Bird Sightings in the Snow

An awe-filled winter walk

I started out walking in the woods just to feel the snow falling. Everything was silenced except the snow crunching under my feet, and the birds.

At one point I could hear what sounded like a hundred birds. I looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

I could see the river not far behind the tree line. I looked forward to making my way to the water’s edge. But, the birds were causing such a ruckus, I looked more closely. I could actually see about thirty of them high up in the trees.

As I stepped closer, I could see the vines that wrapped around the trees in the warmer weather and held tight to serve a tasty winter treat.

I spent some time inspecting the snow-covered berries. There were some beautiful snowflakes that stood out against the bright red background as they landed and stuck to the collection.

The birds overhead were robins. I saw several of them the day before. I thought they were letting me know Spring was on the way and I thought it was confirmed by the sixty-degree temperature. It seems like Mother Nature had a whole other plan. I wonder if the robins were as surprised as I was with this quick turn in the weather.

The robins were fun to watch. Then, all of a sudden I caught sight of a bright yellow streak and a red flash. By then, I had made my way into the middle of this natural bird feeder. A new bird landed on a nearby branch. It wore what seemed like a pair of sunglasses, a slick crown on its head, and a soft yellow underbelly. Its wings were so smooth, they could have been made of wax.

It was a cedar waxing. At that moment I wished I had not put off purchasing a better camera. Here I was with my cellphone, hoping for the best.

When the cedar waxing flew off, I made my way back to the trail. Then, I heard a familiar sound. Knock, knock, knock. I sighted a red-bellied woodpecker.

Under my breath, I said, this is the best day ever. I felt like a child, this might not have actually been the best day ever, but at that moment it felt pretty great!

I was just expecting snow, but was glad to have spent the day with the birds!

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone finds some birds to hang out with.

According to The National Wildlife Foundation, if you are looking —

American robins live in woodlands, suburban backyards, parks, and grasslands with shrubs. Robins can be found year-round in the continental United States, and some migrate north to spend summers in Alaska.

Cedar waxings are found year-round mostly in the northern half of the United States. Non-breeding winter populations are found from the Midwest and southern states down through Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and the northwestern reaches of Colombia. Summer breeding populations are found across Canada from British Columbia to Maine.

Red-bellied woodpeckers are common in woodlands, wetlands, and suburban trees throughout the eastern half of the continental United States.

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