Also, an anguished fucking climate change! For a few brief days, the weather here was unseasonably warm, and there were actual bare spots of ground to be seen here and there. It was enough to trick the Lilac into budding prematurely. The snow came back, and with it, freezing weather. All the noise about an hour ago prompted me to look out my studio window, where there were many goldfinches gorging themselves on the buds. Click for full size.
© C. Ford.
So much for the lilacs. :/ They may still make a comeback, I hope they do.
Poor greedy finches, though -- caught so unawares, too!
There’s seed out, too, greedy little dinos. I don’t know that the lilac will recover, I hope so. I love that scent wafting into my studio.
Adorable little critters! I see some of your males hung on to at least some of their lemony goodness this winter.
We never did get any goldfinches last summer, but had a batch all winter, and now more are joining them. The grackles and starlings invaded a few weeks back, and the blackbirds have now arrived as well. They are the ones demolishing the tree buds around here. There are red bud-bits all over. They are also the ones who wake me up each morning screaming in the trees just outside the windows.
The juncos that wintered over went north when we had that long stretch of 60-70 degree weather, but a new batch has come up from the south and decided to stay since the cold and snow came back. They are all over the prairie plants in the back yard, along with the mourning doves, scarfing up the seeds on the tall stalks.
And everyone is demolishing the peanuts in the feeders! I had to make a run down to the Grayslake feed store this morning and pickup a couple of 50 lb sacks to hold me through the spring.
Grackles and Starlings! Oh, I never see them this early. Still have Juncos, and of course, the Scream of Blue Jays. And the Downys and Hairys. Doves have been surprisingly scarce this winter.
I really miss my blue jays. We had them continuously for a few years, but they took off for better service when I ran out of peanuts last fall and couldn’t afford to restock until November. Hopefully some will get back here this spring. We have a particularly large batch of downys this winter, but only a few hairys and red-bellies. I never did get a shot of the northern flickers we had mid-winter, but we can get them year-round, so some may come back again soon. Still no sign of the orioles.
All that glitters, eh?
The yellow in the first picture is so lovely.
Boo for climate change! Hope the lilac will survive.
The pictures feel like painting-style illustrations from an old bird guide. Though the contrast between the bird and the background might have been larger in an identification guide. However, the photos look very good, maybe the lowish contrast between the bird and the background makes for a calmer view, less tension.