A gorgeous male Varied Thrush stands on a sheet of ice in the photo above.
The vicious cold of last month came to an end a couple of days after the solstice. But before the thaw took hold, nature glazed everything in a thin coat of ice. The ground beneath our bird feeder became a cloisonné of ice and sunflower seeds, and blades of grass formed the skeletons of strange ice sculptures:
An American Robin came down to investigate, but unlike his cousins the Varied Thrushes, he did not eat any of the seeds:
The harsh weather brought an unusual visitor to our feeders—a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, shown here hanging from the suet feeder:
These tiny, acrobatic birds never seem to stop moving through the vegetation in their quest for insect prey. It is the first time I have seen one at a bird feeder:
Nearby, a Varied Thrush takes a break with a pair of American Robins on an ice-coated tree:
And, two female thrushes tolerate each other’s proximity on their frozen perches:
Stay warm, and thanks for visiting!
Feathers & Leaves 