Monday, January 19, 2015

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.

12 comments:

Margaret said...

I think we see the black capped chickadees around here. Not sure I've seen the other kind here. Love the quail -- the coloring is so awesome!

Vickie said...

Hope you finish that stitch off sometime soon. Too cute to languish.
What a game huh?! STRESSFUL!

Ann at Beadlework. said...

I agree about the quail feathers, their patterning is so complex and lovely.

cucki said...

Love the quail..... the coloring is so awesome..so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee xx

Melody said...

The snow guy is cute. You are almost done. Great bird pics again. I really like the quail. They are such cute birds!

Melissa said...

The snow man is looking good! I know what you mean by stitching the body and ground. The filling in always seem to take forever!

The birds are happy. Doesn't it feel like Spring is about to be sprung out there? I saw snowdrops the other day!

Carol said...

I totally understand you getting bored with snow stitching, Beth. I think that is why I mainly stitch ornament sized pieces myself--I just get need those "quick fix" designs :)

The quail are so, so handsome--wish we had them around here!

Maggee said...

Thanks for the comparison shot of the siskins and goldfinch--definitely useful. I sure do like the Chestnut-backed Chickadee! Pretty pretty colors! The snowman is going to be really cute when you finish! Hugs!

Barb said...

Glad to see the little chickadee finally made an appearance. I hope you and the birds all got spared the horrid wind we had on very early Sun. am. No power at our home for more than 36 hours!!

Catherine said...

The quail are beautiful! I've always had a sweet spot for the Chikadee's.

Frances said...

The colors are beautiful on your stitching!
I love that gorgeous quail!! He's a good-looking fellow!

Von said...

I love seeing your quail! They're scarce in my neighborhood this part of the year.