Backyard Birding in Winter

January 24, 2026

Most of the country is now in the midst of a huge winter storm. When I got up this morning, the temperature was -12°F! The wind chill factor yesterday was a whopping 19 degrees below zero!! But, hey, when the sun is shining, it doesn’t seem that cold– especially when you’re inside looking out!

**Male Northern Cardinal on a frigid winter day!**

When it’s this cold, I do love the challenge of trying to stay warm and taking pictures at the same time! I wear multiple layers of clothing, heated socks, clunky over-boots, a warm hat and mittens, and two hand warmers stuffed into my pockets. I don’t venture far from the house on days like this, though. I like to duck inside every once in a while for a warm-up. Besides, everything I need to see is right outside my back door.

To bring the birds in a little closer to where I’m taking pictures, I sprinkle a handful or two of sunflower seeds, mealworms, and peanuts on a nearby tree stump. It’s fun for me to watch how long it takes the birds to find this stash, and to see who finds it first; usually it’s the Dark-eyed Juncos, or the Blue Jays.

**Female Dark-eyed Junco** **waiting patiently for her turn at the seeds**

blue Jay quickly scarfing down peanuts from our backyard tree stump

A little later, the Northern Cardinals show up on the stump, and sometimes the Common Grackles or the Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The Starlings are nearby raiding the peanuts from our platform feeder rather than the stump!

**Common Starling waiting for a turn on our platform feeder**

In the nearby trees, I might also have the joy of finding a Pileated Woodpecker, a Northern Flicker or, on rare occasions, a Red-tailed Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk!

**Sharp-shinned Hawk that landed briefly**

I love standing under the shelter of our second story deck and surveying our backyard for hours on end capturing the rhythm of the day; making mental notes about which birds are most likely to visit, who’s the bravest, what treat they like the best, and who’s the hardest to photograph.

**Female Dark-eyed Junco on an empty stump!**

The most common winter visitor to my tree stump is the Dark-eyed Junco. There are plenty of them around and they are ground feeders. They’re used to looking for food down below rather than up in the feeders overhead where most of the other birds like to go. Juncos also hop around in the snow next to the stump looking for seeds that other birds have dropped or knocked off the edge.

**Male Dark-eyed Junco looking for seeds in the snow**

One of the bravest birds, I think, is the Black-capped Chickadee. It seems fearless to me. On the rare occasions where I’ve tried feeding our backyard birds by hand, only the chickadees have taken me up on the offer. Surprisingly, the bigger birds have been much too wary. When I feed the birds by hand at the Kensington MetroPark in Milford, Michigan, the Chickadees are often the first to take food from my hand as well. Perhaps the bigger birds, like the Cardinals and the Blue Jays see my skinny little hand as too precarious a perch for them even with an offer of food!

**The Black-capped Chickadees love peanuts!**

The favorite food for most of the birds is definitely peanuts. Those disappear quickly, especially when the Blue Jays take over! They’ll grab 7 or 8 peanuts in quick succession and return for more! When they take this many peanuts at a time, most will be stored in their crop, an expandable pouch in the Jay’s esophagus that temporarily holds food. The crop allows Blue Jays to transport a large number of seeds or nuts to other locations and store them for future use. Before taking flight, I often see the Blue Jays carrying two or three additional peanuts in their beaks!

**Blue Jay taking more than his fair share!**

One of the potential ‘stump feeders’ that I love to see but rarely capture is the Carolina Wren. Every winter, except this one, I’ve had one come to the feeders on our deck where I could easily watch it from the comfort of my living room chair. This cute little wren came so regularly that I assumed it was the same bird year after year and I referred to it fondly as my Carolina Wren. I can’t say it ever landed on the stump, but it did occasionally sit nearby.

The most difficult birds for me to photograph have been the Black-capped Chickadees and the Tufted Titmice. They fly in, grab a seed, and disappear! I can barely spot them through the lens of my camera before they’re gone! I have dozens of ‘bird-less’ pictures to show for it! Once they’ve grabbed a seed, off they go to peck it open. If they land on an open branch, one that’s not obstructed by a tangle of other branches, I can sometimes get a decent shot. But these birds are small and quick and blend in perfectly with the trees. It’s so much easier to photograph a cardinal!

**Black-capped Chickadee sitting on a limb that we attached to our deck for photo-ops like this!**

**Tufted Titmouse momentarily resting!**

Most of the time when I’m backyard birding, only the ‘regulars’ show up (sparrows, juncos, jays etc.), but every once in a while, there’s a surprise, like the Sharp-shinned hawk that landed briefly, or the Cedar Waxwing that sat for a while in a nearby honeysuckle bush, or the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that paused momentarily on our aging dogwood tree less than 10 feet from where I was standing! He was so close that I was afraid any movement on my part would scare him away.

**Cedar Waxwing in the Honeysuckle Bush**

**Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on the Dogwood Tree**

I’ve stood outside my back door taking pictures many, many times over the last several years through every season and all kinds of weather. It never ceases to amaze me how many different birds there are right in our own backyard; birds I’d never even heard of before, like White-throated Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows!

There are also birds that, early on in my photography life, I didn’t even know were here in the winter like the goldfinches, robins, and bluebirds.

And there are the regular, everyday birds, like the House sparrows, House Finches and White-breasted Nuthatches that come to our yard, or the Downy and the Hairy Woodpeckers that regularly come to the feeders, or the occasional Red-breasted Nuthatch that I rarely ever see!

Once in a while, a few vagrants pass through our yard like this Oregon Junco I photographed in January of 2021, or this rare Orchard Oriole in May of 2021.

**Oregon Dark-eyed Junco** (January 2021)

It never ceases to amaze me that so many different birds come to our backyard! It helps that we’re in a condo association where all of our yards are one big yard, where most of us have feeders hanging from our decks, where there are plenty of trees, and where a lovely little creek passes close by. In the warmer months, that creek is home to Wood Ducks, the occasional Northern Shoveler, and the usual mix of mallards and geese!

Enjoy!

Zero Degrees

November 2025

When the morning forecast says “sunny and calm,” I can’t get out the door fast enough to take pictures. ‘Sunny and calm’ means good reflection shots of birds on water. When the morning forecast also says “snow,” it feels like I’ve won the lottery! Even if the temperature drops to zero, I’m out the door! Zero degrees just means more layers!

When layering up for cold weather, my husband Mel, who has hiked the Appalachian trail many, many times, through all kinds of weather, occasionally warns me that “cotton kills.” The first layer of clothing should never be cotton! If you sweat, it won’t evaporate. If you stay wet, you’ll stay cold. You can even die —well, not when you’re out taking pictures and your car is a stone’s throw away, but certainly if you’re a hundred miles from help and hypothermia sets in! I don’t ever worry about hypothermia when I’m out taking pictures, but I do worry about being so cold I have to come home before I’m ready.

**Black-capped Chickadee** *November 2020*

So, my first winter layer is always synthetic. After that, I throw on various layers of wool blends, more synthetics, and maybe fleece. If I think my feet will freeze, I wear toasty warm, re-chargeable socks that came as a gift from a very kind friend. On top of all those layers, I wear windproof or waterproof pants and a warm coat.

Even with all those layers and a good pair of gloves, it has taken me years to figure out how to keep my hands warm and still operate the buttons on my camera. Eventually, I found a lightweight pair of down mittens which are thin enough to feel the buttons but warm enough to keep my fingers from freezing—sort of. I still put rechargeable hand warmers in each of my pockets to make sure.

Then there’s my head, neck, and feet to worry about. I start with a neck-warmer and sometimes a scarf; followed by a cozy warm hat, and sometimes the hood of my coat. Just before going out the door, I put on my hiking boots as well as a pair of waterproof over-boots if the snow is deep or it’s exceptionally cold.

It took me a long time to work out this multi-layer system where I can stay reasonably warm—and still move!

It isn’t quite zero degrees yet, but it will be at some point. On November 8th of this year, we had our first snowfall. A few days later, it was 50 degrees. This coming week, a snowstorm is expected. Such are the vagaries of a Michigan winter and the challenges of dressing for the occasion!

**White-throated Sparrow** *November 2023*

**Red-bellied Woodpecker** *January 2022*

As much as I enjoy capturing a pretty picture of a bird in the snow, I am not a big fan of winter nor am I a glutton for punishment. I don’t like all the dreary, overcast days and the loss of color, I don’t like the freezing cold temperatures, and the lack of butterflies, dragonflies, or frogs. And I absolutely hate wearing all those stupid layers of clothes just to go outside!

That said, I do love the challenge of taking pictures in the wintertime. I love how it feels to be dressed in all those layers on a really cold day with giant snowflakes stuck to my eyelashes and feeling invincible! I love being outdoors hoping for the best picture ever, then coming home after a long winter walk to stand in front of the fire and soak up its warmth.

Most of all, at age 78, I love that I still can!

Waiting for Wood Ducks

May 5, 2025

I was standing in muck along the edge of a small marsh, knee deep in tick-laden reeds, hoping the Wood Ducks I had heard earlier would return. It was a chilly spring morning and I had underestimated how cold I might get just standing still. Sometimes, though, the sun would peek through the clouds, giving me a brief illusion of warmth, but the cold breeze still cut through me. I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up over my head, tried not to worry about ticks that might be crawling up my legs, stuffed my hands deep into my pockets, and waited for the Wood Ducks to return.

The marsh was alive with the sound of birds, most noticeable among them were the Red-winged Blackbirds. By belting out their familiar song over and over again, the males were working hard to woo the nearby females. The song of the Red-winged Blackbird is the quintessential sound of spring here in Michigan.

The quiet, less noticeable females were hanging out in the reeds, skulking through the vegetation for food and gathering materials to weave together into their intricate nests.

**Female Red-winged Blackbird with nesting materials in her beak**

A smaller, even less noticeable bird was also flitting among the reeds across from where I was standing. With its subtle coloring of brown, gray, buff, and black, this little bird was well-camouflaged and hard for me to see along the edge of the swamp. I recognized it, though, partly because of its distinctive markings, but mostly from its location. It was a Swamp Sparrow!

While I was watching the little Swamp Sparrow flitting around the marsh, a splash of yellow caught my eye. A tiny bird kept flitting among the reeds so quickly that I had a very hard time bringing it into focus for a picture. The bird in question turned out to be a Common Yellowthroat. Its bright yellow feathers and broad black mask make it one of the most easily recognizable warblers—if you can get it to sit still long enough!

Higher up in the tangle of branches was a barely visible olive gray bird with a white breast. I had no idea what it was so I kept taking pictures, hoping one would be good enough to identify later using one of my birding apps. This one turned out to be a Least Flycatcher.

At this point, it was well past an hour into my vigil, and still no Wood Ducks!

In the distance, I could see a lone Kingbird perched on a reed. With its dark gray back, white chest, and neat white tip on the tail, the Eastern Kingbird looks like it’s wearing a business suit—and this bird is ALL business when it feels threatened! It will readily attack any birds that enter its territory, even if they are much bigger! It’s called a Kingbird for a reason!

About the same time that I spotted the Kingbird, a Great Blue Heron flew overhead!

When I turned my attention back to the marsh in front of me, I saw a pair of Common Grackles perched in another tree not far from the Kingbird. Grackles are stunning birds to observe especially when the sun highlights the iridescent blue feathers on their head. Unfortunately, Grackles are also the number one threat to corn crops. They eat ripening corn as well as corn sprouts, and their habit of foraging in big flocks means they make a multimillion-dollar impact on corn producers.

Another colorful bird that was flitting among the tangled branches and tall reeds was the Palm Warbler. It’s a relatively easy warbler to identify, with its rusty-colored cap, yellow eyebrows, and yellow belly with rusty streaks. These cheerful little birds are migrating through Michigan right now and I love finding them!

I’d been waiting in the muck now for almost two hours and I wasn’t even sure the Wood Ducks would be back before I had to leave. But I had a little more time so I continued to entertain myself watching all the birds going about their daily lives right in front of me mostly oblivious to my presence. At that point, I’d gotten pictures of thirteen of those birds, including a few American Robins, at least one American Redstart, a mewing Catbird, and a few bright yellow American Goldfinches.

Suddenly there was the sound of splashing off to my left! The Wood Ducks were back!! I quickly turned my camera in their direction, hoping my settings were all correct and zoomed in. There were two males and one female and they were already swimming away from me headed for the shelter of the reeds. It wouldn’t be long before they disappeared from view so I started snapping pictures as fast as I could, hoping for one or two good shots. These are such beautiful birds, particularly the males, with their iridescent colors of blue, green, chestnut, and purple; and their contrasting patterns of white around their neck, head and flanks. It would be so disappointing to miss a shot after all this time!

Not only did I have the right settings, the Wood Ducks stayed longer than expected for the photo shoot—AND I never got any ticks! It doesn’t get much better than that!

Morning Surprises

June 18, 2024

Whenever I go out on a picture walk, I never know what I’m going to find. Sometimes it’s a new dragonfly or a new butterfly. Sometimes it’s just a robin with a mouthful of worms. Sometimes it’s a rare bird, like this black-billed cuckoo, or a shiny, iridescent dogbane leaf beetle. Almost everything captures my attention, no matter how small. Today, it was a tiny barn swallow.

Black-billed Cuckoo, one of my biggest surprises ever! I didn’t even know we had cuckoos in Michigan!

Roseate Skimmer dragonfly, one of my surprise dragonflies I found in Florida. I had never seen a pink dragonfly before!

I was on an early morning ramble through the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery when I spotted this little ball of fluff sitting on a railing near one of the overgrown ponds. From a distance, it was barely noticeable, but with the help of my 600mm lens, I could see that the ball of fluff was a baby barn swallow, a fledgling. There were no adult birds nearby that I could see, but I knew that mom or dad would be back soon to feed their hungry little offspring, so I planted myself in a good spot for pictures, but not too close, and I waited. It wouldn’t take long for mom and dad to return with provisions.

I was totally focused in on the baby, but every time it opened its mouth, I knew mom and dad were flying around in my periphery ready to deliver food. What surprised me, though, were the ‘fly by deliveries,’ where mom and dad never landed; They flew in, hovered for a moment, stuffed the food in their baby’s gaping mouth, and flew off! It happened so quickly that I never really saw what was happening, I just kept taking pictures as quickly as I could. It wasn’t until I brought the pictures up on my computer that I could see how mom or dad rarely landed. I was also able to zoom in and see what they were feeding this little one. My favorite shot was the parent bird shoving in a mouthful of blue damselflies!

Barn Swallow parent delivering blue damselflies!

As I walked away an hour or so later, I was left wondering how this baby bird, with its underdeveloped wings and tail feathers, even made it to the top of this railing in the first place, and how it would return to a safe spot once evening set in. By the time I had to leave, that baby barn swallow had already been out on the railing for well over an hour. I hope it eventually made its way to safety.

Here are the most notable shots from today’s barn swallow surprise– with captions:

Parent bird: “Hold your horses!! I’m coming!”

Parent bird: “Here you go!! Down the hatch!”

“Where’s my food?? Why are you ignoring me???

Parent bird: “Here you go!! Quit yelling at me!!”

Parent bird: “Here’s some tasty blue damselflies! Are you full yet??”

Parent bird: “There, there!! That should be enough!”

On the Road Again

June 5, 2023

We just returned from our first real get-away adventure in almost three years. For the better part of the last three years, we had stayed close to home waiting for the pandemic to end. When it was mostly over, and we were ready to travel, our aging dog could no longer go with us or stay in a kennel. She needed a great deal of care. On April 18^th of this year, we had to say our final goodbyes. It was a bittersweet moment in time. After a stressful, isolating pandemic and a heart-wrenching year of doggie hospice, we needed to cut loose.

Our dear, little dog, Brandy who had a long, slow decline.

We headed out to the Driftless Area of Wisconsin. My husband, Mel, had registered to attend a Tenkara fishing get-together/campout near Westby, Wisconsin and I tagged along to take pictures. After three years of home-grown subject matter, I was eager to explore a new environment.

**A beautiful columbine growing along the roadside**

The Driftless area is approximately 8500 square miles of land, mostly in Southwest Wisconsin, that was untouched by glaciers during the last ice age. The term “driftless” indicates a lack of glacial drift, the deposits of silt, gravel, and rock that retreating glaciers leave behind. As a result, the landscape is characterized by steep, limestone-based hills, spring fed waterfalls, deeply carved river valleys, and the largest concentration of cold-water trout streams in the world! It was a perfect place for Mel to go Tenkara fishing.

Tenkara is a method of fly fishing that originated in the mountains of Japan. It uses very long rods with fixed lengths of casting line attached to the rod-tip, and simple, wet flies as lures. This method of fishing was developed to catch trout in free-flowing rivers like the ones found in the Driftless Areas of Wisconsin. I don’t fish, but I was happy enough to go wandering down the back roads near where Mel was fishing to look for birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and flowers; but not GNATS!

Those little buggers came at me with a vengeance! They were in my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. They were on my sweaty skin. They landed wherever they could find moisture! Gnats are drawn to the carbon dioxide we exhale, as well as the sweet, fruity smells of our shampoos and lotions. There’s no way to get away from them! I was just one giant, sweet-smelling moisture buffet!

**Deer on the edge of the road who was curious about my presence**

I hustled back to the car as fast as I could to see if my insect repellent Buff would help. (https://www.buff.com/us/insect-shieldr-neckwear) A Buff is a long tube of thin material that you can pull over your head to cover everything but your eyes. My eyes were protected, at least somewhat, by my glasses. The Buff was a tremendous help; it allowed me take pictures, but it didn’t stop all the gnats who really wanted to get me from crawling into my Buff or going behind my glasses! I did have bug repellent on, but it was no match for these guys! Later, we went to a store and found a repellent that was recommended for gnats and it seemed to work for about an hour before needing to be replenished. It was a welcome relief!

**Me and my Buff fending off the gnats!!**

In spite of the gnats, and the unseasonably hot temperatures, it was good to be on the road again; to engage in our favorite hobbies in a new environment, to sleep outside in our tent and hear the barred owls calling, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?” and to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds filling the air with their joyful noise. It was a welcome respite from the unwelcome ‘noise’ in our everyday lives.

**Dot-tailed White-faced dragonfly in the obelisk position to cool off**

In just a few days, we’ll be on the road again; to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota for a five-day canoe trip with friends.

Can’t wait!

**Great Blue Heron overhead (note the shadow of its head on the lower wing!)**

**A teeny tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird high up on a utility wire!**

**Snapping Turtle feasting on the tadpoles**

A Dog Named Norman

April 10, 2023

One of the many joys of a picture walk is never knowing what I’ll find or who I’ll meet along the way. Yesterday, I met a dog named Norman. It brought a smile to my face. Why would anyone name a dog, Norman, I wondered? It seemed like a very formal moniker for such a small, scruffy little beast. So, I posed the question to the human attached to the other end of the leash, “Why Norman?”

“Well,” she said, “I named him after my dad who recently passed away.”

**White-tailed deer, a common visitor on my walks**

That was even funnier, I thought, to name a dog after your dead parent, but I kept my chuckle to myself. Instead, I shared the fact that my own father was also deceased and was also named Norman! For the life of me, though, I couldn’t even imagine naming a dog after my dead parent! It just didn’t seem right–and it conjured up an unappealing visual in my head of walking my dad on a leash and cleaning up all his messes!

Earlier in the day, long before I met up with Norman, I had been walking along the creek behind our house hoping to find a wood duck in the early morning light. I expected one to swim out from the cattails along the bank, but it splashed down suddenly in the water next to me and jolted me out of my quiet reverie! Later, I was pleasantly surprised to find a female northern shoveler and a male blue-winged teal swimming in close proximity to the newly-arrived wood duck. What a great find! Both the shoveler and the teal are rare visitors to our creek!

Once the early morning light started to change, and no longer had that soft golden glow, I wandered through the woods adjacent to the creek and headed over to a nearby preserve where I hoped to find a loon. I had never seen a loon here in Michigan, but knew that one had recently been spotted on the lake at the preserve and hoped I’d get a picture!

It took me awhile to find the loon. It’s not a very colorful bird, and it does have a habit of swimming rather low in the water. Even on a relatively small body of water, like the one I was visiting, loons can be difficult to spot.

**The painted turtles were out in droves!**

While I had my camera focused on the loon, something in my peripheral vision distracted me. It was an Osprey flying towards me on the left with a good-sized fish in its talons!! I turned to take its picture and didn’t have time to change the settings on my camera. I just started shooting as fast as I could and hoping for the best! In photography, this method of shooting is often called ‘spray and pray!’ Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it’s always worth a try.

**My ‘spray and pray’ shot of the Osprey with the fish!**

As I continued walking around the lake, I was delighted to find two great blue herons in relatively close proximity to one other! I’ve never seen two blue herons at the same time except at a rookery. A short time later, I spotted a third!

One of the birds that never takes me by surprise is the Canada goose! It’s absolutely everywhere, but quite easy to overlook as a desirable photography subject. Even the most mundane of subjects, like the Canada goose, though, can make for a beautiful photograph given the right circumstances and a little bit of ingenuity. If nothing else, Canada geese are great subjects for practicing one’s photography skills; they’re not hard to find, they’re easier to photograph than smaller, flightier birds, and they really are stunning in their own right.

**Canada Goose in peaceful repose only a few feet from where I was taking pictures of the wood duck**

**A busy little muskrat taking a snack break along the edge of Asylum Lake**

On this particularly warm spring day, I also saw swans, turtles, grackles, and one very busy muskrat chewing away on something tasty; totally oblivious to my presence. Up in the trees surrounding the lake, there was a musical assortment of robins, chickadees, bluebirds, red-winged blackbirds, golden-crowned kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers, and one little brown creeper scurrying up a tree.

**Little** **Brown Creeper** **scurrying up a tree**

I always head out on these picture walks wondering what kinds of surprises I’ll find or who I’ll meet along the way. Yesterday, my best surprise was the osprey with the fish, but the funniest surprise was the dog named Norman, and the story of his name. I’m still smiling!

Find the Joy

November 21, 2022

“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.” Anonymous

I love this quote– and the snow!

The Carolina Wren sings a very joyful song

It’s hard not to feel a certain child-like wonder when the first big flakes of snow fall from the sky and transform our world into a winter wonderland. I love sitting by the fire with a hot cup of tea in my hands watching the snow pile up outside our window and marveling at the little songbirds as they fluff up their feathers to ward off the cold. I’d like to invite them in for a while to warm up. Instead, I put on three layers of pants, three shirts, a balaclava, a fuzzy hat, a down coat, a neck warmer, mittens, and boots, and join them, camera in hand.

Black-capped Chickadee and a Fox Sparrow fluffed up against the cold!

American Robin on a snowy day enjoying a crabapple tree

For the last several days, the snow has been falling almost non-stop! The birds don’t seem to mind, though, and are flitting about everywhere, enjoying the easy source of food in our feeders and occasionally taking sips of warm water from the birdbath. I’ve taken hundreds of pictures of them hoping to find among the mix, one of the ‘vagrants’ –birds who are part of a phenomenon known as an ‘irruption’ which is currently taking place across eastern North America.

An irruption is a sudden change in the population density of an organism. In the lives of our feathered friends, an irruption occurs when the birds who live farther north run out of food, and move farther south to find sustenance. Some of the irruptive species here in Michigan include purple finches, redpolls, evening grosbeaks, red-breasted nuthatches, pine grosbeaks, pine siskins, and bohemian waxwings.

A Common Redpoll and a Red-breasted Nuthatch from a previous winter

These irruptions commonly occur every few years and mostly impact the finches and other species that winter in the boreal forests of Canada and further north. The primary food source for these birds comes from pine cones. When the pine cone crop is poor over the summer, it foreshadows a difficult winter for these birds. The shortage of seeds that the pine cones produce forces these birds to move beyond their normal range in search of food. If multiple types of trees fail to produce a seed crop during the same year, multiple species of birds will move further south.

Eastern Bluebird weathering the elements on a snowy winter’s day

Irruptions vary widely in size, frequency, and duration. Some birds will stay in an area for weeks at a time, while others might only stay for a day. Regardless of the size of the flock or the duration of their visit, it’s an exciting time for birders!

I would love to see any one of these wayward birds on my picture walks, but I have been happy enough with my usual backyard visitors, as well as the interesting mix of migrating birds that visit Kalamazoo this time of year, like the fox sparrows, the white throated sparrows, the American wigeons and, the very peculiar, Wilson’s snipe.

Wilson’s Snipe, a migrating bird at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery

A Fox Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow, migrating birds that come to our backyard

American Wigeon, a migrating bird that visits a nearby pond

I’ve been out in the snow several times recently looking for the evening grosbeaks, the red-breasted nuthatches, and the other ‘irrupters’ who might be passing through, but I have come up empty handed. On any given picture walk, though, there is always the possibility that something new might come along, and ‘possibility‘ is always a great motivator!

Female Cardinal and a male Hairy Woodpecker

On these beautiful, winter days, I love the challenge of bundling up like a kid to stay warm and trudging through freshly fallen snow to photograph a bird, as I revel in the joy that, at age 75, I can still do this!

Find the joy!

White-tailed deer, one of the other beautiful creatures I often see on my walks

Three Gifts

June 4, 2022

I have a mental checklist that I review every time I leave the house for a picture walk: Is my camera battery fully charged? Is my memory card inserted? Do I have an extra card and an extra battery? Do I have my phone and is it fully charged? Do I have my monopod? But, after what happened yesterday, I should probably switch my mental list to an real list!

I was off on another picture adventure and eager to see what surprises awaited me. My destination was a favorite nature center about an hour away from home. Whenever I go on a picture adventure, I feel an immediate sense of calm wash over me once I arrive. Yesterday was no exception. I drove into the parking lot, took a deep, relaxing breath, and prepared for my three-hour escape into nature’s arms– until I realized there was no memory card in my camera!!

Canada Goose on a nest and goose parents with their goslings

I had made this mistake before and had come prepared with an emergency back-up card! Perfect! Once the card was inserted, I happily set off into the ‘wild’ hoping for a day filled with beautiful little creatures and colorful flowers. My joy was short-lived.

Female Mallard and a Semi-palmated Plover

Forty-five minutes into my walk, after taking only three measly pictures, my memory card said ‘full’!! What??? How could that be?? I tried every ‘high tech’ solution I could think of to remedy the situation: pull the card out and put it back in; turn off the camera, turn it back on, and re-format the memory card–repeatedly. Nothing worked! It was time for plan B! Look for the nearest store!

I hustled back to my car as fast as a marginally nimble 75 year-old can hustle on an uneven boardwalk with an expensive camera, a 600mm lens, and a 5 foot monopod! Once in my car, I drove as quickly as was legally possible to the nearest store to find another memory card– and hope that it worked. It didn’t. But I had already driven back to the nature center before I found out!

At that point, I could have just thrown in the towel. I could have just gone for a ‘regular’ walk and not taken pictures. But it was completely impossible for me to do that! This particular nature center had a butterfly house. It was the perfect place for close-up shots of stunning and unusual butterflies. I had to stay!

White Peacock Butterfly in the Butterfly House at the Nature Center

Female Common Whitetail Dragonfly and a Hobomok Butterfly

Garden White Butterfly in the Butterfly House at the Nature Center

Monarch Butterfly in the Butterfly House at the Nature Center

So, I went back into town to a different store and looked for a different memory card. While standing in the aisle reading the descriptions on each of the various cards, I suddenly realized why the first card hadn’t work and dashed out of the store. Back to the nature center for my third and final attempt at trying to salvage what was left of an otherwise lovely day!

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly in the Butterfly House at the Nature Center

Zebra Longwing Butterfly in the Butterfly House at the Nature Center

I had first arrived at the nature center at 9:00 a.m. It was now noon. The soft morning light was long gone, as was the cool morning air. It had been a frustrating start to what was supposed to have been a calm and relaxing day. I was totally frazzled.

But, keeping things in perspective is everything. The day was still young. The weather was still great and, most of all, I was very much alive and well, doing something I dearly loved— three priceless gifts that not everyone gets to enjoy. It was all I really needed to remember and off I went…

Hungry for Spring

February 24, 2022

Young Trumpeter Swan flying through a snow squall

As I sit writing this piece, long before sunrise, on another cold and windy February day, I am contemplating the advisability of even attempting a picture walk. The weather forecast calls for 15 to 25 mile an hour winds with gusts over 40! On the other hand, temperatures might exceed 40 degrees —quite balmy compared to the below zero wind chill conditions I was faced with the other day! Usually, I can put on enough layers to stay warm, even on the coldest of days, but strong winds make for a much bigger challenge.

Blue Jay stirring up snow in a pine tree

Female Northern Cardinal and a Northern Flicker weathering another winter storm

Some Great Blue Herons will stay here throughout the winter, but many more will head south

Most days, I’m up for that challenge but, I must admit, I’m growing weary of it all. These long winter days, where I have to plan for so many weather contingencies, and have to wear so many layers, are weakening my resolve—especially during the past two years of this pandemic where we haven’t been able to venture far from home. The birds in my backyard are quite tired of me begging for a photo shoot.

Two of my backyard birds: A Dark-eyed Junco and a White-throated Sparrow

A Cedar Waxwing and an American Goldfinch add a splash of color to a mostly color-free landscape!

For the next few days, though, my backyard birds can take a break while I babysit my grand-dog on the opposite side of the state. There are lots of new places to explore here and once the sun is up, I expect I’ll venture out in spite of the wind and in spite of the cold! I’d much rather be outside searching for the possibility of something new than sitting here on the couch.

Some people believe that the Robin is a “harbinger of spring”, but large numbers of them stay here all winter feasting on berries.

These two winter visitors were a first for me: a Horned Lark and a Snow Bunting!

After writing those first few paragraphs, I did, indeed venture out– first to a nearby nature center and then to a nearby park.

Black-capped Chickadees are delightful little birds that can be found in Michigan all year round.

White-breasted Nuthatch and a female Northern Cardinal

I found the usual assortment of birds at the nature center—chickadees, finches, cardinals, nuthatches and goldfinches, but it was a brand-new setting! When I arrived at my second destination, I really hit the jackpot! Beaudette Park in Pontiac, Michigan, had a very large pond of open water and it was teeming with a wide variety of waterfowl, some of which I’d never seen before!

Some Sandhill Cranes stay here all year long

This time of year, it’s highly unusual to find open water in Michigan. Most lakes and ponds are frozen over. This particular body of water had the ubiquitous array of mallards, swans and geese, but it also had mergansers, buffleheads, redheads, ring-necked ducks, goldeneyes and canvasbacks!! It was the canvasbacks I’d never seen before. I couldn’t stop taking pictures!

Male Canvasback at Beaudette Park in Pontiac, Michigan

Male Hooded Merganser and a Female Common Merganser at Beaudette Park

Days later, I was still sorting through all the hundreds of pictures I took that day!

Pileated Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker

Mallard Ducks are everywhere and they offer endless opportunities for interesting photographs!

In spite of all the inherent beauty to be found in a picture of freshly fallen snow and a colorful bird here and there, I am more than ready for the arrival of spring; ready to be free of these bulky winter clothes, grey skies, and frigid temperatures. I’m beyond hungry for the colors to return, for the sweet smell of a newly mowed lawn, and for the sheer delight of a warm patch of sun on my bare skin!

I am more than ready to shed these bulky winter clothes and trade this colorless landscape for green leaves and spring flowers!

Great Backyard Bird Count

February 16, 2021

The 24^th annual, four-day, Great Backyard Bird Count just ended yesterday. I had never participated in this event before and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe I thought it would be too time-consuming or that only experienced birders would be able to do it. Maybe I thought it would be too complicated. Whatever the reasons, none of them proved true. Over the course of four days, I counted most of the birds from the comfort of my easy chair, the rest by standing in our back yard, camera in hand!

**Black-capped Chickadee and a Tufted Titmouse**

“The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.” www.audubon.org

**American Tree Sparrow and a Song Sparrow**

**Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-breasted Nuthatch**

“The massive international community science project, held over four days every February, collects data that provides scientists with a long-term record of bird distribution and numbers over time, helping to identify trends that might be associated with urbanization or climate change.” https://news.wttw.com/2021/02/12/global-great-backyard-bird-count-underway

“By participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, community scientists contribute data that we use to protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. In return, studies tell us that pausing to observe birds, their sounds and movements, improve human health. Participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a win-win for birds and people.” https://earthsky.org/earth/register-participate-great-backyard-bird-count

“During the 2020 count, more than 250,000 checklists were submitted from over 100 countries, and a record 6,942 species were counted. That is a large proportion of the estimated 10,000 bird species that live on Earth today.” https://earthsky.org/earth/register-participate-great-backyard-bird-count

The Northern Cardinal nearly always tops the list as the number one bird reported followed by Dark-eyed Juncos, Mourning Doves, Downy Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, House Finches, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

With the exception of the Black Crows, all of those birds were on my list but in a different order of frequency. I also found Robins, Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, Brown Creepers, Northern Flickers, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Hairy Woodpeckers, White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and one new addition, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker!

**A beautiful Starling and a charming little Swamp Sparrow**

Even though it’s called a ‘backyard bird count’, you don’t really have to be in your own backyard. You can go for a walk and count the birds along the way or you can go to a park and sit on a bench with a hot cup of tea in your hand. But for this, my first ever Great Backyard Bird Count, I actually counted the birds in my own backyard. In terms of variety, it was probably the very best place for me to be. Over the course of the four day event, I identified eighteen different species of birds!

If you haven’t already participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, put it on your calendar for February 2022. It’s easy and fun– and an immensely good thing for all our feathered friends!

Happy birding!