A few last nice days before the fun begins

A few sunny days after Thanksgiving gave me some time to play in the backyard with the dogs. I was using that wheelbarrow to move dirt from the patio excavation to places where it might be more useful—like filling in that big hole that Woody has been working on where a garden used to be...

And over the garlic that I finally got planted before the ground was completely frozen...

I probably won't be playing in the backyard again for awhile, unless of course I make a roaring bonfire in the fire pit. Cold, windy and raining here today. This is more typical November, almost December! weather.

Long summer, short fall

The temperatures were in the 60°s (almost 70° on Friday) and then they came crashing down over the weekend. We got about 6" of wet snow overnight on Tuesday. Most of it has melted, but I think summer has finally taken leave.

The Bird Buddy has been doing its job as photographer very well, but my Sibley Guide is much better at identifying bird visitors. Supposedly the BB is "learning" as all of the photos are coming in, but I was really hoping that my Buddy would be the one teaching me.  

The 2 birds who frequent the feeder most often, blue jays and house finches, are usually either misidentified or they ask me to ID them. Oh well, it was still worth it for the cute close up photos of some very alien-looking birdies. Can you say Coneheads?

And I finally caught a short video of the Monkey/Woody parade that happens just about every morning. Not sure why that is fun for them, but it is definitely fun for me. :)

Bird Buddy and the posers: A review

Female cardinal

White-breasted nuthatch

I pitched in some cash to a Kickstarter project about a year and a half ago. I received my Bird Buddy about 2 weeks ago. Overall, I am very happy with this little bird feeder with camera that also identifies the birds for you.

As you can see, most of these pictures are very high quality. When the bird sits in the right spot, just in front of the camera, it takes beautiful photos.

The IDs, however, leave something to be desired. It asks you to identify the birds, unless it is a very clear and obvious picture, so it isn't the best if you are looking to learn which birds are using your feeder. But if you use the close-up photos and a good bird book (like The Sibley Guide to Birds) you will be very happy. 

Blue jay. My most frequent visitor/marauder

The images of all those birds you normally would see are so close up and so damn cute, that it is well worth the exorbitant price you will pay for the little feeder. The fact that you have to charge the battery every day, or maybe every 2 days, is a bit annoying.

In my humble opinion.

Male cardinal

Tufted titmouse scaring off a house finch. It worked.

Black-capped chickadee

American goldfinch

Female house finch

Male house finch

House sparrow: I did not know, until I saw this pic and looked it up, that male house sparrows have yellow beaks, not black, and mostly lose the black spot on their chest, during non-breeding season, September–March. American goldfinch in the feeder. I did know that they lose most of their brilliant yellow coloring in the winter.

 

Friends, birds, and the old retired lady

When good friends swing by on their way back from the Finger Lakes, well we just have to celebrate with a portrait on the front porch. Most of the autumn colors are gone here, but we still had and have some beautiful weather for this time of year.

As mentioned in the last post, I finally received my Bird Buddy feeder which includes a camera that also identifies the birds. Since Saturday, only the bluejays are posing. I have 35 great bluejay photos, and only 2 of what might be a nuthatch. I see plenty of chickadee and goldfinch visitors, but they are too sneaky to be captured on camera.

I finally retired from my job at The Freeman's Journal/Hometown Oneonta. Last night was my last Ugly Tuesday. Even though it's November, there are a few more days of warm weather to spend outside with the bluejays and not have to worry about going into work. But I will miss my other good friends, Tara and Larissa! :)