This is a collection of images from this February, none of which has had a posting of its own.
The Rough-legged Hawk is a winter resident that hunts for rodents.
Our smallest falcon, the kestrel, hunts in open habitats.
I don’t have a bias that favours sighting birds. Yet, notwithstanding the skunk seen earlier, most of the creatures I see are avian. Hiding in the forest is a White-tailed Doe in its winter pelage.
This is one of two Ruffed Grouse that frequent my yard.
A Bald Eagle added a branch to the pair’s nest. Eagles have a compulsion to add material each year, and sometimes this results in a nest so massive that it topples the tree.
The Song Sparrow is a common bird, but drabness renders it inconspicuous. It deserves to be celebrated now and then.
The robin is also common, yet has a greater cachet and so does not require the same acknowledgment as the Song Sparrow. Here are four robins in a larch.
This has been an really good winter for seeing Trumpeter Swans. Indeed, many pictures I have taken of them have just been discarded. Yet, I rather like this shot taken in the dim light of dawn.
This is a male goldfinch in non-breeding plumage. The black feathers on the finch’s head are a sign of pending spring as it moults into its breeding plumage of a black cap and a yellow body.
And this cutie is a female goldfinch.
Your “cutie” is wearing the original feather boa. Fashion-conscious
little thing! Charming.
..a shout out for the common sparrow!
Many thanks, Alistair, for these exquisite studies in atmosphere, mood, hue and, in the case of the grouse, implied motion. They pick me up.
A beautiful assortment, thank you Alistair. I love the closeups of the birds’ feather designs, so artistic.