Do you wonder sometimes how little creatures survive the cold winter months with ice, snow and freezing temperatures? I do all the time. My husband feeds the birds so much that I think they should be added to our taxes as dependents. Yikes!

I don’t venture out to feed them, but he does all winter long. God bless him! I enjoy watching them and take tons of photos of them feeding and flying around our back deck. They are so beautiful and fascinating.

Here are some photos I took recently of a visiting turkey and some bluebirds. The first few photos are of a young turkey who was curious about our deck. The turkeys always stay below the deck to feed off of the seeds that the smaller birds drop. Most of the turkeys and other little critters are content picking up the scraps. But not this particular turkey – he wanted to go right to the source. Of course, once he was up on the deck, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t access the feeders because he was too big. Poor guy. He finally gave up and flew away. But it was fun watching him strut around like a proud peacock. It was fascinating to see how they can fly even with their large girth. They are able to fly quite high to get into the tall fir trees to roost at night.

Here are some beautiful bluebirds at our special bluebird feeder. This feeder contains dried meal worms which are their favorite. There is only one hole on the front for them to enter and leave. Some birds are a little skittish about going in. They must be claustrophobic like me. Others are brave and fly in and out with precision. They are amazing! They pick up a few worms and fly back out maybe to feed their mates or friends or just to snack on themselves. I was lucky to capture three lovely bluebirds this time. They usually don’t stay there too long. They wait their turn to enter and feed.

I have a video of these birds going in and out of the feeder, but this blog does not support such videos. Sorry. It was a good one too.

Here is another not so welcome visitor. In this photo you may be able to spot a hawk in the center of the photo in white. I couldn’t get any closer. It suddenly got eerily quiet outside on our deck. This is why. The birds all flew away to safety when they spotted this hawk. He stayed there for a long time until he grew tired of waiting for the birds to come back. Thank goodness he was not successful in grabbing one.

It is amazing that these tiny creatures are so resilient. They fly in and out of our arborvitae bushes where they stay to keep warm. They don’t have to go far for food on our deck.

Here are the arborvitae bushes where the birds roost. I have walked by these bushes different times of the year and could hear the birds in there. If you get too close, they may come out to scare you away.

The deer that pass through our yard nibble on these bushes. If you look closely, you can see how they are narrower at the bottom. My husband now puts Irish Spring soap on a string inside the bushes to keep the deer away. It seems to be working. They haven’t eaten anymore like some other bushes in the neighborhood.

Thank you for stopping by to read this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I love watching the birds and snapping photos to share here. Come back again soon for more. Thank you for your kind support.

Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!

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