Sources tell us that February is Feed the Birds Month, with Feb 3rd designated as the official bird-feeding day.
“Feed the birds in winter; in return, they will feed your soul with the look of gratitude!’”– Mehmet Murat Ildan
In the northern hemisphere, February is the last stretch of winter, and wild birds need extra help when their winter stores start to run out. By February, seeds, grains, and other feed are buried under snow and mud, or have already been eaten.
If you are a fan of birds, you might know that the entire month of February is National Feed the Birds month and the month for The Great Backyard Bird Count.
I have participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count for several years. It is sponsored by the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab, as indicated in the links above.
In Eastern Washington, we observe a diverse range of winter birds, including Dark-Eyed Juncos (a type of sparrow), House Finches, Northern Flickers (woodpeckers), American Robins, California Quail, and various crows and ravens.
Most of these are ground scavengers, and I put out plenty of black-oil sunflower seeds and other food. The seeds that don’t get gobbled up may grow into good-sized sunflowers by mid-summer!
The quail are with us all year ’round.
In fact, they love to flock under our deck to hide from Brodie!
Brodie is a Boykin Spaniel, specifically bred as a bird dog. He caught a baby quail a few years ago, much to my dismay!
Over the past 10 years, I’ve enjoyed capturing local birds wherever we’ve traveled. This patient California Seagull, was caught posing for food near San Diego’s Shelter Island.
Last September in Yellowstone National Park, corvids ruled the roosts… magpies, crows, and ravens! This juvenile Magpie already learned quickly that humans drop goodies at the picnic areas.
Juncos love to hang out in the trees in big flocks, quickly descending to the ground to get those seeds! This guy was a little camera-shy!
“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ― Robert Lynd
Sharing images of Brodie, the raven, and magpie for Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday, and the bashful Junco for Brian’s Last on the Card.
All other images in this post were captured with my Lumix FZ300 camera.
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
For those residing in the southern hemisphere, tell us about your experiences feeding the birds in winter!
If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore the wondrous colors of AMETHYST (shades of purple.”
“To feed a bird is to touch the sky with a small act of kindness.” — Nature Proverb
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