Got this crazy shot at the lake across the street from the casa. Momma pointed out the ice forms that were encapsulating the branches hanging in the water. The temperature was just at freezing.

A cold and snowy last couple of days in the Chicago area. But - there's a bright spot in all of that when the Cardinals show up! (Sorry Cubs fans...)

Grackles are just so medieval looking...

love to hate the European Starlings, but their color is amazing.

was made aware of Golden Eye Diving Ducks at a Forest Preserve near us. And there they were! 👍

Mine are still learning. Had one take a long spin earlier today. He then prayed for mercy…

Our European Goldfinch friends from last year have returned! Better than the groundhog in predicting the coming of spring!

The "nifty fifty"! That's a very nice quality lens! Thought you had shot it with a telephoto!

the new lens is working out very well. Quite a bit lighter than my Nikon 200-500mm, but still a very quality build. Not cheap but we’ll worth the investment.

Mr Squirrel, clearly frustrated with the bird feeder defenses, carefully contemplates his next move…

Very nice! What lens are you using?

Testing out a new lens I picked up this week on my Canon 70D (100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM). Despite it being a fairly windy day when I took these shots - a little soft, but so far so good! At least I've really cut back on the amount of Chromatic Aberration!

Don't you worry - I'm guarding the food!

Could not help myself... 😎

Psssst... Hey pal - got any good stuff for me? 😁

Like that was not enough - a Cooper's Hawk youngster showed up to the party!!!

Red-Bellied Woodpecker enjoying the spoils of war with the Starling!

Mourning dove resting peacefully in a heated bird bath on a 6 degree day!

Life or death battle between a Starling and Red-Bellied Woodpecker over the suet feeder. Happy to report the woodpecker dominated!!!

Freebird deserves it! 😋