Spring brings many birds to our yard, especially to our feeders. None of them are more colorful than the rose-breasted grosbeaks. This male beauty landed in our serviceberry and eyed me and my camera suspiciously before it decided it was safe to eat. We have also spotted our first female ruby-throated hummingbird at our wild columbine and our syrup feeder. The juncos have departed now and were replaced by a white-crowned sparrow, song sparrows, chipping sparrows, and Eastern towhees.
We are busy planting for wildlife and have added two chokeberries, two blazing stars, an American plum, and a bee balm to our native garden. Plant it and they will come!

Last weekend I attended a bird photo workshop in Florida’s Everglades. Sixteen eager photographers attended the workshop, which was led by Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito. It was still dark when we headed toward the Anhinga Trail for the first of three field sessions. Here are two photos I took on the first day. The first photo shows the Anhinga, for which the trail is named. The second photo is of one of the ubiquitious alligators we saw everywhere in the water. Most amazing was the fact that the birds stalked just a few feet away from them. It was like a zoo, only without fences.

We recently purchased a bird bath heater, and it has been a hit. Apparently, birds do need drinking water during the winter just as much as during the sweltering summer heat. Keeping it filled and clean in these frigid temperatures can be a challenge, though.
Because of the icy weather, I have been birding through our kitchen window lately. The other day I watched a crow fly into our neighbor’s pear tree. A Cooper’s hawk hiding in said tree did not put up much of a fight, but flew across our yard and disappeared. Crow – 1, hawk – 0.
Winter brings many birds to our yard, including more than a dozen red-winged blackbirds yesterday. A recent newsletter by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania alerted me to the fact that those reddish finches I’ve seen lately are probably common redpolls. I hope they will still be around when the weather releases its icy grip.

These images of a female and male wood duck depict the differences in their appearance. Fall is an especially good time to photograph them because they have just molted and look their best. The top photo shows the autumn trees reflected in the water while the bottom photo brings out the iridescent head of the male duck. No wonder North Chagrin is so popular with photographers!