Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Bird Photos by Sherry Dulong




Guest Post: Bird Photos from Sherry Dulong.


Sherry loves birds.

Most of these photos were taken in or near her yard in Westford, Vermont.





Thank You Sherry for sharing your bird images!











































We welcome guest posts of both bird images and any text about your birding experiences. 

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Birds of the Vermont Polar Vortex - Jericho, VT backyard birding


Cold and blustery with days not reaching zero degrees (F) and dipping to minus nineteen degrees (F). Good time to feed and watch birds in the backyard and photograph them from a warm kitchen, through the windows. View our images of "Birds of the Vermont Polar Vortex" - Jericho, VT.   



                                                                                  Shoveling Snow

                                                                                                                White-breasted Nuthatch



                                       Dark-eyed Junco  mottled with snowdrop eye patch





                                                                     Undercover



                                               

                                                              European Starlings the mobsters of the bird world





                                                                                          Northern Cardinal


                                                                                 Blue Jay


                                                                 
                                                      American Tree Sparrow





                                                                      House Finch


                                                                           with a rosy disposition.


                                                              Dark-eyed Junco






                                                               Black-capped Chickadee 





                                                                     American Goldfinch

                                                                             Downy Woodpecker
















                                   Female Red-winged blackbird making herself look big to a Mourning Dove.



Kitchen birding brings many rewards especially during cold blustery winter days.

What birds are you seeing in your backyard and what behaviors do they entertain you with? What nuances or variations of plumage are you seeing on any given species? Let us know, so we can help share your observations.

What we feed the backyard birds (Seed and nuts purchased from Guys Farm and Yard, Williston, VT.) 

Black Oil Sunflower seed (Purchased in 40 lb bags)
Peanuts (unsalted), assorted nuts, and assorted chipped nuts
And a seed mix that includes milo and other small seed.

Also I make suet using the following ingredients.
Lard, Peanut butter, (both melted in the microwave), 
peanuts (unsalted) and or Black Oil Sunflower seeds
whole grain corn meal 
and a small amount of oat meal.
Optional: un-medicated chick starter.

 I vary the volume of each and adjust as necessary to make the mix thick when mixing. Then I spoon it into various small plastic storage containers allowing it to cool and harden in a cold space. Then I put the suet in metal suet containers and place outside for the birds.  

For more bird feeding information, view
Top 10 foods for feeding birds in winter (Bird Watchers Digest article)






Effects of squirrels on birds