Plodding Along

I did not stitch much at all this weekend, so not much progress on "Snow Friends" to show.  It is a large piece than I originally thought and I've got 13-15 rows of snow and snowflakes to finish it off.  As often happens, I am getting tired of it, so I am thinking of kitting up a couple more snow guys to stitch.   

Saturday it rained non-stop, but I still had some good bird activity.

Eight Mourning Doves - I've now counted as many as fourteen!  

And I was glad to see a House Finch (on the left). They aren't coming to my backyard feeders.  I wonder if with all the hawk action, the feeders are too exposed. 

I am sometimes pleasantly surprised when I look at the photos I've taken. I see something that I did not observe when I took the photos. In this case there are six Pine Siskins at the feeders. The 'surprise' is the American Goldfinch perched on the black Nyger thistle tube.  This photo makes a great way to see the differences in the two birds.  The American Goldfinch has a 'smooth' yellow/olive colored back, while the Pine Siskins have brown, black and white striped backs.    

The belly of the American Goldfinch (now on the left) is quite yellow, but he does not have the yellow bar on his wings that the Siskins have. 

Here's my best shot of the wandering American Goldfinch. While it is not unusual to see them in this area this time of year, it is unusual for me to have any in the winter.  

Here's a nice shot of one of my winter residents - Golden-crowned Sparrows.

My group of seven California Quail remain intact - four guys and three gals.

The guy in the front right is hanging out with a Golden-crowned Sparrow - no good can come of that!

I am amazed time and again at the complexity of feather patterns.

The back of the neck, the stomach, the bright white ring around the face.

They are handsome birds.

As soon as I complained that I'd not seen any Chestnut-backed Chickadees this winter, three birds came to the feeders!  They are somewhat smaller than the Black-capped Chickadees and sound different too.  They tend to like the cover of a forest canopy, so the winter is the only time that I see these sweet birds.