Boy, it's a gray day today, although we've had some sunny, welcome ones to bask in lately. On 11-18-19, I was a bit surprised to see 3 male Northern Flickers. One had flown up into a snag when I was able to catch these two displaying to each other. What big-time showoffs!

11-18-19 Northern Flickers displaying

It was a nice enough day to be outside for a while, and this Carolina Chickadee rested a moment in the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) overhanging the pond. 

11-18-19 Carolina Chickadee

A few days later, a large flock of robins came in, mobbing the stream bed. There may have been 60 or more, but they left very quickly. 

11-22-19 American Robins

At the same time, a Red-bellied Woodpecker investigated the Sugar Maple closest to the pond.

11-22-19 Red-bellied Woodpecker

At first glance, you might think this is the same bird. However, this is a Northern Flicker, checking the base of an adjacent Sugar Maple. Both birds were looking for insects. The flicker's red patch is heart-shaped. 

11-22-19 Northern Flicker

Dark-eyed Juncos have been around, they're a common winter resident in Missouri, There are six subspecies and one is called the "Oregon" group. Individuals are seen routinely in small numbers throughout the state during winter. This may be one of those, with the rusty-buff colored sides. The more common "slate-colored" is shown in the second photo.

11-23-19 Dark-eyed Junco 12-1-19 Dark-eyed Junco

Details, details! Curious about the Dark-eyed Junco subspecies? You can look at some of the many intergrades on this page:  

Dark-eyed Juncos

The only 'new' species to be photographed since the last post is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Two were seen 12-1-19 and they were both females. The second bird looks like a first-year bird. It's a bit scruffier and doesn't have as much yellow on its belly.

12-1-19 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker female 12-1-19 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker female #2

A nice flock of Mourning Doves came in on 12-2-19. Here are 8 of the 9 seen that day. 

Mourning Doves 12-2-19

House Finches do come in to drink and take seeds from the feeders. The large flock of robins came back on 12-6-19. That day, I estimated 40-50. Again, they swirled away as word spread about a possible predator in the area.

House Finch 12-2-19 American Robins 12-6-19

I check the "Bubbler cam" nearly every morning to look for anything unusual. It's always a treat to see a mammal or two!

Opossum climbing tree 12-5-19 Doe drinking 12-8-19

Along with this little Pine Siskin, we wish you

Happy Holidays!

Pine Siskin 1-11-19