The cardinal pair was moving from tree to tree all around the yard yesterday. I think they are trying to tell the second cardinal pair that this is their feeder area.
Mr. Bluebird still has some outbran on his beak after digging in the mealworm feeder box. The box has a half inch layer of oatbran in it so the mealworms can stay somewhat insulated in the freezing weather.
This chickadee was kicking up oatbran dust as he revved for his getaway with a mealworm. Both the chickadees and downy woodpeckers compete with the bluebirds for the mealworms.
My neighbor (a Harry Potter fan) called this morning to report that a snowy owl had just caught a rabbit in the cornfield across from their house. I rushed up there with my camera and found this gorgeous female snowy owl resting in the snow.
Here she is resting on top of her catch. She kept it well hidden in the snow underneath her as she looked around calmly. She let me get within about 100 feet of her.
When she finally took off after about 10 minutes, she flew off across the cornfield with the rest of her meal in her talons. Her 5 foot wingspan was quite a beautiful sight.
Our 4 hairy woodpeckers have pecked this mountain ash tree beyond recovery. It remains in our yard in hopes that they might leave the other trees alone.
Our 15 year old black cat Moonshine likes to lay on the edge of counters and tables and move his two paws up and down as if he is praying. He has been doing this since he was very young.
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