Common but Pretty Birds
after Freezing Rain
Feb. 7, 2022
 



Way back in 2001, I showed the results of an ice storm (while I was living on Long Island). Today I have a different take on a similar event: freezing rain. This time my viewpoint is the effect that the freezing rain had on local birds.

The first photo is of a white-throated sparrow, but the important point is noticing how the ice from freezing rain formed on the cypress. One can see the drops (which would have dripped) if not for being frozen in mid-motion. The sparrow also has some tiny ice crystals on top of its tail.

 
White-throated sparrow
 

The mourning dove did not fare as well as various sparrows. The dove had quite a heavy weight of ice on its tail (although the ice didn't appear to affect the dove's ability to fly).
 
Mourning dove with iced tail
 

The male cardinal did not do as well as the sparrow but far better than the dove. He has a small collection of ice crystals on top of his tail.
 
Male cardinal
 
  The female cardinal has tiny ice crystals on her tail as well as a few on her crest.
 
Female cardinal
 

Of course, the female cardinal did not look at all pleased by being iced.

Photo note: I used a Pentax K3-II, with the Pentax 150-450mm lens, on 5 February 2022, for these photos.




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