Wild Birds Winter “Chow Time”
Photos & Descriptions
2018 Gallery1st Prize Winner
Eastern Bluebird Eats Berries
by Tracie Csomos
(Ida, MI US)
ID#1-30TC

Early Bird Gets the Berry
This Bluebird came into my yard and cleaned the last few berries off this tree.
2nd Prize Winner
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Wintry Breakfast
by Dawn Swingle
(Connecticut)
ID#1-9DS

We love to watch the birds, and winter attracts a large number of birds to our yard because food is harder to find.
The woodpeckers love the suet we put out, this Red-bellied Woodpecker was eating breakfast after a snowstorm in February.
The red-bellied woodpeckers are beautiful, their red heads really stand out in Winter.
3rd Prize Winner
Lunching Pileated Woodpecker
by Kevin Klitzke
(Cottage Grove, MN)
ID#1-11KK

It is a Pileated Woodpecker.. up in a dying tree harvesting some awesome bugs for lunch.
Eastern Bluebirds Sharing Chow Time
by Ginger Wertz-Justis
(Greeneville, TN)
ID#1-1GW-J

These Eastern Bluebirds are enjoying dried Meal Worms…the male grabbed
one right before the female ran him off.
He stuck around waiting for a
couple of minutes and then returned with the worm and shared it with
her!
They are my entertainment on a daily basis!
Ice Bowl Feeder
by Joseph Harry Ridgeway
(West Deptford, New Jersey)
ID#1-3JHR

Cardinal eating bird seed from the frozen bowl feeder.
She doesn’t allow a blizzard to stop her eating.
Luncheon at the Osprey Table
by Bill Saidel
(Cherry Hill, NJ, USA)
ID#1-6BS

The male osprey is bringing to his family the carcass of a filleted flounder, provided by some human fisherman.
The photo took place at the Forsythe National Wildlife Reserve in Oceanville, NJ, early last Spring or late last Winter.
I
use a Nikon D-7100 with a Tamrom zoom lens 150-600mm focal length, ISO
320, fstop 6.3. Probably used the camera at manual priority so it was
set at ~1/500-1/1000.
The Proud Chickadee
by Ginger Wertz-Justis
(Greeneville, TN)
ID#1-10GW-J-2

Saint Patty’s Chickadee!
Watching this gorgeous Carolina Chickadee on St. Patrick’s Day…
Cardinal Dining on Bird Seed Mix
by Jeff Palmer
(Bucyrus, OH USA)
ID#1-12JP

Cardinal dining on basic wild bird food mix.
Red-bellied Woodpecker Eating Mixed Seed
by Jeff Palmer
(Bucyrus, OH USA)
ID#1-13JP-2

Red-bellied Woodpecker eating wild bird food mix.
Blue Jay Peanut Hog
by Dawn Swingle
(Connecticut)
ID#1-14DS-2

Will Work For Peanuts
Snow Fairy
by Joseph Harry Ridgeway
(West Deptford, New Jersey )
ID#1-15JHR

Junco eating crushed peanuts during the March 21st Noreaster.
Blackcapped Chickadee
by Brian Kinghorn
(Sugar City, Idaho, USA)
ID#1-20BK

Blackcapped Chickadee chowin’ down on songbird mix.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
by Brian Kinghorn
(Sugar City, Idaho, USA)
ID#1-21BK-2

“Diggin’ Deep for Lunch”
Red-breasted Nuthatch digging for some seeds.
Black-capped Chickadee Eating Corn
by Brian Kinghorn
(Sugar City, Idaho, USA)
ID#1-22BK-3

Frosty Lunch
Black-capped Chickadee eating corn in the frosty trees.
Gulp
by Joseph Harry Ridgeway
(West Deptford, New Jersey )
ID#1-16JHR-2

Blue Jay finishes gulping peanut chunks.
Smoke Phase Hen
by J Marsh
(Fenton, MI, U.S.)
Smoke Phase Hen
by J Marsh
(Fenton, MI, U.S.)
ID#1-8JM

This smoke phase wild turkey has been chowing down at our bird feeder since she and her siblings were young chicks.
Downy Woodpecker
by Tiersa Gilbert
(Dallas, GA, United States)
ID#1-5TG-2

Pictured is a female Downy Woodpecker eating from a suet feeder in my
backyard. I heard about y’all through Pinterest and am very excited
about this contest.
Hangin’ in There!
by Tiersa Gilbert
(Dallas, GA, United States of America)
ID#1-4TG

Female Southeastern Bluebird eating Sunflower Chips in my backyard in
Dallas, GA.
I found the website on a Pinterest link and subscribed about
a month ago and have been looking forward to this contest!
Mellow Yellow Goldfinches
by Dawn Swingle
(Connecticut)
ID#1-18DS-3

I woke up the other morning to a snow squall.
Looked outside to find a charm of goldfinches on our thistle feeder.
As you can see, their plumage is starting to brighten up for Spring, though they still have a lot of their grey feathers.
Blue Crown Conures
by Samantha Dunscombe
(St Petersburg, FL USA)
ID#1-19SD

Good Morning talkers broke from the pandemonium to have a quiet breakfast.
This Blue Crown Conure pair is part of a large wild community in my city of St Petersburg, FL.
I always hear them flying overhead as they make a lot of noise.
This pair settled into my front yard feeder to eat the rest of the sunflower seeds and wild bird mix that was running low.
Cinereous Tit
by Kshama G
(Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
ID#1-32KG-3

Cinereous Tit with a Meal
This is a Cinereous Tit (or commonly known as a Great Tit).
When we had been for a picnic, we captured this guy with a meal for his chicks!!
White-breasted Nuthatch
by Katie Connors
(Allston, MA, USA)
ID#1-26KC

Stopping by for a snack
This male White-breasted Nuthatch came to snack on a peanut on my back porch in Allston, MA.
Downy Woodpecker
by Katie Connors
(Allston, MA, USA)
ID#1-27KC-2

Male Downy Woodpecker at my neighbors suet feeder.
Mottled Ducks
by Samantha Dunscombe
(St Petersburg, FL USA)
ID#1-23SD-2

We never know when we will see this Florida Mottled Duck pair.
They fly in occasionally to nibble on the bird seed that the Blue Jays toss from the feeders.
They are pretty quiet while eating, then they stop, talk to each other and then take off.
Always headed in the same direction across the street, just clearing the neighbor’s fence.
We wonder if they make the same rounds and head towards the bay a block away after dining.
Sparrow… looking for seed
by Kevin Klitzke
(Cottage Grove, MN)
ID#1-17KK-2

Sparrow… looking for seed.
American Bald Eagle Hunting
by Kevin Klitzke
(Cottage Grove, MN)
ID#1-24KK-3

Eagle Spotting It’s Dinner
This Eagle is looking for movement to swoop down on for dinner.
Mute Swans
by Cathy Singer
(Toronto, ON Canada)
ID#1-25CS

Din, Din, Tim
Three beautiful Mute Swans, two eating under water vegetation, waterfowl style!
Wild Nanday Parakeets
by Samantha Dunscombe
(St Petersburg, FL USA)
ID#1-28SD-3

Along with the Blue Crown Conures, we also have Wild Nanday Parakeets
who squawk down from the skies for a quick snack of wild bird mix from
the feeder.
They aren’t regulars like our bluejays, woodpeckers, cardinals and
chickadees, but we enjoy them just as much with their lively
personalities.
Cardinal Eats Sunflower Heart
by Ginger Wertz-Justis
(Greeneville, TN)
ID#1-29GW-J-3

I had a mixture of black-oil sunflower seeds along with some sunflower hearts.
This male Cardinal ordinarily eats the black-oil sunflower seeds, but chose the heart this time!
River Tern with Fish
by Kshama G
(Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
ID#1-31KG

The river tern is a resident breeder along inland rivers. This species breeds from March to May in colonies in less accessible
areas such as sandbanks in rivers. It nests in a ground scrape, often on
bare rock or sand.
This is a medium-sized tern, 38–43 cm long
with dark grey upper-parts, white underparts, a forked tail with long
flexible streamers, and long pointed wings.
The bill is yellow and the legs red.
In
the winter the cap is greyish white, flecked and streaked with black,
there is a dark mask through the eye, and the tip of the bill becomes
dusky.
Here we see a River tern with a fish.
This was captured in Kabini river, Karnataka while we were on a boat safari.
Helping Hummingbirds
by Lori Rutherford
(Seymour, IN USA)
ID#1-36LR

Hummingbird Restoring Energy
I found this hummingbird on the ground near our hay barn pool.
This little one needed some energy, so I put a feeder on a tack box and let him eat away at the nectar!
After a brief rest, he flew away strong, no issues!
I receive your newsletter; that is how I learned about the contest
Thank You
Indian Koel
by Kshama G
(Bangalore, Karnataka, India)
ID#1-32KG-2

Indian Koel – Female with a Berry
This is an Indian Koel. A female with a berry.
We captured this in outskirts of Mysore, Karnataka, India.
Woodpecker
by S S Mina
(FL USA)
ID#1-37SM

Woodpecker Out Our Window
We have a bird feeder outside our window…
Female Costa’s Hummingbird
by Jimmy Arcade
(Costa Mesa, CA, United States)
ID#1-34JA

Long Rest After a Short Feeding
This is a female Costa’s Hummingbird.
I captured this photo in Desert Hot Springs.
While I did not get a shot of the hummingbird feeding, she had just gotten done feeding at a honeysuckle plant.
Cardinal
by Debra Bromley
(Wells, VT USA)
ID#1-7DB

We put cracked corn and bird seed in the top rail of our split rail fence. It doesn’t take long for the birds to find it !
This cardinal has been around for years, raising many babies with his mate.
If there is no food available, he comes to the door and pecks on the window glass.
He can also see if we are eating toast for breakfast and will keep up his harassment until we give him a corner of our toast!
In the summer, he will share it with his fledglings once they leave the nest.
America’s Bird
by Kathryn Deardorff
(Hemet, CA USA)
ID#1-2KD

This young Bald Eagle is eating salmon scraps thrown out by fisherman.
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