Just a note for today, 28 Jan 2009

I did not take any pictures today, but wanted to leave a note. All evening and through the night, we had freezing rain here so the snow on the ground from yesterday had a coating of ice on top of it. I put the seed on the ice and just watched them when they came around to eat. There were sparrows, blue jays, starlings and cardinals this morning as well as two squirrels.

It was funny. The birds would slide when they came in for a landing and even the squirrels were slipping and sliding. They seemed to be ok and yet I wonder where they find shelter while the freezing rain is coming down. Poor things.

Photo taken 27 Jan 2009
Today we had a light dusting of snow - you can see it on the fence slats. This squirrel is hanging from the suet cage with his hind paws while eating. You can see his little front paws curled up in front of his mouth - he broke off a chunk of the nut block.

Photo taken 27 Jan 2009
The male cardinal. There is a slight dusting of snow today, just enough to cover the ground.

Photo taken 27 Jan 2009
This is the female cardinal. We had a slight dusting of snow today, just enough to cover the ground.

Photo taken 27 Jan 2009
Perched on top of the fence is the male cardinal. If you look closely, you can see the little Carolina wren eating from the bottom of the nut block.

Photo taken 27 Jan 2009
Today we had a bit of snow, just enough to cover the ground. The male cardinal is in the back top left of the picture and there are four sparrows in the foreground. The bird landing next to the cardinal is an "unknown" one - I don't know what it is, yet. It is about 3-4 inches long with a black top and grayish-white belly.

Photo taken 26 Jan 2009
This is a good profile view of the black capped chickadee.

Photo taken 26 Jan 2009
A black capped chickadee.

Photo taken 26 Jan 2009
This is another picture of the "unknown" bird. Looks like it has a black beak with some black coloring around it.

Photo taken 26 Jan 2009
Today is the first time I've seen this bird and I don't know what it is. It appears gray in the picture but actually had a bluish tint. It also appears to have a crest or tuft of some kind on its head as well as some reddish coloring under its wing. I wish I could have gotten a better picture. If anyone knows what this bird is, please leave a comment.

Photo taken 26 Jan 2009
The female cardinal has just picked up a piece of food.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
This squirrel is hanging upside down and sideways to get at the corn and nut block.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
Two squirrels together. One eating from the seed and nuts on the ground and the other eating from the corn and nut block.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
This squirrel has just climbed up to the fence post. He's in "alert" mode - checking to see if everything's ok before he settles down.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
This squirrel is climbing the tree behind my patio.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
These two squirrels were having a great time chasing each other around and doing flips. Then they both stopped at the same time to eat something.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
This squirrel is sniffing the ground looking for hidden peanuts.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
The squirrel is eating the peanut flavored suet cake.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
The Carolina wren preparing to peck at the corn and nut block.

Photo taken 13 Jan 2009.
The Carolina wren has decided to go for the cherry flavored suet cake.