Hoar Frost & Birds in a winter wonder land.

the snow buntings like salt in there diet so I just put sea salt by the drive way and they came to eat it I am about nine hours from the coast and we usually see them after we get a bad storm with the winds coming inland they keep moving in the front of the storm say them last winter also, and I do live in the country side with many open fields so they will stay for a bit and them head back to the coast and I also used a 300mm lense so I was about 200 feet away from them and I still only got like three shots lol

Wow Gary, those are some of the most beautiful bird photos that I've ever seen. Just stunning.

Ditto.
Really pretty with the frost and the blue sky. You did very well, with very little daylight.

Thanks so much for posting these lovely pictures.

I just love the framing of the last three.

Sensational photos Gary! I've never heard of hoar frost either, but it sure is gorgeous. Nanny, I was thinking the same thing when I saw the starlings. They were beautiful against the frost. What a sight a thousand waxwings would make. You're very lucky Gary.

I thought my 8+ hours of daylight was short. Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year so we can start counting the added minutes.

A link to KcKay's Bunting photos.

McKay’s Buntings are similar to Snow Buntings, but more white. They are very rare, and breed around the Bearing Straits, between Alaska and Russia, near the arctic circle. A school teacher in the village of Shismaref, AK has a web site with pictures of the McKay's Buntings.

Shishmaref is an Inupiaq Eskimo village located on Sarichef Island in the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait and five miles from the mainland. It lies within the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. The population was 562 at the 2000 census.

The following link will take you to the McKay's bunting photos.
http://shishmaref.bssd.org/birdsofshishmaref/

Shishmaref is also the only place in Alaska with a resident population of House Sparrows. Apparently the Sparrows arrived from Eurasia, by crossing the Bering Straits.

I haven't had enough light for decent photos in recent days.

Great article Gary, wow are those McKay's bunting ever white, must be hard, to spot them in the snow.

OP, tomarrow may be the shortest day, but it is also the longest night! LOL

I think I prefer your perspective cpart!

I enjoyed the link, too. Thanks Gary.

Dont' we stay the same hours of daylight/dark for nine days before the pendulum swings?

Ooh, intriguing Marna. Let's find out!

quick Nancy, to the Googlemobile!

Ok dear. Try this link for your hometown! Sunrise AND Sunset change to make days longer/shorter (but you probably knew that being Batwoman). I always thought sunset changed by a minute daily. Not so says Lord Google.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php

I have not mastered time zones other than to know that Pert, Australia is celebrating Summer Solstice. Solstice means "Sun Stationary." Sol - stice. Cool.

Pert = Perth

Looks like here we have 5 days that are the same length, according to Weather Channel. Which conflicts what your military thingy says.

*shrug*

It doesn't quite jive, but I get the picture! Thanks Marna.

Oh Gary, I just feel so sorry for you! I guess I should stop complaining about my 9 hours and 8 minutes of daylight!

Got it Gary. Thanks a million.

Don't worry Marna. Gary will get his daylight in June! I figured 19 hours. Is that correct Gary?

It's slightly over 19 hours between sun rise and sun set, but on a clear day it doesn't really get dark in June. And I truly love that time of the year.

Oh yah! One of the things I would love to do is go to the midnight baseball game up there!

Beautiful pics, but can't help thinking "what are those birds doing up there in the cold when they could be down here?"

I was at the counter fixing a sandwich for lunch, when one of the Steller's Jays landed on the outside of the window sill, in front of me, to get my attention. I hadn't seen them for several days. When I got outside with peanuts, both birds were waiting. They got lunch before I did, but I took a few pictures. Beginning to look like they are going to keep coming all winter, this year. A lot of the hoar frost has fallen off the trees already.

A close up of a Steller's Jay. Better light today, so I'm heading out looking for birds to photograph.

Dandy looking fella.

Full of himself isn't he!! lol

I located a a small flock of Pine Grosbeaks.

Most of the birds in the flock were either females or immature.

I keep telling myself, that if I try long enough, sooner or later, I will get a good closeup shot of bright pink male.

Maybe tomorrow????

It has been much more difficult to photograph Bohemian Waxwings this year, than it was a year a go.

Most of the flocks of Waxwings I've seen recently are either fly over, or roosted in the tree tops.

I did find one small flock of Bohemian's this afternoon, but they were very flighty, difficult to get close to.

Gary, wasn't your last group of Bohemians later in the year when food was scarce?


gosh, these grosbeaks are so adorable.

Great shots Gary.

Mrs. Ed, how do you remember all these things?? I can't remember what happened yesterday! lol

Mrs. Ed,
Not trusting my memory, I checked the dates on last years Waxwing photos. I encountered large cooperative flocks feeding down low on Nov. 29 & 30, as well as Dec. 14. I did continue to encounter flocks through most of the winter, including late in the season when food was scarce.

Beautiful waxwings Gary. Really chowing down on those berries. Cedar waxwings visited my schoolyard in March to feast on the crabapples during a final snow storm. I'll never forget that experience. They are my favorite bird.

Does anyone know the difference between Bohemians and Cedar waxwings? I can't tell them apart.

Bohemian Waxwings have a gray belly and reddish-brown undertail coverts; red, yellow and white spots on wings.

Cedar Waxwings have a yellow belly and white undertail coverts; only red spots on wings.

Ah, well, see I don't remember things so well. I must not have been around so much for the early visits, but I DID remember something about scarce food. Thank goodness for digital cameras that record the exact date of picture taking!