Open Your Window And Shoot

No, don't shoot a gun and hurt someone ! Shoot a picture is, what I was trying to imply above.  It is still way too soon to start thinking about macro shots of nectar harvesting bees or dancing butterflies. The bird feeder in front of the house will have to do for now.
As they say: Practice makes perfect and here is a little collection of my latest photographic explorations (As always - clicking on the image will let you see it full size):

Always love to see the male cardinals. They do look like little tree ornaments and their red plumage shines even brighter during mating season.

This picture was taken two days ago, and if you think you detect snow on the branch you are right. We did get a dusting of the white stuff in the morning and that's why Madame Cardinal looks somewhat in disbelief. 

Here we have a red bellied woodpecker sharing some morsels with a sparrow. This is one of only a few pictures I was able to get of a woodpecker. They are extremely shy and the slightest noise or movement makes them fly away. So I have to admit, that I took this shot through the closed window. Considering the circumstances, it didn't come out too bad. 

This feisty looking guy is a male house finch. At first I didn't get to see any finches at all. Started putting out some thistle seed and voila - they appeared. :-)

Here you see a couple of gold finches attached to the net with thistle seed. Bon apetit ! 

 After waiting what seemed forever, I finally succeeded in getting a good shot at a nuthatch NOT hanging off the tree upside down. They also never seem to sit still long enough to focus. I'm pretty happy with this outcome. 

The picture of this little sparrow is one of my favorites. I love his expression and the way his attitude comes across. Even though it's "just a sparrow"........

Another one of my favorite birds, a tufted titmouse. Isn't he cute ? 

And guess what ? Where there is bird food, there is a squirrel. In our case multiple congregations of little thieves assembling around the feeding place. I am convinced that our dogwood tree shelters the fattest tree rodents on this planet. 

This feral cat has taken up residence in front of our door to prey on birds. So far he hasn't been successful - thank God ! Pretty much every morning I find him sleeping in the flower pot, all curled up. Life of a feral cat is tough ! He doesn't look malnourished though, and besides a few scratches appears healthy.