Winter Birds are Back at Little Piney

Winter Birds are Back at Little Piney

Winter birds are back at Little Piney!   I had a wonderful morning birding with friends, one a frequent birding partner, and the other a new friend–an expert birder who seems to hear and see everything at once!  She spotted a new bird for my Little Piney list almost right away–a Fox Sparrow.  The Fox Sparrow is a stunning reddish sparrow with distinct stripes.  We saw so many birds that I didn’t have much time for photos, but in the late afternoon I went back down to the lake and got some portraits of this winter visitor, a Lincoln’s Sparrow who was still hanging out at the brush pile where we saw him this morning.

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

More Winter Birds

Cedar Waxwings are beautiful and entertaining.  They travel in flocks, sometimes mixed flocks, and create a stir when they land with lots of activity and sound.

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings

Mixed Flocks

In the winter mixed flocks are more common. Today we saw Cedar Waxwings with American Robins flying over together.  In the picture below, Cedar Waxwings and Yellow-rumped Warblers perch together.

Some Other Favorites from Today

The Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpeckers are year-round residents, but I like these pictures from this afternoon.

Definitely More to Come

With the leaves thinning on the trees the birds have fewer hiding places! This is a great help to beginning birders like me! We also saw a Song Sparrow and an Orange-crowned Warbler today–both new birds for Little Piney.   That brings my species list for LP up to 69!  And everytime I have an experienced birder visit Little Piney, I realize how many birds I’m missing.