White Breasted Nuthatch

I can't believe I have not made a post since the first of the month! Well I don't think I could have a better return to the blog photo than this White Breasted Nuthatch. We have had four at once at our feeders. I can't recall ever having more than two at any one time before this. This guy is a great specimen. Nice markings and loud "Peep". He was also willing to sit still and hang out for quite some time. The weather has been erratic. One morning when I was heading off to work at 5:30AM the temperature was 50 degrees and within 24 hours the mercury had plummeted to 6 above! That's February for ya! Anyway, we've had a pretty good count streak lately. Twenty-two Blue Jays at one time and several Carolina Wrens. Let's hope for another great weekend count. We have 3-4 inches of new snow here in Millport, NY. I will try not to be away as long before the next post.

Banner Counting Day

What a day! Pouring-Freezing Rain and birds galore. The feeders were busy all day today. The weather must be the key. We had freezing rain all night and all day. It is still pouring here at 5:20PM (est). Along with the usual suspects like the Blue Jays, Chickadees, Titmice and Juncos we had the pleasure of seeing three different sparrows; 5 Song Sparrows, 3 Chipping Sparrows and 4 White-Throated Sparrows. Our mystery Wrens paid us a visit as well. What we thought were House Wrens are probably Carolina Wrens or maybe Winter Wrens. The staff at Cornell advised us after we had entered House Wrens for one of our weekly counts that they are not normally on our area at this time. So after a closer look they are as I said more than likely Carolina's.
If that wasn't enough (which it was) we treated to a super special visit from a passing flock of 20-25 Waxwings. We were not able to get a good enough look to positively ID them as Cedar or Bohemian. The day here in Millport has been gray and dreary all day. I was able to sneak out behind our storage shed and click off a bunch of pictures through my 75-300mm to at least provide a poor photo to Cornell to see if they can make an ID for us. I
have posted the photo to the right. The birds looked like they were hunkering down during a
hard rain. They were nestled in a couple of Sumac Trees near the apple tree in our backyard.
We are hoping the Waxwings will stick around for another day and present
themselves for a better photo opportunity.