Dipping Temperatures

We have been experiencing the "best" Winter in a long time, with constant sub-zero temperatures ranging from -5 to -25°C. 

This keeps things dry, clear and bright, which is great for watching birds, however after a serious 2 day blizzard during this period, many of the usual lanes and sites I would visit were a little dodgy in terms of access. 

First up, I couldn't resist a few subsequent visits to the local Pine Bunting again. 

Really enjoying having this bird around. A great experience. 

Those who know me, know I love my buntings. And when I found my own bird a few years back (and over the years when I've been looking for them) I have often done some deep dive image searches for the species.

There definitely seems to be a level of bias in how Pine Bunting is perceived. 

I've spoken before about how the primary fringes are often an olive/beige merging into white on presumably pure birds in core range, and yet there are many out there who think that only the purest white fringed birds are acceptable.

Similarly, I have recently noted that many field guides and photographic guides, only display birds with pure white undertail coverts. Birds with any level of streaking on the undertail coverts are not represented. And yet, finding representative birds from the core range with under tail streaking is not difficult.

Are artists and photo editors unconsciously selecting only one variation?

A quick visit to get a year tick for Hanna and Lyra.

A subsequent couple of hours just taking this bird in. 

The cold has had a somewhat negative effect on our garden birds. More feeders popping up in the area means birds are now circuiting around the place, spending less time in any one location. 

We are also victims of our own success in that the numbers of birds we had in late 2020 attracted a number of predators, our resident Pygmy Owl, 2 Sparrowhawks and a Goshawk.

Long story short. Birds visit less and are more wary. 

Our resident Pygmy Owl, "Pedro" 

With my usual site for Black Bellied Dipper inaccessible due to snow, I couldn't resist a very handy one north of Masala. Feeding along an icy roadside stream, it was very easy to find and remarkably approachable.

Note the thin little band of warmer brown feathering beneath the white bib, which bleeds down into the darker belly. A very common appearance, few are truly "Black Bellied". 

Black Bellied Dipper - I've always thought of Dipper as special. Somehow exotic and unusual. Now, seeing the European variation only exacerbates that feeling, especially when seeing them in ice like this. Amazing little tough guys.