Another Snowy Weekend

Maybe a little ironic, definitely more than a little funny that Meat Loaf, the 70’s rock artist, not the tasty main course and leftover, was on the local radio station when I pulled out of the driveway this morning.

“Two out of three ain’t bad” – Meat Loaf

Generally speaking, I agree with Mr. Loaf, but that wasn’t my first thought since it’s snowed here for two of the last three days. I decided to look at it in another light.

“Two out of seven ain’t too bad either” – Me, slightly less well known than Mr. Loaf

Doesn’t roll off the tongue like the song but it will have to do. Seriously, one of the things that I do like about cold snowy days is observing the habits that birds and other wildlife have adopted to survive in harsh conditions.

Flicker Fully Fluffed.jpg — Yellow-Shafted Flicker

Take as example, the flicker on the left. At first I didn’t recognize it in it’s fluffed up state. This bird is about the size of a robin and about the same build. He had is neck pulled in so tight and feathers fluffed up to the point that he looked like a cartoon version of himself.

Another good survival technique is being used by the Killdeer below. These birds are usually highly animated creatures, not today though. Notice how each of them is nestled down behind a tuft of grass sheltering themselves from the bitter wind.

Killdeer Hiding from Wind — Killdeer Hiding From Wind

Canada Geese probably aren’t my favorite birds. Especially when they decide to fertilize the hood of my truck during a flyby. That said, I do admit that I admire how they can sit in the only open water in a frozen pond, without freezing to death, outside of reach of any predator.

This is the mate to the above bird. I spotted their nest about a week ago and plan to post a series of pictures of them and their goslings as they grow up. I have a decent telephoto lens so I wasn’t near as close as you may think when I took this picture. I plan to setup my blind on interval about 20 yards to the east of the nest to document how quickly the goslings grow.