Winter Window Images

Here are two more images from my Winter Window. I want to preface this with I do not profess to be a bird expert or even a "birder." What I know about birds is only from what I have observed (mostly casual) and read (which is very little). I have a book sitting on the window sill of my Winter Window. As I see a bird I do not recognize, I use this book to help identify it and then read the facts about the bird. While this blog is mainly about photography (and our ferrets on occasion), I think it's a good thing to pass on a little info about the subject matter from time to time.

The first bird is a Dark-Eyed Junco. I was amazed to learn that this bird migrates from Canada to Virginia and parts further south. From what I have observed, it's mainly a ground feeder and they hang out in fairly large numbers. A very common sight around here in winter.

The second bird is an American Gold Finch. What a beautiful bird this is. The male takes on a bright color of yellow, however, during the winter it loses this color and looks much like the female does year round. Female birds, for the most part, lose out when it comes to color, don't they? This bird lives in Virginia all year. I counted 27 Gold Finches in my tree at one point. If you want to attract them, use Nyjer thistle seed. Wow. They devour this stuff. I put the seed in a "seed sock." Works great. Alas, they have all but disappeared from around the home. We did get to see quite a few males with the bright colors before they left. But, now that food is abundant, I suppose they have moved on to areas closer to open fields. Look for them in open areas hanging on thistle. I see them on golf courses quite a bit during the summer.

All B/W conversions done with Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro.