Thrilling Thirty Nine

Another day of foul weather brought more interesting birds to the yard today.  This is a Swamp Sparrow and it is the first time I've ever recorded this species in my yard.  He was traveling in with a group of White-throated sparrows so I very nearly missed him.  This photo is not good for identification (other than showing his brown cap and clean breast) but I can't resist a puffy bird.  A better field photo in Extra which shows the rufous tone to his wings, another great field mark for this species.  This is a common bird in our area in marshy areas and can be found year round, although fewer in winter.  To see my entire catalog of 2020 yard birds, click on the tag below.

Lots of pine siskins around today, too, which was delightful.  They are contentious little things which also makes them endlessly entertaining.  Other people in the area have reported seeing red-breasted nuthatches so I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for them.  It is shaping up to be an irruptive year for winter finches and nuthatches, so fingers crossed.  

And for fun, if you want to see a close up of the beautiful blue jay's back feathers (complete with rain droplets), click HERE

Other than huddling under the canopy on the deck for awhile and making a quick run into town to pick up some raw peanuts (for the chippies, titmice and blue jays), I haven't really done much of anything today. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be much better so I plan to get out and do something...

Stay safe.  Stay sane.  Be kind.

xo
Debbi