Snow!
And lots of it! Well, lots for us here in Austin. Finally, after years of waiting, we had enough stick long enough and be the right packing consistency to make decent-sized snowmen. The problem is that, as usual, we didn’t get enough to make white snowmen. And what snowmen were made usually used up all the snow in the yard.
But without further ado, I give you a parade of snowmen, complete with mud, leaves, twigs, and grass. ‘Cause that’s how we do it here in Austin!
You can tell which ones got made earlier in the day, before the snow started melting.
It seems that once again, the only way to get a white snowman in Austin is to stick with the ones less than a foot tall.
What do you think, Ernie? Winner?
Hmmm, that judge didn’t seem to happy with any of the selection. Let’s ask his twin, Grover.
Clearly, our judges have better things to do than look at muddy snowmen. How ’bout frisky-time in the snow?!!
We rescued our husky some 3.5 years ago, and this is the first time we’ve ever seen him in snow. He loved it.
So did our beautiful Sheba.
Something about the snow today really brought the birds to the birdfeeder. I guess they don’t care for the snow covering up the food plants. Here’s a cardinal and chickadee.
And a blue jay. Yep, he fussed at other birds nearby. Didn’t care much for the photographer, either!
And here’s a tufted titmouse and a new beauty.
I feel I should recognize this cutie. Can anyone identify it for me? Turns out it’s an American goldfinch in its winter plumage (thanks, Caroline!).
I love those golden feathers around its face.
Sadly our snow is mostly gone already, but it was fun while it lasted. I’m happy the schools let our kids go out and play in it, and there was enough after school that my boys got to make their own muddy snowman. I’ll let you figure out which one it was. Shouldn’t be too hard… 🙂
I’ve heard all about the wonderful Cedar Waxwings, but until today I hadn’t seen them in my own yard. We’ve had a giant Yaupon in front of our house since we moved here, so I figured this had more to do with me not being around when the birds were migrating, rather than their actual absence from our property each year. 
This afternoon, I was on my way out the door when I saw them. And I dropped everything and ran back into the house for the camera. For the next 20 minutes I delighted in capturing picture after picture of these gorgeous birds, and I enjoyed watching their antics.
For one thing, they truly are birds of voracious appetites. When one talks about someone who eats like a bird, most likely they aren’t referring to these gluttons. They feasted on berry after berry as a group, flew off to a nearby oak to sing and digest a bit, and then flew right back to the yaupon for more fruity treats.
A few would gather on a berry-laden branch all together, hanging upside-down and enjoying the branch swing until it slowed enough that more berries could be wolfed down.
I’m truly amazed out how gorgeous these birds are. I had no idea. The yellow belly and yellow-tipped tail blend beautifully with their graceful tan, brown, and black feathers, and that mischievous black mask made us tease them about stealing our berries.
They didn’t mind us around at all, and they completely ignored the cat, who had slipped outside when I rushed in for the camera. In fact, they seemed a very curious, gregarious bunch. I read that these bold birds will even grab a bit of human hair while building nests in the north. Sometimes they get so intoxicated on the sugary berries that they’ll fly drunk and do a bit of a stagger walk — I was watching, but my birds apparently held their own quite well.
By the time I returned home today, the birds were gone. I hope another flock will pass through soon!
For other family and friends, we tried our hand at making seed ornaments, as often in the past we’ve enjoyed giving purchased seed gifts for others, to hang out for the birdies.
There’s a lot more to our yard than what you see here, and I invite you to 
Hornsby Bend is an area along a “bend” of the Colorado River, southeast of Austin, Texas, near the airport. Once home to dense forests and thickets, a man named Reuben Hornsby settled there in 1832, clearing the land for agricultural uses. Today it is home to the 
But Hornsby Bend is so much more — 1,200 acres of marshes, woodlands, pastures, and riparian (river) areas. Because of the incredible biodiversity along the food chain and its multiple habitats, it has become known nationally as one of the best birdwatching sites in Texas, especially during times of migration. More than 360 species of birds have been sighted at Hornsby Bend. Migratory shorebirds, wading birds, and landbirds, some from the Arctic or from the southern tip of South America, stop at the ponds of Hornsby Bend as they travel to and from their winter habitats.
Near the wet grounds by the compost, many least sandpipers and other species scooted about for insects.
And humans studied them from afar.
The wooded areas along the river provided opportunities to see tree-perching birds. A quiet walk along the paths allowed us to listen to the beautiful songs of many a bird, including the white-eyed vireo. 
Another treatment area, these long greenhouses will also provide winter shelter to area birds. A red-shouldered hawk reportedly has hunted in there, in fact.
And there are purple martins, too, though they are absent in September.
Back at the main building, the Habitat Steward Trainees listened to three speakers. The knowledge I gained this day was tremendous, from the history of the soil in the Austin area to the how’s and whys of organic matter, and from butterflies of Central Texas to urban wildlife, such as coyotes and raccoons. A great day, and a great place to visit.
Rockport isn’t just about hummingbirds — hundreds of species of birds are year-round residents or migratory passers-through, and birdwatchers excitedly converge with binoculars in hand to enjoy the sheer numbers and to hopefully catch a glimpse of a rare species. At any given home on the hummingbird tours, there might be as many as 100 or more hummingbirds zooming about the feeders.
But there were a variety of landscapes on the tour, and there was even a school garden, planted and maintained by students and teachers. 
It was thoroughly entertaining watching the antics of the territorial hummingbirds. Their behavior is different at migration time — because the birds need to build up their energy stores, there is more willingness for many, but not all, of the birds to share a feeder from time to time. Despite the many feeders about a yard, the hummingbirds might swarm a particular feeder, as if they think that because others are that feeder, it must be good food. But territoriality is hard to resist sometimes, especially for the males. The vibrant color of the throats of the male birds was impressive, though Sheri said that these feathers are post-mating season, and thus less vibrant than at other times. Pretty cool. 
The majority of the hummingbirds that pass through Rockport are ruby-throated hummingbirds, but several species have been sighted, and in all more than 500 species of birds have been documented.
There was another creature that threatened to bring downfall to the festival this year, the heat-seeking, blood-sucking, mass-attacking mosquito. It was unbelievable the numbers of mosquitoes everywhere, and they swarmed every person by the hundreds. The mosquitoes were so bad at the very first house we stopped at that, that our hummingbird viewing would have come to an end before it started if we hadn’t decided to just go ahead and use some loaned icky chemical spray that I would never touch at home. But we were having to do a ridiculous and constant “Mosquito-Slapping Dance” until we finally used the spray, and if a green person is going to that extreme, you know it’s bad. 
Outside of Moon Dog, where we had lunch, a lone pelican rested peacefully. It was quite the contrast to the zooming hummingbirds at the inland homes. 
