During our first December in West Texas, we experienced an ice and snow storm that left its aftermath on the ground through New Year’s.  During this time, I set up a bird feeder in the Elm tree in the front yard. As you can see, the snow is deep enough to keep Ms. Cardinal from finding something to eat beneath.

She spent some time in the snow, and then would perch in the dead Lantana vines while eyeing the nearby snow for any seeds she could spot that might have spilled from the bird feeder.

Several different kinds of birds came to my bird feeder. Here you see a female Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, and a male House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus, sharing the bounty of the bird feeder. You can see their opposites at the bird feeder here.

Nothing went to waste because there were plenty of hungry birds who came by and picked up the seeds that others had spilled while feeding.

Ms. Cardinal was kind enough to pose for me despite the cold and busily searching for food. I got to see and photograph many different kinds of birds that spend the winter in West Texas. From the amount of the seeds consumed, my one little bird feeder helped keep many of them from starving while waiting for the snow to melt. I like song-birds and sometimes they need a little help from their friends.

It is now the fall of 2018, and I haven’t seen many cardinals this year. We had snow in early November for about a day. It has been wet enough this year and warm enough that my feathered friends are going elsewhere to eat. One thing you can count on in observing wildlife is that things change and sometimes you get to make pretty photographs and sometimes you don’t. Happy trails, all.

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In this image, you can see a black bird with white shoulder patches.
He is sitting in a mesquite tree growing along a barbed wire fenceline. At first glance, I thought I was seeing a red-winged blackbird that had grown the wrong color of feathers for some reason. It was only after I was able to look through my 300mm lens that I knew I was looking at some other kind of bird. Notice the robust beak on this fellow, red-wing blackbirds do not have such a large beak, and where this fellow has white feathers, red-wing blackbirds have red.

In this image, the shoulder patches are clearly visible as our subject settles into a lower branch of the mesquite tree.

In the last picture, you can see two birds and their shoulder patches clearly. Also, you get a good look at their large beaks. The two birds are male and they are pestering each other to see who is the big bird in cowtown.

I was amazed to see these birds because I was out looking primarily for wildflowers that day. It was a double lucky day for me because I spotted yet another species of bird I had never seen just a little ways down the road from these fellows. You can see them here if you’d like.

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This member of the Fringillidae family is busy harvesting seeds from a wild sunflower. Members of this family have short stout beaks adapted for cracking the seeds they eat.

The American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, is a small robin-sized bird that migrates through West Texas during the winter. The feathers of the male of this species change from the yellow green on the head, breast and belly to a bright egg yolk yellow.

The top of their head during the spring breeding season is capped by a black triangle while the feathers at the base of the tail are snow white. Quite a transformation for this bird.

What you see in the photos is a male bird in winter plumage. These photos were taken in early February, 2016.

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Pictured here is a sparrow-sized bird known as the American Goldfinch, Spinis tristis. This member of the Fringillidae family is the only little yellow bird with black wings found in North America. This bird is a male and is undergoing transition from his winter plumage to his breeding plumage. You can see a winter version I photographed in West Texas here. The breast is completely yellow when these birds are in breeding condition and they have a black cap on the top of their heads. You can see in this image that he is not quite there yet.

Every one of these birds I have ever observed is an acrobat. They hang by their feet in whatever position affords them the best approach to the food they are pursuing. You can also see in this photo that the neck plumage is working on becoming yellow and you can see the black wings and tail with white accent stripes. A similar species, the Lesser Gold Finches, would be black from the top of the head to the tail.

Here is another image showing the incomplete yellow coloring of the breast feathers. These images were shot in early April.

While they are foraging, these little fellas have to keep a wary eye out for predators. However, there was another male in the vicinity that made more than one pass at this guy’s head. Either way, it pays to stop now and then and check your situation.

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