bird

A small flock of American Robins have stuck around for the winter. It seems odd to see Robins in the snow.

Robin on Branch

Robin in Snow

Robin Eating a Berry

I took the dog out for a walk yesterday and brought along some bird seed with me, intending to take it to a spot near the lake where I know the chickadees tend to congregate, and hoping to get a shot or two of them. I went via the jogging path that runs alongside Ashbridges Bay, and remembered that there was a small, homemade bird feeder that somebody put a a couple of years ago in a small copse of trees. I went over there to see if there was any seed, and found that there was none. So I put in a handful of seed and within seconds a flock of black-capped chickadees were excitedly chirping and diving to the feeder to grab a beakful.

Black-capped Chickadee

This started to attract other birds, seeing what the sudden commotion was about. A pair of nuthatches came to take a look, and also started darting to the feeder for seed.

White–breasted Nuthatch

Then a female Downy Woodpecker appeared, and started looking for hidden insects in the bark of an adjacent tree.

Female Downy Woodpecker

But the best was when a male Cardinal flew in for a peek, and picked a branch which was bathed in sunlight, resulting in this picture:

Male Cardinal

Will have to head back there with more seed sometime soon, since these guys seemed hungry.