Snow birds

We got about an inch of powdery snow last night - enough to blanket the yard and into the woods, and to bring all the birds in to the feeders. This morning as I was brushing my teeth and looking out our upstairs window I saw a male house finch feeding a female .. a bit too early for the courtship so maybe he was just trying to build up some extra credit with the Mrs?

I've been trying for several months to capture a dark-eyed Junco (junco hyemalis). They have such beautiful wings and their tails are trimmed in white, all of which makes them lovely in flight. Today, I "baited" the feeders with crumbled suet and then stood outside with my camera and monopod and waited (freezing my ass off since it is VERY cold!) I took several hundred shots ---of woodpeckers (hairy, downy and red-bellied), blue jays, winter sparrows, titmice...and juncos. And I finally got an inflight junco shot that I am happy with!

Juncos are often called "snow birds" or "winter sparrows" because they show up in the winter in the northern states. Their breeding range is up into Canada so this is a bird that we only have in the winter. At one time the juncos in the Western US were considered a different species, but in recent years all junco species have been combined into Dark-eyed Junco. If you see photos of juncos from the Pacific NW, you'll see a significant variation in the colors. Ours here are dark grey on top and white underneath. They feed in small flocks and prefer to forage on the ground.

A silver lining that has come from this neck/back problem is that it has forced me to use my monopod. And I am now hooked! At the moment, I can't handhold the D90 with the big lens, so the 'pod is my only option. I have a ball-joint grip on the top which allows me to rotate the angle of the camera quickly and easily, making it very easy to use. Kind of wish I'd forced myself to use it sooner ...

No change in my neck - it still hurts a lot when I am sitting, so I am simply not sitting much. I'm putting ice packs on my neck periodically (probably not often enough) and taking the drugs my doc prescribed. Not much fun, but there aren't really a lot of options. Fortunately, I didn't schedule much work this week so I can avoid my desk. :) Tomorrow we are having new carpeting installed upstairs - a monstrous job that we expect to take two days. But, it will be great when it is done. The carpet is 10 years old and is showing every minute of its age!

I'll be back later to sneak a peak at your journals, but commenting will continue to be hit 0r miss. Thanks for hanging in with me!

xxoo
Debbi