Cold Weather Visitors In My Backyard

Cold Weather Visitors In My Backyard

deer (5 of 5)
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I haven’t seen any bears or migratory song birds these past two moths. The bears are hibernating and the song birds have flown south. But I still have had some cold weather visitors in my backyard here in Hazle Township, Luzerne County. 

My bird feeders have not suffered any assaults from the bears that usual manage to tear them down no matter how high I hang them. Although the beautiful song birds are gone they still attract the many birds that remain in our area throughout the Winter including this Carolina wren. 

This is the first Winter it has remained at my feeders and has been rewarding me with its delightful song in exchange for my suet. It likes to crawl inside my suet feeders and feed with some of the  other bird visitors in my backyard, including the many downy woodpeckers.

The downy woodpeckers are constantly fluttering from the nearby tree branches

to the suet feeders throughout the late Fall and Winter

This beautiful red-bellied woodpecker first appeared in October and has remained near my backyard. 

It is a very aggressive bird and squawks loudly from a branch above the feeder when I approach the suet. 

The pretty, but also aggressive blue jays, will scare off other birds from my feeders ,but, unlike the red-bellied woodpecker, will fly off when I approach. 

Also feeding at both my regular and suet feeders are the common  house sparrows, 

well I think they are house sparrows. I have a hard time identifying sparrows so please feel free to comment and correct me if I am wrong. 

White breasted nuthatches are also frequent visitors to my suet feeders. They also crawl along the trunks of my oak trees looking for insects even in the colder months. 

Most of the birds I have shown above reside in my area all year round, this  bird, however. the  dark-eyed junco or snow bird arrives late in the fall and only remain here in the Winter. 

They usually feed on the ground but occasionally I will find them on the suet or perched on a tree branch. 

For some reason the many turkey who visit my backyard in the Summer have disappeared. And there are also crows, black-capped chickadees , tit mice and a few hawks visiting  my yard but which I did not photograph. Here is a link to a gallery with some more of the bird visitors to my backyard these  past two months. Backyard birds November to January 2021.

In addition to the birds I also have many other critters visit my yard in the Winter. Some visit at night, like the raccoons, skunks, fox and rabbits,  and I don’t see them except by their tracks in the mud and snow. Others,  like the  many squirrels that live in my trees, are always scurrying about.

And there are the many deer that live in the woodlands behind my house.

They stop up every evening to feed on some corn I provide as a treat. I understand feeding entirely on a diet of corn is not good for the deer so I try to provide it as a supplement to their diet. 

However some of the deer, especially the bucks, get quite possessive and fight off the other deer. 

I enjoy watching them visit every night, especially when there is snow on the ground. I hope to think they also enjoy watching me. 

Here is another link to a gallery with some more photos of the deer that are visitors to my backyard. Backyard deer November to January 2021. 

“If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”
― Steve Irwin

 

 

This is my first post

2 Comments

  1. Bill Kovalick on January 7, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    Frank,
    Excellent job with the bird and deer photos. Do the chickadees come around much? I saw quite a few of them during hunting season back in November. Very friendly and inquisitive birds.



    • fskokoski@gmail.com on March 12, 2021 at 4:54 pm

      Thanks Bill sorry for the late response but Word Press didn’t send me the message. Yes I have a lot of chickadees Yes they are.