The REAL Snowbirds!!

Now no offense to all those Canadians and other northerners who make their way south each winter, but today, we have some REAL snowbirds to show you – and they are right here in our own backyard! 

Eugene, OR doesn’t get snow all that often, so when we do, it’s kind of exciting.  We knew it was coming and made provisions for all our fine feathered friends.  Pardon the pictures – the birds are a lot hardier than we are and most of these pictures were taken through our living room window or sliding glass door….I know, if we want good pictures we gotta go outside!

This is the view from our window where we watch the Nature Channel every morning while we enjoy a hot cup of coffee from the comfort of our cozy recliners.



And this is what it looked like on the other side of that window this morning.  Russ was brave enough to go outside in his robe and slippers to get a few shots of the snow.



We woke up to snow on the ground this morning and as of 10 a.m. it is still coming down pretty good.  Our driveway and the street are pretty well covered.  Not much by mid-west or eastern standards, but it’s a fun novelty here.



The birds were grateful for the seed and suet feeders we put out.



We saw a couple of Northern Flickers pecking at the cedar tree but it was hard to get a good shot of them.


The squirrels like it under the cedar tree but so do the crows.  One or two crows don’t seem to bother the squirrels but they get shy if they are outnumbered by too many.  Russ put this little hidey hole together for them yesterday.  It keeps the seed and nuts dry and the crows don’t fit!  The squirrel seemed to enjoy his own personal diner.


The little birds were having some trouble landing on the seed feeders with all the snow so we put a pie plate filled with seed on the deck.  This little fella was right in the middle of the dish until I tried to get his picture.



I am so glad we got the heated water dish.  It has been put to good use today.  This is a picture from yesterday before the snow started.  The squirrel is standing on the slab of rock we put in the dish to make it easier to access.  The birds have been using it a lot today and it is the only thing in the yard not frozen (except the pool!).


I really never thought too much about feeding the birds in the winter, but we have certainly enjoyed watching them this year.  And with the snow, I think they have appreciated the food.

The End.