My Yard ~ Cooper's Hawk

 This Cooper's hawk had breakfast on his mind this morning.

My Yard ~ Woodpeckers

 Sometimes, the woodpeckers find their way into the feeder but then aren't quite sure how to get out. My feeders are ready for tomorrow's snow.

Downy

Hairy

My Yard ~ Eastern Towhee

 This shy Eastern Towhee came by Monday during the snow and again yesterday, feeding off some sunflower chips on my back deck.

Birds in the Snow

 Today's snow allows me to enjoy photographing the birds in my yard as I don't often see much snow. Tomorrow, I'll be able to snow dye some fabric for my quilts.

Dark-eyed Junco & Northern Cardinal ~ Male

Carolina Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker

White-throated Sparrow

Carolina Wren

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal ~ Female 

White-breasted Nuthatch

Dark-eyed Junco

Song Sparrow

Northern Cardinal ~ male

Butterfly Wrap Up 2024

   41 species since 2022 I moved to my new home.  36 species for 2024, 4 new species of butterflies were Pipevine Swallowtail, Long-tailed Skipper, Ocola & Common Sootywing.  8 butterflies had full lifecycles with eggs laid on their host plants to eclosing from their chrysalises. Most common butterflies here are Eastern Tiger swallowtail with up to 10-12 daily, Variegated Fritillaries, and Silver-spotted Skipper. And, while I will never have the number of species or the high numbers of within some of the species, it's a good start especially as I am in a HOA community with a pretty limited area to garden.  Another wonderful addition to my garden is having good numbers (up to 6 per day) of Snowberry & Hummingbird Clearwings for about 6 -8 weeks.

Long-tailed Skipper

Ocola Skipper

Woodpeckers in my Yard

First bird of 2025 ~ Hairy

 

Downy

Red-bellied 

First bird of the year for me was the Hairy Woodpecker though I also see Red-bellied and Downy on a daily basis in my yard

Happy New Year to All