2016 Birding Blog: November-December Backyard Birds

Here's a collection of birds seen in the backyard over the last two months of 2016. There's not a lot of variety in birds, but the cold conditions in late December allowed for some unique shots.

The most common and frequently seen birds in the backyard are the Dark-eyed Juncos. Here's one in the benign conditions of November.

Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 11, 2016

I was lucky to catch a visit by a flock of Bushtits a couple of days later.

Bushtit - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 13, 2016

Bushtit - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 13, 2016

Early December was still on the mild side, this female Downy Woodpecker and her mate can be seen in our yard every day of the year. Our Suet feeder prevents the resident Squirrels from hogging the Suet.

Downy Woodpecker (F) - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 3, 2016

We have a resident male Anna's Hummingbird in our yard. I caught a few close-ups of him, some with the purple iridescence showing in the throat area.

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016

After the first snowstorm in the third week of December, conditions were a bit harsher for the local birds.

Dark-eyed Juncos - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

With the freezing temperatures, I had to bring in the hummingbird feeder at night, or replace the sugar water the next morning. The male Anna's survived the cold snap in spite of my early negligence on keeping the feeder unfrozen.

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

We have a number of resident black squirrels in the yard. They were scrambling for food during the snow days. The Christmas lights are reflections off the window.