Dark-eyed Junco Used to Visit my Backyard

Since the time I hanged my bird feeder in the summer of 2007, I have had many visitors: Dark-eyed Junco (photo), Chickadees, House sparrows, Mourning doves, Red-winged black birds, Woodpeckers, Grackles, American Goldfinches, and not to mention black and grey squirrels (this one was the wild one), cats (including wild cats). Oh, and I almost forgot a skunk when I was photographing the lunar eclipse in August 2007. However, I think this cold and snowy winter scared many of them away, or they found places much warmer and more abundant in food, like local supermarkets. So far, only the Mourning doves have survived, if you recall the one sitting on top of our BBQ during Christmas.

So I am feeling sad; however, I know they will all be back soon, as it will be warmer. The other day I was so desperate that I took JJ's idea and spread seeds on the snow. To our surprise, we got someone else—the raccoon—that ate all my seeds during the night. I guess I will have to skip this strategy as well.

Well, spring is around the corner; however, we cannot see that corner yet, just the date. So I don't know if I should be proud of this or what—first flu this winter, in addition to one cold a few months ago. However, my spirits are high, even though my throat is about to be invaded by the bug and I cannot turn my neck very much either. I am glad of the laptop's flexibility because no turning is required.

Lastly, I want to leave you with a little voting campaign in the right column. If you can let me know what your expectations are for posting frequency on this blog, that will be great. All your help is appreciated.

Oh, and I have to mention this too: Bob from Blackholes and Astrostuff had a major makeover. Check it out and find out for yourself (btw, not really him, but his blog).
~ Anna

Comments

Anonymous said…
hey Anna (wow i am the first one to comment!)
Just last night I was telling someone that I ducked flu this winter.. but looks like i am still vulnerable :(

Nice to hear abt the bird feeder... so did you put it to feed the birds or just because you could take pics (or both..lol) ;)
Hi Anna,
I will vote on your post frequency. Personally, my mom and I enjoy your posts and wish they were more often!
I love the birdie picture. We have had a bird feeder at our new house for a while now, and for some reason we don't have as many different birds here even though we are more out in the country (for Dallas area, that is!). This morning mom got all excited because she saw our first mommmy cardinal....we did not see the red daddy anywhere yet, but he must be close by!
Great post!
--JB
Bob Johnson said…
Thanks for the mention Anna, you are too kind. I did vote, I think you probably know which one is me, it only has one vote, and it is the bottom one,lol. well what could I do, you didn't have an option for 229 a week. Anna you take such great wildlife pics, that is just too cute, hope yo get better soon, just came off the bug.

Anna the date says friday but I was here yesterday, didn't see it, unless you started it friday and posted it yesterday.
Swubird said…
Anna:

Great shot of that little bird. I know that birds are beautiful, but your photography is what really makes the picture.

Sorry I don't have time to say more, but I have to leave now to go to the beach. LOL

HAve a nice day.
Bob Johnson said…
Sorry I meant posted it today, not yesterday, since I would have seen it, i"m going to go now,lol
myonlyphoto said…
Hey priyank, wow you are first, lol, glad that you have dropped by. Yeah never know what kind of bugs are out there, please take care of yourself, and I wanted to say stay away from people, which may be hard to do, lol. I did both, but my first intention was just to get some life to my backyard, which I almost had none, and now as long there is food, there are birds and other animals. This also is giving me an opportunity to get close to them, and photograph them. Thanks again for you visit and comment, it is always nice to see you around, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
JB thanks for voting. I know I know, hopefully in the spring and summer I will be able to do more, as I do want too. Thanks for all your kind comments always. You know, when I put out my birdfeeder, it took good three months to get some nice visits, but I also knew there was someone there, because the food was disappearing, lol. May be you have to relocated the bird feeder in more visible area, I really don't know, but once you get some birds, the news will spread. Wow, cardinals are nice and red, good for you. JB thanks for sharing all your thoughts, and visits, they are always appreciated. I will see you around. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Bob, no problem, your site now is amazing, sometimes I just visit to look at it. Oh Bob you are so demanding, lol, you know I think I have to do that too (the awards), lol, so don't be surprised when I knock on your blog one day, lol. You said: '229 a week', wow, that's almost 1 post every 1/2 hr, lol. Thanks for nice comments, and yes whenever I get sick I am always on the mission to get well as soon as possible. You know in the old days, we did anything to get sick so we don't go to school, lol.

Thanks for the visit on Friday. I acutally forgot how the blog posting works, yeah I started on Friday, but posted today, sorry for the confussion, but blogger is funny that way.

Thanks again Bob for all. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi swubird, thank you for your nice comment, you are kind. Oh no problem, glad you enjoyed the bird photo, and have fun on the beach, where I have to enjoy piles of snow for now, lol, lol. Thanks swubird, even quick visits are nice and refreshing, Anna :)
What a great bird capture, Anna!!! I hope you're feeling better. Sleep the flu off.

I walk past a window now and see bare ground. Do a touble-take because I can't believe I'm seeing God's rich earth. Okay, it's over the septic tank. That signals spring. :

Hugs, JJ
Snippet said…
Hey Anna,

I picked "three," but really I want to see as many photos as you care to put up there. If it's more? Great! If it's less, then I figure you're doing what you can handle and I'll be happy with that. Your pictures are awesome!

~J
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks JJ. Yes I see the ground over our vent sticking out the house, and that is about it, lol. Sleeping is definitely not a problem, lol. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
kriz thanks, I will see you around. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi JFargo, thank you so much for your comment, and kindness. You are right, sometimes I can only keep up with one post per week - glad though that you enjoy my photography and would like to see more. Thanks for all you support. I will be visiting your blog shortly. Thanks again, Anna :)
Anonymous said…
Beautiful this moment, i loved the perspective.

A very beautiful image of the kingdom of the birds.

Congratulations
Fruity said…
Twitty twitty bird coming round to pay you a visit. Does he or she sings?
Fruity
Sandpiper (Lin) said…
A nice post. I love the little junco! :)
Anonymous said…
Hope you're feeling better Anna. The flu and winter. The flu sucks and winter just doesn't want to leave. Beautiful shot of the junco. I did the same thing and spread seed all over the snow. I wound up with three ravens believe it or not. They must be hungry and anxious for spring as well.
~JD
KOSTAS said…
Cute the small Junco. Marvellous the photograph but also the comment!
S-V-H said…
I love your little bird, he is so cute. Great post, Anna.
Tom said…
Hi Anne..
this is a great post. so many links to follow and so many things to see. ha!
I feel awful having to vote.. I have time to post each day, not just for me but also for Peter my mate. I realise others can not always give that time.

I will vote but it will be for what I'd like to see, not what I'd expect you to do. I hope you understand that.

Thank you very much for all your visits and all the comments. I really do look forward to reading them when I see your name on my posts.
Tom
myonlyphoto said…
Jose thank you for your visit and kind comments. Appreciated. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Fruit Species, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I tell you the truth, I had to take these photos from the window, as they usually fly away as soon as I show up. Chickadees have a bit more tolerance, I was able to get as close as 0.5 meters away. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi sandpiper, thank you for your visit and comment. I will see you around. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi JD, yes I am getting better, drinking orange juice like a mad woman, lol. Yes it sucks, I hate it too. Wow three big ravens, these are big birds, I am sure no small bird would ever want to get close. We have crows only (at least I think they are crows, lol), but they are not getting close to my birdfeeder at all which is nice. Thanks for visit again, and nice comment. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi kostas, welcome to my blog. Your comments on my photo and post are appreciated. I have visited your blog, nice bee collection photos, thanks for sharing, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Susanne, you beat me to my blog first. I almost clicked on your blog link and I got disoriented, lol. I will see you later to visit your daily collection of photos, you know what to expect, lol. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Tom, thanks for visiting and commenting, and voting. Oh don't feel awful voting, this is just 'customer service' improvement tactics, lol, or say blogger satisfaction strategy, lol. I used to have lot of time on my hands too, and I posted one per day, but then, time got tight, and I kind of found that posting one or two per week, gave all my bloggers a chance to visit and comment. If every blogger did what you doing, then it would be lot of visiting per blogger, lol, that is why spread is important, some do daily, some bi-weekly or some weekly. Your vote is appreciated, and thank you for being concerned (I understand).

And Tom, no problem, I enjoy visiting your blog and every post, everytime I am there.

Thanks again, Anna :)
Max Coutinho said…
Hey Anna,

I wish you well; a flu is not a joke! Make sure you drink lots of hot fluids, all right? :)

LOL I voted, and guess where I cast my vote on? LOL LOL....
And to think that I have an interesting tag coming up LOL....

Anyway, it doesn't make a difference to me...post whenever you wish, darling...and I will be here to read as many article as I can :D!

That bird is the cutest thing I have ever seen...I loved it :D!
Spring time is arriving...

Keep me posted on your health :D!

Cheers
Livingsword said…
Hi Anna,

What a beautiful photo! They are soooo hard to get a photo of as they are always moving some part of their body or hopping off someplace! Well done Anna!

The seeds on the snow are also great for rats… LOL

Yesterday we went for a walk around our local park which has quite a large pond in it and it was great to see and hear all the birds, the red winged black birds were singing like a massed choir!

I like the polling idea; I’ll just go and vote after posting this…oh I thought it was a Survivor poll… LOL I’ll vote anyways! LOL

Take care Anna great photo and I always enjoy reading your write ups that go with the images….You provide great “color” and character for the photos…
Anna, your bird shot is very nice always. Take care yourself and hep the spring is comming soon.
Merging Point said…
"dont look down on anyone but take a look from where you came to know where you are now" -- Little ones do convey powerful messages...
A BIG hug to you, i loved this picture, Anna!
RW said…
Anna OMG I missed this post! So sorry , may cats never bother you while you relax on your perch! Awesome photo!! :D
MedaM said…
Hi Anna,
I hope you are feeling much better from your flu. I too wasn’t feeling well for days. I was coughing badly but I am feeling much better now.
I love you birdie picture very much. It is so nice and exciting having all those birdies as visitors around your home and even squirrel and racoon on top of that.
As for the weather; it changes every now and then over here. Just when I think that spring has arrived we get another amount of snow. It was raining yesterday which turned out into snow. When I woke up this morning and looked through the window everything was fresh white outside.
myonlyphoto said…
Hi everyone, just wanted to thank you all for commenting. Well, the flu or cold bug (who knows what it is) decided not to use its wings and stay with me, lol. I will resume my blogging soon as I get better, and definitely will answer to those I did not answer yet, and visit your blogs. Thank you all, and I will see you soon. Anna :)
kml said…
He looks like he is sleeping, Anna!

Our birds have been scarce this winter too even though I have kept the feeders full.

I hope you are felling better, Anna, and don't get the flu too badly. I am just getting over it, and it was a nasty one.

Take care!
Kathy
Beautiful junco photo, Anna!!! We have them here too and I love to see them. Haven't seen them lately though.

ROFL about the racoon and oh dear for the skunk in the yard. We have an all white one with a very floppy tail.

Our ground feeding is expensive. We have a dozen wild turkeys and a hungry possum, not to mention the birdfeeder swinging squirrels that pop up from the snow everywhere.

I hope you see the wild turkeys again.

I can't wait for a better camera. Hope to have one soon. Am only using one that doesn't zoom. Drives me nuts because I miss soooo many shots. We have a huge blue ice build up on the lake that looks like a blue beehive but I can't capture a shot because it's too far away. UGH!!! It's sitting right on the rock Jeff and I love to sit on when we swim. We call it our raft. :D

Hugs, JJ
Anonymous said…
beautiful details..
myonlyphoto said…
Max, I took your advice, and drinking and drinking and drinking hot stuff, lol. Thanks for the support on voting, your input is appreciated. Thanks for all your kind comments too, and I just noticed I have been tagged by you, seems interesting. I will be coming over to pick it up soon. Thanks, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Livingsword. Yes you are right, birds are not that easy to photograph. Sometimes I find myself chasing through the woods to capture that one photo, lol. Thanks for telling me about rats, then I will avoid this feeding scenario for all. I remember we used to have a mouse in the basement. We noticed eaten corners of pasta boxes, lol. However, I think the mouse did not like us very much anyway, because we never seen it again, lol, or our food was too healthy, lol. Oh you got red winged black birds. We have them here too, and they are quite loud during their mating season, lol, they visit our backyard all the time, but not anytime soon, we still cannot see the ground. It is nice that you can enjoy those spring walks now. Thanks for voting, and always nice comments, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
DSM thanks, and I will. Yes I am waiting patiently for the spring. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Merging Point, this is such a nice quote, thanks for sharing and commenting on my photo. Hugs to you too. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Roger thanks. No you did not arrived late, I wrote it on Fri but posted two days later. Funny how blogger posting works. Thanks again, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
MedaM, thanks for visiting and commenting. Glad that you are feeling better. I myself hate winter bugs, they just slowing down my whole daily life routine. Many things to do, but body cannot do it. I really enjoy all my backyard visitors. The backyard is not that big, so I am surprised that they do visit. Yes weather is still cold and snows too. Glad that you were able to see some spring, but like you said that snow is not making any justice on the flowers trying to bloom. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, always appreciated. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Kathy, not that you said it, lol, I think he does like he is following sleep and soon will fall off the support, lol. It is amazing how different people can see things form different angles. I hate nasty flu's too, let's just say hate them with passion, they immobilize me so much. Glad you are over yours. Thanks again for your kind comments as always. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi JJ, thanks for all the nice comments. I can see the bird feeding being expensive, but on the end I find very rewarding. May be you should plant your own seeds, like sun flowers, lol, I love sun flower fields. But then never know birds probably would eat it before the winter. So you still have turkeys, well I think it will be another year without, except for Thanksgiving, lol.

Wow JJ I am really amazed that all your photography was done with no zoom camera, and you have captured such a wonderful and beautiful images up to date. If you are looking for cameras, I think you should not have problem, there are lot of cameras available with good zoom capability and also good prices. I suggest that may be don't look at recent models, may be last year releases, that way you can probably get a better discount. I think 6 Megapixes will do you good, anything higher, larger files size thus larger storage devices required. Pick something with SD flash card, very standard card in the market. And make sure you have means to download the photos to your computer, either USB or card readers. Hope this can help you choose. All my camera's are Canon, and I been very happy with them. Here is good site to read reviews on digital cameras: http://www.dpreview.com/. Good luck and let me know if you need anything else. Thanks again for your comments. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
cushmok welcome to my blog, and thank you so much for commenting. I will be visiting your blog shortly. Thanks again, Anna :)
Anonymous said…
that is so adorable! love it =)
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks icepricessa, I will see you soon. Anna :)
Anonymous said…
We have juncos at our feeders all winter. Well actually they hop around on the ground cleaning up the spilled seed. I never actually see them on the feeders. By May they are gone until next November. I don't know if they go north or south from here. Maybe they just go to higher elevations for the summer.
RW said…
Those colds can be awfull! Hope you recover fully as soon as possible!
Unknown said…
Anna, this bird is beautiful. I have always intended to set up a bird feeder but never got round to it! :) Hope you have a great Spring

Cheers,

David @ David's Nature Pictures
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Roger, I am on the mission, but I think I am driving wrong car, because the cold is still around, lol. Thanks for visiting, and hope you are getting better too. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi David, thank you for your kind comment. This is the first year we had this bird in our garden. Having birdfeeder can be very rewarding, Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Will thanks. We had juncos in the fall, but then house sparrows took over. You are right they tend to feed from the ground, just like morning doves too. I guess morning doves are a bit too heavy to sit on the feeder. They all rely on house sparrows, lol. May be they are winter birds, because I don't see them too in the summer. Thanks again, Anna :)
Max Coutinho said…
Hey Anna,

I am so glad that you are back on track :D! lol It was a good advice after all ;D!

No need to thank me cause it is my pleasure, girl :D!!! But you're welcome anyway ;D...

Cheers
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Jen, thank you for your visit, and your kind comments. I will see you again. Anna :)
Hi Anna,
I am a big fan of photos blogs, and you have a natural talent for capturing nature. I love the picture of the bird, and while I do not live in an area populated with such diverse wildlife such as where you reside, we have our share of critters. Your article and photo here remind me of my backyard. We have raccoons, and of course squirrels (even the raccoons deserve a little bird seed) and we also have chipmunks, moles (my sprinklers are under attack!, rabbits, possums, field mice, and just about every bird imaginable dropping in for a visit. My wife and kids put out a bird feeder last summer and it attracted every living creature on Long island (exaggeration, or course). My son when nuts and poured nearly and entire 50lb sack of bird seed all over the backyard without us knowing it until we woke up on a Sunday morning to a cacophony of about five separate flocks of birds battling for feeding territory in our backyard. It looked like and Alfred Hitchcock movie. Anyway, thanks for the story and the photograph. Sorry for rambling, but you had me inspired. have a great day, feel well. -Mike.
Mr. Grudge
Lynda Lehmann said…
Anna, you are lucky to find so many birds and other wildlife in your yard! This photo is so pretty and tender! I didn't know what a Junco looked like, but now I do.

I hope you're feeling much better this week, and eating well to keep your resistance up. It's still cool here on Long Island, but things are getting a bit more green and there are shoots everywhere, so I'm hopeful for warming.

Yes, I agree: Bob's blog looks GREAT! :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Mike, you are so kind with your words, it is appreciated. Thanks for sharing your bird story, your son is funny. I have that in me too, I just don't care of what will happen, and I usually have my husband on the back to slow me down of doing something crazy, lol. So you got moles too, lol, we don't have them here in Canada, at least where I live. But when I used to live in Europe, they practically turned the ground upside down. I remember my grandmother getting up early in the morning to catch them, I have to admit she was good, lol. Again, Mike it was a pleasure to read your comment. Anna :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hi Lynda, I have to admit yes I am lucky, because it is very small backyard too, our padio is half of that. Since I put out the birdfeeder, all kinds of wild life would just line up, lol. Yes, we were too excited when we got junco in our birdfeeder, it is real treat, they are in fact very cute birds.

Glad that you are starting to see signs of spring, for us right now are the warmer temperatures only, because we still have a big piles of snow accumulated that takes forever to melt. I had this crazy idea to come out with the hair dryer to blow some heat to accelerate the melting, lol.

Lynda, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, and kind comments, they are always appreciated. Anna :) PS Yes feeling better day by day.
Lynda Lehmann said…
Well, Anna, you're going to need an awfully big hair-dryer for that job, lol!

It's my pleasure to visit your blog and see your work and exchange thoughts with you! :)

I'm glad you're feeling better.

xxx Lynda
myonlyphoto said…
Thanks Lynda, and lol, but hey with two engineers at home everything is possible, lol. Thanks again, Anna :)
Lynda Lehmann said…
You've got to build some big sun reflectors to melt your yard! :)
myonlyphoto said…
Hey Lynda, I would too, but the problem is that we are not getting lot of sun here either, all behind the clouds, so the blower came to mind at first. Mind you neightbour has this nice red wheel barrel, so if I start wheeling some snow now may be I will be done by the time warm weather hits, lol. Thanks for coming back Lynda, it was a pleasure to have some engineering discussion with you, lol. Anna :)