An old Roman proverb: Don't trust a woman's heart, the waves of the sea, nor the March sun. 

On a positive note, we have seen Eastern blue birds and Yellow finches at our feeders which is a sure sign of spring.  (not pictured above)

The Old Screech Owl

This backyard cutie is hard to ignore. He likes to frazzle the chickens and get them all worked up despite being half their size. But how can I hold a grudge against him? This is the second year we've been blessed with his presence living out his winter in this tree. I love watching him.

It was one of those peaceful afternoons in the wilderness when the whole forest dreams, and the shadows are asleep and every little leaflet takes a nap. Under the still tree-tops the dappled sunlight, motionless, soaked the sod; the forest-flies no longer whirled in circles, but sat sunning their wings on slender twig-tips. Robert W. Chambers from "In Search of the Unknown"

Vultures

These scavenging birds of prey may not be the prettiest creatures, but there is something about them that peaks my interest. They are majestic in a very imposing way.  My husband took these photos during an extremely foggy morning and they turned out great. 

A group of vultures is called a wake, committee, venue, kettle, or volt. The term kettle refers to vultures in flight, while committee, volt, and venue refer to vultures resting in trees. 

Wake is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding.

 I like that they chose this gnarly, slightly spooky yet somehow also beautiful hangout. These moments exist all around us...and they are enchanting.

The Screech Owl

We also have this darling Screech Owl that lives in an Oak tree in our back yard.  It's little hole of a home is straight out of a story book.  He has been deemed, OWL of The Hundred Acre Wood.  He has no interest in our chickens; his eyes are on our quail.  He may look innocent, but he's a craft fella.  

Birds of Prey

This backyard warrior has been eyeing our chickens.  

"Have you hard the secret voices go whispering in your blood,
     Of burning wood and falling leaf and swelling Springtime flood?
Have you felt the tang of lusty wind, the stinging lash of rain,
     As tides of Spring march down the days with summer in their train?"
Ethel Mannin: Excpert from The Secret Voices

Birds in the Making

Right outside our front door a bird built a nest of moss and grass.

 She screamed at us every time we came in or out until I felt guilty using our front door.

 The little birds hatched and here they are today.  Barely fitting in their home.  Any day now, they should be flying.  It was really neat to see the process from the beginning.

More Backyard Birds

Bird Love

The boys have been making suit cakes and the birds have been enjoying them!  We keep a bowl on the counter for rendered fat.  This is mixed with peanut butter, bird seed, dried fruits, toasted pumpkin seeds, and spicy red pepper flakes.  Apparently some birds love red pepper flakes, especially the woodpeckers.  We make a few cakes at a time and refridgerate them until they are ready to use. 

The backyard bird show begins.

The variety of birds that come to our backyard is really incredible!  The colors on some of them are so brilliant against the wintery landscape.  Their little bird prints are seen on the snow, hopping around as if asking for food.  They can be seen running up and down the tree and flying from twig to twig all day long.