BirdingGirl

I was so happy to be home this past weekend so I could do some backyard birding, and count birds for Project Feederwatch. Actually, I recently connected with another Bridgewater birder, the " Bird Man of Bridgewater ," who also took pictures in the snow over the weekend. John is good at identifying the gender of birds in his pictures, something I blogged about last spring. I love this picture- I'm excited to have my very own picture of a Carolina Wren at a suet feeder. It's such a common picture for carolina wrens, and I'm glad this guy came around on Saturday to pose for me. This suet actually was a Christmas gift from my mom- it's a Berry blend and the birds love it. Carolina Wren and Downy Woodpecker: On a related note- not sure how to tell the difference between a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker ? I wrote a post about it nearly a year ago. Red-bellied Woodpecker: Winter Goldfinch: Dark-eyed Junco (I like how you can see the darker feathers with it...

I went birding in West Bridgewater State Forest last Sunday. Steve suggested it since he had noticed on a map of the Bridgewater area. We're always looking for new places to go hiking and birding, plus we're also slightly obsessed with Hockomock Swamp ... I was a little disappointed not to see anyone else out enjoying the beautiful weather this past weekend. There was plenty of evidence of people partying in the area, and ATV tracks, but that was it. Lucky for me I hit it up in off-peak hours! I got to enjoy the sounds of the woodpeckers, chickadees and robins. I also encountered some red squirrels, which scared the heck out me. I saw Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers (a lifer!). Red-bellied Woodpecker: The red squirrels I encountered while I was walking by a historic stone wall. Steve and I encounter these a lot while hiking in New England. I remember learning as a child about early settlers who cleared the land for farming and used the rocks to...