and frigid temperatures the feeders have been very busy! It always surprises us when the magpies show up just minutes after my husband puts out the peanuts and grubs. They seemingly know... or smell... or just do a fly by to see if the food is out yet. The suet feeder is out of their reach but they will sit under it while the other birds and squirrels are feasting so they can clean up any pieces that drop.

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

The call of the Flicker is so unique that we know when they are hanging about. They prefer the suet blocks but will eat the grubs and various seed that we offer in the stand feeders. Once in awhile we get lucky enough to watch them but rarely get a good picture, they seem to know when I grab the camera!

The Northern Flicker is larger than most woodpeckers in Oregon.

The Flicker and Starling seem to have a standoff! Eventually they shared the food.

American Kestrel Falco sparverius (formerly known as a Sparrow Hawk)

Is it a drawback or a huge plus that we feed the birds and squirrels and they, in turn, feed the hawks? Everyone needs to eat! It isn't often that we see a hawk, but they do leave their calling card when they feast in our yard.... feathers everywhere! I cannot, in good conscious, begrudge them a meal, after all they also eat the mice that hang around the feeders and find their way into our home from time to time.

What a surprise when we looked out and saw this beautiful little guy feasting...

The American Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk), this is the smallest (dove-sized)
and most familiar member of the family Falconidae in North America

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Looks like the little Downy is trying to tell us to feed him! Well, no sooner asked than done! Seems like he prefers the peanut butter suet blocks! I've had to resort to taking pictures from inside my house as these little birds are very wary and will fly away rather than wait for me to take his picture although he did wait around to get fed!

The Downy Woodpecker, the smallest in North America

9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning!

Well, it's a very brisk 9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning! The sun is reflecting off of the gently falling snow. I love watching the snow especially when it falls from a cloudless sky! One of the many wonders of our beautiful world.

The squirrels and magpies are eating and hiding the peanuts. It's funny to see the magpies stealing the nuts the squirrels think they have well hidden.

This looks like a good spot to hide a peanut!