This was the nearest I came to catching the blackbird in the act of eating the apple when our first snow had thawed and the second lot hadn't yet arrived -
But I did get a better shot of him sitting on the wall in the sunshine, wondering where to fly off to next -
You can just make out his one light grey feather but I'm sure the one that ate my apples last year had his white feather on the other side! Maybe a lot of blackbirds have a white feather? I don't know - I'm no bird expert!
I haven't seen much of the blue tits lately and when they do visit my garden, they seem to stay very high up in the fruit trees, in spite of my net of seeds that I've hung from the lower branches. They seem to be more interested in pecking at the branches than my specially bought birdseed!
As you can see, the snow is back with us and causing its usual havoc on the roads.
It's even managed to turn Zeus's hair white overnight!
Maybe he's worrying about how everyone is going to manage at Christmas if our roads, railways and airports are still affected by the white stuff! I'm really lucky in that I spend Christmas at home and the shops are close enough to walk to, even in pretty awful weather conditions.
But if you do have to travel in this unusually inclement weather, I wish you all a safe and comfortable journey!
6 comments:
Greetings Judy! I clicked on your photos to view them larger and you are doing great! It takes time and a load of patience to learn how to move very slowly at a window so the birds aren't frightened.
You will find a few birds with albinism. The one you saw with one white feather would be leucistic.
I really like the white haired Zeus!
Stay safe and warm.
Is this a normal amount of snow for your area? I have the same problem with the birds.
Hi Jean - it's nice to have a bird expert to advise and teach me new terms!
The strange thing (to me!) is that when I had a thrush's nest close to an area where I had work to do, the mother thrush didn't seem at all bothered by my presence. We seemed to be able to co-exist within a couple of feet of one another. I don't have much time at the moment with the family coming for Christmas but I'll try to be more patient in the new year!
Hi Carole - no, snow is quite rare here. Most winters we have none at all, which is why our transport system descends into utter chaos when it happens! To have two consecutive snowy winters is practically unheard of!
Nice photos, Judy! My greatest triumphs have been photographing a pair of pileated woodpeckers on my cabbage palm. I also captured two families of squirrels and their babes two years running. Never realized until then that the mom carries her babies just like a cat, by the scruff of the neck.
Thank you, Carol!
I would love to see your woodpeckers and squirrel families - are they posted on your blog somewhere?
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