This bird visited a couple of years ago but on a day very like this has been with continuous snow and falling temperatures. Hardy little souls they seem to manage very well in this weather.
This has been a good winter for the Amaryllis flowers so worth putting some effort into showing them off to their best …
When it’s -10C and there’s a huge 24 hour snowstorm due to arrive in a couple of hours what’s a tiny Chickadee to do, but stand on a nice warm stone in a nice warm water bath with nice warm steam rising, ruffle your feathers and make the most of the free sauna.
The garden was visited briefly this morning by the neighbourhood Cooper’s hawk, undoubtedly on the lookout for a meal at our feeders. He stayed just long enough to get a couple of photographs and then departed, still hungry.
I took this photograph a year ago this day and had forgotten about it. I know Starlings are unpopular in some quarters as alien interlopers not native to this continent but they are incontrovertibly very handsome, especially at this time of the year when they have a brand new suit of feathery clothes to wear. I like the way he is looking at the camera … “Who do you think you’re looking at, mate?”
I was amused by this Cardinal, looking longingly at the seed(s) that the squirrel was eating … a bit of fraternal competition there.
This photograph marks the return to life of my photo-specific website. I hope you enjoy whatever follows … meanwhile, the sun is shining over the garden
I have been lurking near these flowers for several days while Hummers come and go before I can grab the camera. Perseverance works – finally nailed it today as this fellow stayed long enough for his portrait to be taken and allowed retime to fiddle with the camera settings too. Feeling quite proud of this one if I do say so myself ;)
The flowers are Mexican Cigar Plants (Kuphea sp.) and seem to be even more of a Hummingbird magnet than even Monarda.
