Bluejay Convention

Today we had a Bluejay convention at one of our feeders! I counted 15 at one time. That's a record for us.

The weather is changing and the wind is howling from the northwest. So, these guys know to eat as much as they can to get through the night.

Did you know that birds are constantly shivering during the winter to stay warm? They have to keep an internal temperature of about 102 degrees F and to do that, they shiver.

But Chickadees can actually drop their core temperature at night into the 70s. To do that they have to eat their weight in food each day to have enough fat to get through the night when it's really cold outside.

So, after a night of sub-zero temperatures, breakfast is really, really important for birds! Be sure that your feeders are full in the morning!

An even colder January day!

The low this morning was -22 degrees F! And it's supposed to be even colder tomorrow morning.

So, I filled the bird feeders with sunflower and thistle seeds and poured cracked corn on the ground for the birds. All 7 suet feeders were full, but the suet felt like a rock. That didn't stop the woodpeckers from pecking away at it!

We saw one resident Pheasant at the corn under the White Spruce tree. There are a few branches missing on the south side of this spruce, so it's a great place to leave corn or seeds. The surrounding branches on the north, east and west sides of the tree offer great protection from the weather and predators.

But, what seems to bring in the birds almost as much as the free food is the water. We keep a heater in the little bird pond all winter and the birds flock to it.

Winter bird watching.

It's a cold January day. The bird feeders are full of seed and suet.

Here's a photo that really shows what those of us in cold climates are looking at these days.

Staring out of our windows into the cold, white winter. But, look at that color on those birds!

A Coopers Hawk visited the backyard this morning. The Blue Jays screamed and all the birds took cover. So, I put the thistle feeders right next to a big White Spruce so my little finches and Pine Siskins can escape from predators and bully birds.

I love seeing the birds up close.