Birds and Berries for GBBD

We had a sprinkling of snow last night. It was the first of the season, not counting the freak snowstorm in October while I was in England. The snow shower came with bitter cold temperatures, a high of 23F (- 4C),  and a keen wind. I was reluctant to venture outside to take photographs for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, so I took most of my pictures through the garden-room windows. Then I took a very short walk around the garden, snapping pictures as best I could without removing my gloves, before dashing back into the warmth of the house. Of course, there are no actual blooms today in the Pocono Mountains, in spite of the recent unusually high temperatures. Berries and birds are my blooms for today.

It was bitterly cold in the Woodland Walk in spite of the bright sun.

Crabapples looking shriveled, but still plenty on the tree.

Backyard birds through my window.

In the collage, clockwise from top left: song sparrow, dark-eyed junco, American crow, bluebird, and downy woodpecker. These birds thrive in a winter environment. The sparrow and junco are ground-feeding birds that spend much of the winter under my bird feeder picking up fallen seeds. The dark-eyed junco is the most frequent back-yard visitor, foraging on the ground  by giving a double shuffle with spread feet and a quick jump backward to throw the snow behind it and uncover the seeds beneath.

Crows are noisy creatures. They congregate in the top of our walnut trees and demonstrate an impressive repertoire of vocalizations. Crows eat nearly anything.

A lone eastern bluebird visited the heated water dish today. Usually there are at least six of them. They keep warm in the winter by snuggling together in one of H.H.'s bluebird boxes. They come to the water dish for the warmth of the heater rather than to drink.

Tufted titmouse

The titmouse has supercharge energy levels to keep its body temperature up. Titmice, like chickadees, eat at least twenty times more food in winter than in summer to avoid freezing to death.

Dark-eyed junco in the catalpa tree outside my window.

White-breasted Nuthatch

The nuthatch usually flies to the upper branch of the catalpa tree and then works its way down the tree trunk head first, checking each scale of bark, each twig and branch for insect eggs. The technique of moving upside down from top to bottom is the reverse of other birds' and enables it to detect food that might have been missed by those whose movement is from bottom to top.

Carolina Wren resting on top of a tiki lamp on the patio.

When I hear bird song in the winter I know it is usually the male wren because he sings all year round.

A 'winter-looking' entrance to the Woodland Walk.

 

I found flower buds on hellebores in the Woodland Walk.

No blooms, but early budding of the hellebore. Last year I didn't record buds this size until a  March posting.

Billy the Goat stands as close as possible to his buddy, Dude, for warmth.

I started the day, as I often do, checking new postings on my favorite garden blogs. I was amazed at the number of beautiful blooms all over the world, displayed for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. They are listed on Carol's blog,  May Dreams' Gardens. Thank you, Carol, for hosting this wonderful meme. I'm sorry I have no flowers to show, but hope you enjoyed my winged 'blooms'. Thank you so much for visiting, dear friends. I appreciate your support!


Pamela x

Purple cone flower seeds.

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