January
The days are short,
The sun a spark,
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.
–John Updike
Although it’s just mid-January, the days are already noticeably longer. Still, they seem dark, cold, and much too short. The rays of the sun—when the sun chooses to make an appearance—hit our state at such a shallow angle that there isn’t much warmth or light. The backyard has been busy especially with the recent cold and snow. The birds, squirrels, rabbits and voles are taking advantage of the seed and suet I put out as well as the heated birdbath, which is a new addition to the backyard. I’m just glad I’m in here watching from the warmth of the house.
Yeah, we don’t want to go out either. We’ll just stay right here on the couch.
A Gallery of Yard Birds
We have a bird feeder in the front yard and one in the back. The birds like to sit on (or in) the gutters in the front and fly down to the feeders.
The male Goldfinches are already starting to develop their bright yellow breeding plumage. That means spring isn’t far away, right?
Most of the time, the Dark-eyed Juncos feed on the ground but this one decided to try the platform feeder. The House Finch to his left was squawking at him.
White-breasted Nuthatch ready to cache a sunflower seed.
NEW Feeder Bird: Common Redpoll. Never had one of these at the feeder before and one or two have been showing up regularly over the last few weeks.
Short-Eared Owls
On January 4th, Annette and I took a day trip to Paradise Valley State Wildlife Area near Sullivan, Wisconsin. It’s only about an hours drive from here and we had heard that one could view Short-eared owls in the late afternoon as they start waking up and hunting for food. It was an amazing experience. We watched Northern Harriers and Owls silently cruise the marsh while a beautiful winter sun set in the western sky.
Paradise Valley State Wildlife Area, Sullivan, WI.
Female Northern Harrier
Male Northern Harrier
Short-eared owl begins its evening hunt.
Unique and distinctive faces on these birds. They do have short ear tufts but you couldn’t really see them when they were in flight. We saw 7-8 owls.
Short-eared owls are mainly winter residents of Wisconsin. They spend their summers in Canada and Alaska.
A Few More January Birds
Barred Owl, UW Lakeshore Path, Madison
Pied-billed Grebe, Yahara River, Stoughton,
Northern Mockingbird, Madison. A rare bird for Wisconsin. Mostly lives in the in the south and southwest.
Another view of the Northern Mockingbird.
Grumpy American Tree Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow, not grumpy
A very cold morning yesterday. Even the geese were all tucked in.
Common but beautiful.
Horned Lark, Farm fields south of Stoughton
So winter is good. There are still beautiful things to see and enjoy. Get out there and find something that makes you happy.
beautiful photos! beautiful subjects! beautiful photographer!
Thank you dear kim. You are very kind. I am glad you are enjoying my sporadic posts.
i enjoy your posts very much. i wish there were more!
Me too. 🙂
I enjoy these updates so much, thank you! and, as always, the photos are fantastic!
thank you, adp. i hope you’re staying warm and toasty.
Nice. Thanks for making my day Kris!
You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.