Thursday, December 24, 2009

HoHoHo...

Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house...

Not a creature was stirring...


Except for that #@*%! Chipmunk, Bob!!!

Merry ChristMESS!!!

I guess it could be worse...oh well...

Joyeux Noel
Feliz Navidad
Frohe Weihnachten
Buon Natale!

Thanks to you all for being our friends and visiting this silly place!
May you all find peace and happiness in the new year...and lots of birds, too!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

I got nuthin'!

I wonder if this Song Sparrow was dreaming of a White Christmas?

Sorry, I got nuthin'...Between working and being a cranky Scrooge-like person, I haven't been out birding. So, no new photos to share. BUTT! I do have some old photos for you!

I've been working on getting a group of pics together for my buddy Julie Shieldcastle, for the upcoming "Ohio Winter Bird Atlas." That's been taking up my evening, going through all of my files looking for birds photographed in the winter months...that are in something resembling focus. Hopefully I'll have a few that are acceptable for her use.

Me and the Doodles, ESPECIALLY the Doodles, are not real fond of winter birding, I'm afraid to say. We like the warmth of indoors and watching the feeders in the gardens this time of year. We do make it out occasionally though, and here's the fruits(?) of some of my labors...brrrr........


This is what crazy Cleveland birders watch in January.
We all head to the lakefront (Lake Erie) and scan the thousands of Gulls
looking for the single all white Glaucous or Iceland Gull,
that's floating about thirty miles out and barely visible to only two people in their spotting scopes,
which of course will have moved by the time I get to the scope to see it...
while jumping up and down trying to fight the frostbite on the fingers and toes.
By the way, don't stick your tongue on a metal tripod...
Sandy Ridge is one of the places we DO like to visit in the winter.
We saw this Red-shouldered Hawk right around New Years Day.

I don't understand how this Common Goldeneye can swim around in this icy water!
My butt is frozen in long underwear!

This American Goldfinch was right outside our dining room window.
A little jealous of the nice warm home I think...sorry little buddy.


This American Robin looks so festive perched atop an evergreen with a little bunch of holly below.
That is until I tell you he's in a cemetery...not so festive anymore, eh?



I just realized i didn't post any Birds from Behind! I owe you one...or two...

Monday, December 21, 2009

Lost and Found...again...

Why is this American Coot laughing at me?

Well, I'm still chugging through all of the files. I've found a few pics of the Coots, the birds not the old folks, that I never saw. And the files of the Sandhill Cranes and the American Woodcock that I thought were long gone have magically reappeared! I've tried search functions on a couple of different programs with no luck. Now they have popped back in all by themselves...I'm going to blame this on those stoopid Chipmunks! And I thought they were hibernating this time of year.
Wait until I find him...


A lovely Sandhill Crane...running away from the Loopy one. Smart bird.

This American Woodcock was seen at Magee Marsh on International Migratory Bird Day on one of our first trips out there. I'm happy to see it again. Much better than the photo the Doodles took with her cell phone!

Of course there has to be a booty shot!
I know there's more! Stay tuned...