Life is not always easy or peaceful in a bird's world. They are constantly on the lookout for their natural enemies and there are many predators in residence at Chatham Gardens. But sometimes you catch a feeder with such a depth of beauty that it makes you pause and wonder why it cannot always be this simple; a cardinal, a housefinch and a goldfinch enjoying a snack at the same time on a well stocked feeder.
As an aside it was also so sweet to see the changes in color of the goldfinch, from the drab winter feathers to the start of the yellow to gold beauty they will be in just a short while.
Picture taken with my first Nikon camera, the Coolpix P90.
I had given up hope of seeing any Bluebirds visiting Chatham Gardens this year. In 2008 they arrived in February and were gone by the first week in March.
But today, as I sat in my sunroom, looking out of an unfortunately dirty glass door, there he was, perched on one of the feeder posts next to a sweet little House Finch. Spring must be very near, don't you think?
This guy spent a lot of time on Sunday circling Chatham Gardens looking for a snack. Not sure if he/she ever succeeded or not since every time he was in my sights, not another bird was to be seen. Isn't nature wondrous.
I have been home from NC for a little over a week after being away for about 2 months. I often found myself thinking of Chatham Gardens and I found myself more homesick than I had anticipated. I kept track of the weather events both in the news and through the bills I received from the people who plow my driveway when enough snow accumulates and I mostly regretted not being home to see the fallen snow blanket my home, but I also missed what usually turns out to be a great photo opportunity.
I woke up this morning to a wonderful surprise, just enough snow to turn Chatham Gardens into a winter wonderland, but not enough to keep me from getting to the gym. Also, not enough to receive another snow plow bill as it is now mostly gone. But here is a picture of the beauty I woke up to and the photo I will have to remember that winter is a beautiful season, too.
The show started just after sunset while there was still a lot of light still in the evening sky. The Crescent Moon floated on some wispy clouds and Venus was faint, but visible. If you click on this picture it will take you to my Flickr page with a few more pictures of tonight's sky show which ended with the photo below.
