Eastern Towhee

The hard rain has stopped but a fine mist has continued to fall all day.  At least it is fairly warm.  Off and on today I have watched two male Towhees displaying and vying for the attention of a female.

Tail feather spreading, wing stretching and high hopping appeared to be the main ways of displaying.  Several times the two males would take to the are in mock fighting.

What's Arriving

The first rain-free weekend in several and the temperatures have plummeted into the high 50's.  Crazy weather.  I had hoped for a very good day today but the wind has been blowing at a steady clip and not much was out.

The Barn and Tree Swallows have arrived and were active over the pond this morning.  They are lively, fun birds to watch and have a pleasant chatter.

My best find today was a White-Eyed Vireo.  I spotted it late this past week but the photo was poor.  Today it was singing away and there were several off in the distance that would reply.












A male Eastern Towhee,  with its almost metallic sounding song at times was out singing proud.  Even though they are year round residents,  I think they are quite handsome birds with their striking red eye.

Winter....not yet anyway

Mother Nature snubbed her nose at Old Man Winter today and said no, no, no.  The birds were taking advantage of the warm weather and increased insect activity. A couple of hours of sunshine this morning but heavy cloud cover has now moved in.

Late this afternoon I walked out in the yard when I saw bits of green poking through the leaves.  All the warm weather has the daffodils confused and they are already coming up.  If / when the cold hits, I guess this will be a spring without them.  An Eastern Towhee was doing some serious jumping and scratching on the ground.

As I was walking in the yard, I noticed a pair of little birds really working an oak tree.  When I realized they were Brown Creepers, I dashed inside for the camera.  They had moved on up the tree a bit unfortunately.  From what I can recall, this is my first time seeing them in the yard.  Hopefully they will stick around for a while for another photo opportunity on a day with better lighting.