Birthday and Christmas Nature Books

 

My friends have come through again. I got the Suburban Safari book for my birthday and the Sibley book for Christmas. I rarely have time to read, and only do so during school vacations, so the timing is awesome as are the books!

First day for ice skating on Caesar Pond

 Ugh... It is too slippery and rough for me to get over to Caesar Pond, but the ice looks stunning! Smooth as can be. Quite a few ice skaters on it.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I love Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Often, my view of them does not reveal the red belly, but here you can see it.

I love the bars on his wings and his bright red head! Such a beautifully colored bird. If you put out suet feeders, you will get woodpeckers.

The Bluebirds of Happiness

Male Bluebird

We had a flock of Eastern Bluebirds visit our yard today. It was such a thrill!

A female bluebird checks out the suet feeder. She is probably looking for mealworms!

Here it is mid-December and the Bluebirds are still here! 

Bluebirds generally forage on the ground eating insects. But, in winter they will also eat dogwood berries, sumac, juniper berries, and much more.

I looked in my "Sibley Guide to Birds" book and saw that Bluebirds usually just spend the summer breeding season with us and migrate south afterward. But, I just looked at the publishing date on my book, and it is the year 2000. 

Here is an updated range map from eBird. Global warming has changed the migratory patterns of lots of birds, and I see that it has affected Bluebirds as well. They now live in southern Maine all year round.