a snowstorm yardbird, central Bldr Cnty; and general passersby

[Linda Andes-Georges]

Hi folks-- It is rare nowadays that I can share a good yardbird. New species are extremely rare (yardlist now stuck at 128), and the numbers in general, as most of us can agree, are way down in the past 5 years. Gone are the winter flocks of White-crowned Sparrows, not to mention the very welcome surprise visits like Rosy Finches.

But as we ventured out in the recent snowstorm, we were treated to our first actually "perched" Bald Eagle in the basswood next to our house.
We' ve had flyovers, of course, but never a close view like this one. Boy, are they big, compared to the starlings perched all around them. It was a spirit-booster. It seemed very habituated, and was probably hungry, with all the ponds frozen solid.

So far, the songbird mix is steady at a couple dozen each of House Finches, D.E. Juncos, Pine Siskins, and Amer. Goldfinches. Occasionally a Tree Sparrow shows up, and of course the steady visits by flickers, downies and WB Nuthatches. I don't really count the EC Doves and their faithful predators, the Coopers. An Amer. Kestrel comes by to hunt from time to time. Pretty bleak...

Linda
Boulder Hills up north 68th St, 2 miles west of Lagerman