First Snowfall 2012!

Goldfinches grab an easy snack the morning after
our first snowfall.

Anyone who was visiting the Birdcam this morning (hopefully) noticed a difference in the landscape!

Not only did I do a little Christmas decorating, but over night we received our first dumping of snow! Typically we'll have a few days of light flurries when snow first arrives for the winter...but this year we got a heavy coating over night! What a sight to wake up to!

Chickadee (front) and
Hairy Woodpecker (right, suet cage)

The birds were very active today. I figure that food is harder to find under the snow, so the feeders were even more appealing!

Even the hairy woodpecker came by again for a snack, and I snapped a decent photo of him on the cam (if you look closely, you can see the red patch on the back of his head)!

I've seen the woodpecker a few times since then. I think he's going to be a frequent visitor like I had hoped!

Hairy woodpecker.

Make sure you keep checking in frequently! With the snow, there may be even more birds stopping by in search of food and shelter!

...maybe even Scram will stop by again! It's been some time since I've seen that little monster around!

Woodpeckers have arrived on NovaBirds!

About a week or so ago, I undertook a small project for the NovaBirds cam! I always love seeing a variety of birds at the other feeders around my yard, and woodpeckers are no exception.

I had a bit of a dilemma however. I couldn't figure out how to add a suet basket to my current set-up that would be wood-pecker friendly and also not take away from the natural view of the cam.

After a little research, I had a plan: find an old log around the property, dig a hole, put log in hole, add rocks, soil, and voila! A post for woodpeckers! I zip-tied the suet basket mid-way down the log.

The best thing about the new feeder addition is that it not only is another food source, but it provides a perch for the birds to hang out on as well!

A Hairy woodpecker samples the new suet basket

As with any feeder, it took a while for the woodpeckers to find it. The bluejays and chickadees had been snacking on it all to themselves until today, when a large, plump hairy woodpecker finally discovered it and helped himself to a snack! I snapped a quick photo...not the best, but you can see him there off to the side of the suet basket. I'm sure this is just the beginning of the woodpeckers who will continue to visit our new feeder!

Keep checking back to the cam, you may be lucky enough to see him yourself!

Evening Grosbeak

A male Evening Grosbeak sits on the seed bowl..

Today as I sat in my living room, I noticed an unusual bird in the trees above the Birdcam.

Upon further inspection, I saw that there were three of the beautiful birds around the feeder. I frantically snapped a photo with the cam, but this was all I got...the backside of the male (he was with two females).

It took a little investigation, but I figured out that the three unusual visitors were Evening Grosbeaks. They aren't terribly common here, but there are a few sightings from time to time.

How exciting to have yet another species spotted on the cam! I hope they visit again, and I hope to get a better photo!