 |
| Goldfinch |
In the endtimes of winter, after a weekend of plummeting temperatures and frigid winds, a bit of sunshine, no matter how tentative, is welcomed by bird and human alike. But make no mistake about it, every puddle of water in the yard remains frozen, not a particularly happy situation for any creature in need of quenching its thirst but without access to an indoor faucet.
 |
| Dark-eyed Junco |
Still the birds show up, congregating in the bare limbs of an apple tree next to the bird feeder - black-capped Carolina chickadees, slate-gray dark-eyed juncos and a solitary goldfinch. The goldfinch should long ago have migrated south, but obviously found the living good enough here to stay. Darting from branch to branch, the birds check out their surrounding before descending on the two cylindrical feeders hanging nearby in mid-air and stuffed with seeds. While the goldfinch prefers black thistle, the chickadees busily crack open seed after seed of millet and sunflower before swallowing their kernels. The juncos, on the other hand, do not mind at all pecking around in the grass below for the leavings. Overhead, a turkey vulture flying in great, lazy circles reminds me that not all birds are as nervous and abrupt as those at the feeder, which is to say, not all birds are as likely to end up in the talons of the sharp-shinned hawk who shows up at times to perch on the topmost branches of the black-cherry trees towering over the yard.
 |
| Carolina Chickadee |
 |
| Goldfinch up close on an apple tree branch with swelling buds. |
