Last week, we had temperatures hovering between just below freezing to the upper thirties. Cloudy, and some light rain, it was uncomfortable outside, but much better than around 100 miles to the north, where there was freezing precipitation. As I was watching the pond, I was amazed at the number of small birds flying just above the water and almost hovering over a shallow section. It appeared they were feeding; much like the purple martins in the summer.
There were hundreds of the small birds, which made me go for my binoculars to observe them closer. That's when I spotted their color. Their backs were blue, their chests were white and they had a black mask at their eyes. I had never seen the birds before. A little research on the web led to discovering what they were: tree swallows.
I found this picture on the internet on the iNaturalist page. Whoever took the photo caught the colors, which in the gray of winter days is brilliant against the dark backgrounds.
The birds stayed for a few days in numbers, and a few are still hanging around. According to what I read, the species winters along the Gulf Coast, and the flocks can be large. The one I observed was, and brightened a day of miserable weather. I don't know what they were feeding on, but they spent hours over the same spot. Either they consumed all there was to consume, or they left for another spot to feed.
Gonna get real cold, real soon!
ReplyDeleteWe're getting some rumblings from meteorologists that next week might bring some frozen precipitation as far south as Houston. That will be a terrible time to venture onto Houston freeways, and best avoided by good drivers. A good excuse for not trying to go into work is swearing to a power glitch, and how it shut off the alarm clock.
DeleteWhat a beautiful bird!
ReplyDeleteHere in Ohio we've accumulated about 6 inches of snow in the past week. Temps keep getting lower and lower. With the wind, hovering at 0 and below. Not gonna change much any time soon.
Snow is a rare occurrence where I live. Usually, it snows during a unique weather event, the cold air is only at the surface, and within a day, the temperature rises above freezing. The snow melts in hours, except for that which is shaded.
DeletePretty bird! And next week is going to be 'interesting' with the Jet dipping all the way to the gulf. They are even calling for snow in Florida!
ReplyDeleteIt's early Sunday, the temperature is right above freezing, and supposed to be in the low forties before sunset. Tonight, depending on the amount of cloud cover, we're supposed to reach the mid-twenties and tomorrow the high will hover around forty. Tomorrow night is the weather event start. With temperatures below freezing, and some light precipitation, snow is in the forecast, but how much remains to be seen. Tuesday is supposed to stay below freezing with more snow.
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