Sunday, December 25, 2016

Christmas Birds At The Power Lines

There are many people who don't like power lines mostly because of the electromagnetic radiation they produce and the land that has to be cleared below the lines. That being said, power line cuts are often productive places to find birds. 
On Christmas morning I took a walk along the power line cut crossing at East Cotton Hill road in Portland. I encountered a number of sparrows, wrens, cardinals and finches that were eating a variety of seeds and berries (male House Finch pictured above).
 Gold Finches aren't quite as colorful during the winter as they are in the summer but I'm always encouraged when I hear their whiny call that sound to me like "eaaaat". 
This Red-shouldered Hawk preferred perching on the smaller lines along the roadside.
The habitat can vary quite a bit as there is at power line crossings as you venture out toward the edges. It looks as though this crow of black has found its Christmas snack!

 Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

4 comments:

Kay G. said...

What wonderful photos!
Guess what, one year my husband and I saw a flock of snow white birds and after sending emails to Audubon Society, I was told that the goldfinch, will look that way just after it loses its bright yellow color and before it gets the rather pale brown color. I called them angel birds, they were incredible to see!

Nadezda said...

Hi, Larry, you had a nice stroll in Christmas morning.
I wish you merry season holidays and happy New Year!

Michelle said...

I admire the detail in your photography. Always such nice shots of the birds and this post is no exception!

Larry said...

Thanks for the comments!