New Railing Visitor

Check out that mischievous eye in large. In my opinion, the hardest thing about photographing a tufted titmouse is that eye. And here you can see why... the dark area around the eye can make that whole area look like a flat black pancake instead of a spherical shape. Rarely do I get the shine in their eyes just right to over come that black surround... It's quite gratifying when it works out. :)

Now, up until today, the seeds I place on the deck railing have been enjoyed by the bluejays and Fred the Red squirrel exclusively. I can't tell you how pleased I was to see a tufted titmouse land and pluck a seed from the snow. He had to be quick, as the bluejays weren't too keen on sharing their secret spot... But before long, the word had spread in the titmouse community and several arrived to give those bluejays some competition! Later Fred came by and cleaned up. That Fred is such a tidy fellow. :)

Extra bird info., just incase you were wondering...
Around here there are two very similar woodpeckers: the downy and the hairy. So similar, it's hard to tell the difference unless you see them together or are used to seeing them. Today was the first time I've captured one of each in a single photo. If you're interested, I've posted this rare moment on Flickr. The downy is on the left (the smaller one) and on the right you have the hairy (who's tail is hidden by the feeder, making him even larger than you see here).