Linda has been killing me with all of her bird pics. She's got a smorgasbord in her yard to draw them in and it's working. She's been getting some awesome shots. 

Me?

I did not get my new feeders up before the winter storms hit last weekend. My birds have been having to scrounge feed from the log behind my house where it lands as I drop it from my bedroom window. 

Real fancy, right? Me, dropping the feed onto a fallen tree below my window. Me, hanging out my bedroom window that lost its screen eon's ago for this very reason, to try and take pics of wildlife in the forest behind my house.

Hell yea! Trained professional. :-) 

Linda still has me beat but here's what I came up with today when I finally pulled the camera out of the case.

There are usually a variety of Cardinals around my place.

Here's a young male that twitted all over for several minutes before he finally landed long enough for me to get a shot. There was another larger, more calm bird to the left but I couldn't seem to get him to focus and this little fella was having a fit about him. 

I often hear the Mourning Doves in the summer but seeing them in the winter is a rarity. I wasn't sure what I was looking at when I saw the big old clump hanging out in the limbs from a distance. I thought at first it must be a large leaf hung in the brush because it was at least four times bigger than any of the other birds hanging out by the brook. 

Its camouflage was good. I had to zoom in to make sure it was a bird at all. 
 

Though they don't appear a colorful sort just wait until they fluff their feather or spread their wings and you'll get a bit of a surprise. 

These little Chickadees are all over the place. 

I thought this might make a cute card or some inspirational meme. 

I totally felt like I was invading the privacy of the following gal but it was cool to watch this female Cardinal bathe in the brook and them promptly pluck herself out while hiding in the brush. 

And yes, that is green growth you see in the brush. It was in the 50's and 60's here just days ago. Southeast Missouri has the oddest weather. 

And just before I put my camera up, this little sneak popped out from the other side of the tree. 

Ah-la Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Beautiful birds but destructive as hell. I have to have the entire encasement for my wood stove pipe replaced because of all the holes these little monsters put in it and that have now rotted. 

I only got a couple of shots off before he decided to split the scene. These little ones don't stick around long with the bigger birds in the area and I am glad of it. I don't need another hole in my house. 

And off he goes. 

Oh yeah. They say Cardinals are supposed to be spiritual messengers to bring you comfort and encouragement, right? 

I wonder what it means when you can't quite seem to get an image of one. 

Here's a couple of shots straight out of the camera.

I'd love to hear what my spiritual friends have to say about these? 

I have used the following feeds for the birds in my Southeast Missouri territory. Both are listed as Amazon Prime items so shipping is free and you can have them in a couple of days. I love using the Classic Wild Bird Food in my homemade suet blocks. The birds really like them. (click the name to go to the link on Amazon)

Wagner's 52004 Classic Wild Bird Food, 20-Pound Bag

Wagner's 76027 Black Oil Sunflower, 25-Pound Bag