January 14 was an indoor day. We had near blizzard conditions the day before and into the morning on Sunday. We were happy to be inside, and that the power had been restored late Saturday night.
The backyard Sunday morning. That’s a Redbud with seed pods in the foreground.
The birds were hungry- it was about 10f all day. I looked back at temperature records for January 14, the last time it was below freezing was on 2019, and then it was a relatively warm 27f.
I estimated more than 50 Dark-eyed Juncos total under all the feeders.
The common winter feeder birds were accounted for.
Female Cardinal, DE Junco, Male Cardinal, Male House Finch, Blue Jay.
The Eastern Chipmunk foraged for sunflower seeds. Didn’t it steal away enough during the summer? The eastern species doesn’t hibernate.
Per the Wikipedia entry on Eastern Chipmunks:
The eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is a chipmunk species found in eastern North America. It is the only living member of the chipmunk genus Tamias.[4][5][6][7][8]
The name "chipmunk" comes from the Ojibwe word ᐊᒋᑕᒨ ajidamoo (or possibly ajidamoonh, the same word in the Ottawa dialect of Ojibwe), which translates literally as "one who descends trees headlong."[9]
And because we have botfly fans here:
Eastern chipmunks are known to be one of many hosts for the parasitic larvae of Cuterebra botflies.[22]
The suet feeder on the west side of the house was popular. Here’s a 50 second video from a few days earlier.
There was nonstop action all day at the suet feeders on January 14 and on the following days. This almost 6 minute video records the multiple interactions amongst the various birds trying to nab a bite.
I estimated that there were about a dozen Downies between the two suet stations, along with Hairy WPs, Red-bellied WPs and a Pileated, as well as smaller birds.
Multiple Downy Woodpeckers waiting a turn for the suet.
What’s that polka dotted bird on the suet, you ask? It’s the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, the one I’ve been obsessing about.
Pileated WP, Downy WP and Blue Jay appearing to share nicely, and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
There’s not as much food here as there is in the south of the Mason-Dixon Line, where the YB Sapsucker is supposed to be this time of year. If the bird survives this week it might add good cold tolerant-suet seeking characteristics to the gene pool.
I'm located just south of the breeding range, in the yellow colored migration range in SW Michigan.
Downy WP and Blue Jay waiting for the Hairy WP and YBS.
Finally the sun came out in the afternoon, in between lake effect snow bands.
I ventured a little ways down the path to change the memory card on the trail cam.
The road got plowed!
Although the days are getting longer, the sun is still low in the sky. This is looking directly south at about 4 PM.
I didn’t stay out long, there were wind chill warnings in effect.
As I settled back in for some reading, Mr M called me to the kitchen window. “Bring your camera!”
I couldn’t get a good picture, but I think this is a Sharp-shinned Hawk having a meal. I got a pretty good look at it, didn’t see the cap that would indicate a Cooper’s Hawk.
But when I look at the picture Mr M took with his iPhone, the blocky head makes me think it might be a Cooper’s Hawk.
Opinions on ID are welcome! Either way, I looked at the victim’s feathers on Monday morning: a Mourning Dove.
Tuesday. The Mourning Doves like to hang out at the heated birdbath. Other year ‘round regulars include Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, American Goldfinches, and Black-Capped Chickadees (launching towards the feeder here). The American Tree Sparrow only shows up when it snows.
A Junco was for brunch Wednesday morning. This hawk looks more like a Sharp-shinned (small, hooded), but please correct me if I’m mistaken. The first video (1:19) is a bit shaky and grainy, but has more gusto.
This video (3:14) of the same bird is a little sharper. Both were from the kitchen window.
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Wednesday morning sunrise
Much of the country has experienced weather extremes over the last couple of weeks, although this weather is within normal for our winters in Michigan. Have you noticed any unusual effects on plants or animals? Any observations of usual or unusual natural phenomena are welcome!
