It was the late afternoon watching the Seattle Seahawks NFC championship Game when i spotted a varied thrush in the bird bath. This bath had a hard layer of frozen water, a consequence of 26 degree nights. The temp went as high as 38 today. I took an empty milk container and dumped a gallon of fresh water into the bath. Soon I saw a little fellow taking a dip. they dip and fling the water up with their wings. I believe this was a chestnut backed chickadee, the most common bird here next to the dark-eyed junco.

At the hummingbird feeder in back the anna’s hummingbird made frequent trip to the feeder, caught on camera. We’ve had five to six birds at the feeder in front. Most of the time just one or two with several on the ground. but at times you can count five at the feeder in front. The front feeder system includes a narrow bird feeder filled with seed including sunflower seeds. I drop some suet at the top of it.

Next we have a suet feeder that is supposed to be squirrel proof which it is unless you’re a small squirrel. They can make their way in through the wire mesh and sit there all day chomping away. But squirrels are rare there. It’s difficult to get to and you have to enter to nibble on the suet. Birds do it but favor the traditional feeder.

I also have a large hummingbird feeder where these birds can drink and take a rest which I see them do on occasion. So in front I have the suet feeder, traditional bird feeder and the hummingbird feeder. These are held up at about six feet on stands. To make it more natural and for more true habitat form, i rigged branches up, down, and through the stands. The birds land on wood and not on a metal stand. It’s more natural that way. This setup stand directly in front of a large window down in the family room. Photography is ideal to some degree. Incredibly, I still take lousy pictures.

Beyond the feeders is a bird bath made of concrete and the birds really like it. The varied thrush relished the water scattered almost immediately.

All together, five birds were seen and four photographed today.