Having open water in below freezing temperatures is a great way to attract birds. We have a heated bird bath at the Callaway Nature Preserve and decided to set up our Wingscapes BirdCam and see who was coming to get a drink.
Shock of shocks, this squirrel was captured getting a drink.
Someone crashed this House Sparrow party
Euro Starling and a Blue Jay
We have tons of House Finches, but didn’t know about this lone female Purple Finch
More starlings dirtying up the water
We have been using the BirdCam a lot more recently. We will try to have another report of how it is handling the ice and snow as well as a barrage of squirrels using it as a launch pad to try and get on the feeders.
All About Birds
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Vern 12.12.07 at 6:59 am
I like the web-cam thing. Unfrozen water is important for birds and a great way to attract them during the winter. Lvining next to the Big Spring which never freezes over as it is purely a spring fed creek I have noticed that especially during those times that every thing esle ices over, that the birds really turn up on the spring.
mon@rch 12.12.07 at 2:06 pm
wingscape does take some interesting shots! I like the one with the bird in flight!
Moe 12.13.07 at 8:50 pm
Lovely photos! I’ve been meaning to put a heater in my birdbath, but I keep forgetting!
The Birdfreak Team 12.15.07 at 5:11 pm
Vern - Springs certainly are great in the winter
Monarch - Sometimes it feels like using it is “cheating” but it is nice to know what birds are in the yard while we are away
Moe - Heated baths are great! We wish we had a pond but maybe next year