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