black-capped chickadee
dark-eyed junco
Steller’s jay
varied thrush
It’s that time of year again: the Great Backyard Bird Count! I’ve been putting out extra goodies for the birds and faithfully counting–or trying to count–each feathered friend that drops by. It’s as much a challenge as ever to get an exact count of juncos that blend into the winter ground and chickadees that flit in and out, so that I can’t tell if the one at the feeder now is a new bird or the one I just counted. The big birds are easy–the jays, flickers, varied thrushes. But those little gray and brown guys–whew! And then there are the “missing in action”–the birds I know are around somewhere, but that won’t come by to be counted. The cute little bushtits haven’t dropped in yet. One downy woodpecker visited the suet feeder today, but the hairy woodpecker hasn’t been by. I only have robins because I took a walk and saw them down the street.
There’s still one more day left, so if you want to take part, throw out some birdseed and see who shows up. It really is great fun watching the birds interact as they gobble down the food–some of them are real characters. Give it a try! And here are some of the ones I saw today, filmed through the window, so please excuse the blurriness.
Sparrow Thoughts 
That is one massive egg that dark-eyed junco has just laid!
Yes, Ken, it’s really pretty amazing what that bird can do–especially considering that it’s a male junco…
This is, after all, the 21st century. I will campaign for the right of male juncos to lay eggs as big as they want!
If he wants to lay an egg, more power to him! Fair’s fair.