Suddenly... Birds!

Date: April 16, 2009
Time: 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Location: The back yard of our home in the upstate New York city of Rochester.

Bird Species/Markings/Features: After a long, cold winter with nearly zero evidence of bird-life in our backyard, the past few days have witnessed a veritable explosion of activity. Last evening, while eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen counter, I noticed two Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) (1 female and one male) flitting between the large tree in the back left corner of our lot, to the fence running along the back, onto both our seed and suet feeders and finally onto the neighbor's small tree to the right of the panorama.

Using the binoculars which we have at-the-ready on the counter to follow them around the yard, it was exciting to see their somewhat vibrant plumage return to the yard.

Notes: I certainly am glad that I took advantage of the warming temperatures this past weekend to fill the feeders. Despite the fact that the North American Grey Squirrels do their best to eat the suet (even after the cakes have been dipped in anti-squirrel hot pepper) the birds don't seem to mind taking what they can from the leftovers caught in the grates of the suet holder.

The increasing number of interesting visitors (Anne saw a woodpecker this evening!) we've had recently to the feeder has made for a fun post-dinner diversion nearly every evening. I need to get more suet this evening while I am out and about...