Huge amount of birds in feeders today

Not sure what is going on, but my yard is rocking... In addition to the dozen Horned Larks that have been in my yard for a few days, there were 50+ Goldfinches, 30+ Tree Sparrows, 30+ House Finches, Starlings, Song Sparrow, a dozen Mourning Doves and one Coopers who made one pass, missed and hasnt been back..

 Photo opportunities are not great with snow, cloudy skys and blowing snow, but I managed a couple... looking forward to seeing what comes by in Migration...

Yesterday the feeders were going nuts...

Two days ago I finally had a Horned Lark show up in my feeder... pouncing along the ground, eating the thistle and seeds that were blowing across the snow... two days later, he invited all his friends.. I had a flock of a dozen larks and a few snow buntings that hung around the feeders all day. Song Sparrow visited as well as the ton of Goldfinches, Tree Sparrows, House Finches and Juncos... There also has been a large group of Mourning Doves the last week that visit the yard and sit on the wood structure I made behind the feeder.... Hoping the Snow Buntings come back today.... Didn't get a good picture of them...click on photo to enlarge. *** Disclaimer*** Feeders were filled after the one photo... these birds are big eaters..

Long Winter

This winter is killing me... looking forward to the spring... I had my first Horned Lark in the feeders a couple of minutes ago.. he didn't stay long and I barely got the doorwall open and snapped a quick pic before he bolted... wonder what took him so long.... there are a million of them around my home...

Rough Legged Hawk

Worked in Port Huron today. On the way there took a short cut and came across a light morph Rough-Legged Hawk at Werderman and New Haven Rd... I also got an opportunity to shoot a pic of a Horned Lark and Tree Sparrow that were munching on some seed on top of the newly fallen snow.... Very Sunny day... almost didnt look like 8 degrees..  Scoped the St. Clair River in Port Huron.. One White winged Scoter, Red Breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, Buffleheads and Common Goldeneyes... click on photos to enlarge

Green-tailed Towhee needs new GPS

Went out looking for the Green-Tailed Towhee that was reported on the Rare Bird Alert... Drove to the home in Bloomfield Hills Michigan and after almost losing a couple of toes from frost bite, it finally appeared.. It was in the back of the property and not giving anyone easy views to say the least. The owner was nice enough to let us come on her driveway to look for it, but it was still a long ways off for a decent photo... I did manage these two. They are heavily cropped, and when I say heavily, I mean about 70 percent.... At least its documented on my blog... really cool bird.... click on photo to enlarge

St. Clair River Ducks....

Rare bird alert today reported a female Harlequin Duck in Port Huron. I headed that way after work to see if I could find her... No luck.. I was running out of daylight, but I managed to snap a few photos of the Goldeneyes and Long-Tailed Ducks that were below the bridge.  Click on Caption to enlarge

Good day for Hawks

Weather hit 32 degrees today and every hawk in the area came out... Highlight of the day was a Merlin at 26mi and Broughton Rd in Macomb Twp... He was sitting on top of a pole munching on a starling... I was traveling to work and did not have my camera, but he was pretty brave and I got some close up looks at him... I also counted 5 American Kestrel and 4 Red Tailed Hawks while driving... When I got home, I saw a Northern  Harrier moving thru the back of my property... by the time I got in the house, it dived, grabbed a mouse and landed on my neighbors property. I grabbed my camera and tried stalking him but got no closer than 60 yards with my zoom, so the photos below are cropped and kinda crappy, but hey, I got a photo of a Harrier eating behind my house... very cool...

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