Minimizing travel in these tense times, yard birds provide a way to enjoy nature in the safety of one’s own home or yard. Here are some photos taken over the last two weeks at my home in Etna, NH. A dried mullein stalk proved a nice place for some of the birds to rest briefly.
The mullein stalk provided a nice launch spot allowing my to capture some birds in flight. Here are some of the Black-capped Chickadees leaving the mullein perch.
But chickadees also perched other places in our yard. Here is one nicely posed in front of a very soft background.
Chickadees and Titmice are closely related, both being in the Family Paridae. Our local titmouse species is the beautiful Tufted Titmouse.
The titmice also used the mullein to temporarily perch.
The Tufted Titmice also found other places to perch.
Nuthatches were also present. Several times I spotted a White-breasted Nuthatch with a strange black mark on its breast. However, I have not yet been able to get a photo of it. A few Red-breasted Nuthatches used the mullein stalk briefly, but no good photos resulted. But I did get some of both species of nuthatch perching.
Blue Jays ignored the mullein, choosing to perch in more stable spots.
Blue Jays are purported to be intelligent. They are certainly wary of humans, unlike the bold and friendly chickadees. Here are a few I managed to photograph.
Mourning Doves are ground feeders.
Now if only a fox or bobcat would visit our yard this fall or winter. Jann and I certainly hope the red foxes return to their nearby den again in March.