Photo by Chris Bosak
A female Downy Woodpecker perches next to a birdfeeder in New England, Jan. 2015.

Yesterday (Saturday) coastal southern New England had its first significant snow of the year. And even so, it wasn’t that much of an event as we woke up to about four inches of snow and nothing else fell during the day (except some light rain off and on). But it was nice to see snow finally (I’m sure not everyone shares that opinion) and, for me, that always means checking out the feeding stations for photos opps.

I didn’t do so well in that department as the birds were surprisingly somewhat scarce. White-throated Sparrows were the most plentiful species, with 10 to 12 under the feeders at all times. A Downy Woodpecker showed up frequently, too. There were infrequent visits from cardinals, juncos and titmice. That’s about it. The Carolina Wren didn’t show up, no other woodpeckers showed up, no Blue Jays and no nuthatches or chickadees. Not sure why some of those usually reliable species didn’t show up. Sometimes that just happens. I don’t think it reflects some broader decline in those species, it just means they were elsewhere on that particular day. Oh well, I’ll get them next time.

I like the photo below as it shows the yellow lores and white throat of the White-throated Sparrow.

Here’s a few more shots.

Photo By Chris Bosak
White-throated Sparrow near feeder station in New England, Jan. 2015.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A female Downy Woodpecker perches next to a birdfeeder in New England, Jan. 2015.

Photo By Chris Bosak
White-throated Sparrow near feeder astation in New England, Jan. 2015.