Happy Holidays! GBP Notes 12/23/22

Have a Great Holiday

I’m writing this a couple of days before Christmas and it is 11º outside!  Birding Buddy Mark and I talked about going out this morning in search of birds but we both agreed it was just too cold!

As I look out the window to my left, my backyard is abuzz with activity with birds all over the place!  Chickadees are exploring every nook and cranny.  A couple of White-breasted Nuthatches come for a sunflower seed or two from the tube feeder and dash off with them.  I spot Tree Sparrows and Juncos beneath the thistle feeders scratching through the thin layer of snow in search of food.  Above them, Goldfinch perch on the thistle feeder rods and munch away – most of them have turned a dull brown but a few still have a bib of bright yellow.  A Blue Jay squawks as it swoops in for a whole peanut on the platform feeder and takes off with it (sometimes they swallow it whole).  Five Cardinals look like bright red Christmas Ornaments perched in the bare  lilac bush in the back of the yard.  At one time or another during the morning most of the birds make their way to the heated birdbath for a drink or a quick dip (brrrrr!).

I spotted movement on the trunk of our old pine tree and yelled, “Karen, there’s a Brown Creeper out here!”.  My heart beats a little faster every time a Fox Sparrow joins the other birds beneath the thistle feeder.  Watching birds (and taking pictures of them) still thrills me and I know it’s just as exciting for all of the GreatBirdPics members as well.  I look forward to seeing more of your GreatBirdPics next year.

Happy Holidays and have a Wonderful New Year!

Mike

PS – We have family coming in over the holidays so I may not be able to send out the GBP Notes each day.  Birds do thrill me but not as much as my six grandkids!