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Old December 23rd, 2007, 01:27 PM
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Winter chickadees...lively feeders

Our 2 - 4 inches of snow turned into 12 (about 30 cm and still coming down). I love snow...

It took me two hours to shovel the decks and a path out to the shed where the bird seed is. The Pack leaped off the stoop into belly-deep snow, and leaped right back up and went in, the wusses. Now they're all tuckered out from watching at the window while I shoveled and beat down paths for them with my snowshoes.

I finally made it out to the feeders and was greeted by our winter group of chickadees. I love those little guys!! And they love our feeders. This year we have a record--the winter group consists of at least 16 individuals! (I counted 16 for sure but it's hard to tell how many of the more shy ones might be flitting in the hemlocks.) The bolder ones come right to the feeders as I'm trying to fill them.

Here's a few pictures from after this past spring's snow storm:

Name:  Chickadees in winter 2-25-07.jpg
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Name:  Chickadee 3-2-07.jpg
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Size:  99.7 KB Name:  Time for a mid-winter snack 2-25-07.jpg
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If I'd had the camera out there this morning I could easily have gotten 9 or 10 in one frame! Maybe tomorrow

At this point I'm thinkin' we may have a white Christmas for a change....

Merry Christmas!
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 01:32 PM
SARAH SARAH is offline
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Some of "my" mourning doves, and the tawny woodpecker. Have a hairy one come too, chickadees, junkos and sparrows ... why are they never there when I have the camera with me?
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by SARAH View Post
Some of "my" mourning doves, and the tawny woodpecker. Have a hairy one come too, chickadees, junkos and sparrows ... why are they never there when I have the camera with me?
The Pack is the same way! The minute the camera comes out, the action stops! I have to sneak up on them!
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 01:54 PM
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I love chickadees. Great pics at the feeder.
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 05:21 PM
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Great birdie-pics
I just have to get a better camera,mine is only 3xZoom.
I too have lots of Chickdees,Junkos,morningdoves and a million Sparrows
Not to forget the 40+ Pigeons that wait for hubby to come out and feed them every day around 1pm
Oh,and the Starlings are becoming a nuisance.when I put out leftover food for my Crows,the Starlings just inhale it..HELP!!!
Since I have a heater in the bird-bath,they also empty it every day,having a communal bath
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 05:53 PM
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The camera I was using has a 200mm zoom on it, but these pics were taken with a 50mm fl--I was standing right next to the feeders and the little sweethearts were still coming down.

I want a telephoto so I can get the same shot from the warmth of the dining room through the window! It'd be so much more comfy. Course, then I wouldn't be able to get so close to the birds, either!

We've decided to go to a two 50-pound sunflower seed bag system--one open and in the can for immediate use, the second in the spare can. When I start using the second can, we get another 50 pounds for the first can. I can't keep up with all the birds, and this way I'll never run short--mostly the hundreds of goldfinches that will be back tomorrow. I don't know where they go during the snow, but when it stops they all come back, ravenously hungry!

Poor hubby is out on the snow blower now, trying to clear the drives. The wind is howling, though, and it's blowing right back at him. He looks like a Yeti
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Old December 23rd, 2007, 11:50 PM
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Great pics. I love chickadees and woodpeckers too. I get a great variety of birds here too. Feeding them all makes winter more tolerable.

Cindy
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Old December 24th, 2007, 02:29 AM
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Great pics Hazel, I love the chickadees as well . I feed my birds the sunflower chips because the shells made such a mess and Riley was always eating them off the ground . The chips are expensive but there is no mess and I keep the bird feeder right on our deck .
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Old December 24th, 2007, 05:57 AM
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Ahh, chickadees are my favourite birds
My DH put a feeder near my kitchen window, which happens to be Millie's favourite sill as well-- and we thought no chickadees would brave the cat to feed, but they don't care at all! Millie just watches them intently from inside, and Sola watches her. Would make a really great pic if I could capture it!!
The mourning doves are pretty too, I haven't seen any around here (Cape Breton) but we have tons of blue jays this year, more than I have ever seen.
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Old December 24th, 2007, 10:23 PM
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We have tons of blue jays, too! Feisty guys--lots of fun to watch...especially for the dogs.

If you ever figure out how to capture Sola watching Millie watch the birds, you absolutely positively have to post it!
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Old February 3rd, 2008, 07:35 PM
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Bird Pictures

Very nice pictures. We also have a lot of chickadees and you can usually walk among them. If there is no other feed around, they will take sunflower seed from your hand.

A 200mm telephoto would't do if shooting from inside as the distance is too great and the birds too small. A 200mm is fine if you are out among the feeders where you can nearly fill the frame with the birds. These make great shots. I have tried everything in taking bird photos, even using a long cable release with the camera aimed at a specific spot. I have got a lot of good shots, but I have missed just as many. When I first started, I took about 15 shots of a bluejay picking a peanut from my deck rail. When I had them developed, all I had was 15 pictures of the rail; no jay. At the first click of the camera, he took off. Thank God for digital.
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Old February 3rd, 2008, 07:52 PM
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That's why the telephoto lens is on my wish list!

Actually, my next purchase will probably be a digital--SLR with change-out lenses. Including a telephoto. That way I can sit up on the deck and snap away! Lazy woman's photography!

We get a lot of warblers through in spring and I'd love to set up with a tripod and get some good shots of them in the oaks. Our deck is over an exposed basement and up high enough to be on about the level of the branches. If only I could hook up a camera to shoot through my binoculars!
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