Forced Indoors
This week was the coldest week of the winter here in Southern Iowa. Windchills reached -36°F. Needless to say, I did not go birding very much this week.
I did get out a few days and even took my camera for one of them. My goals for that day were to find an owl in the park and to photograph a Blue Jay. Owls were for upcoming programs that I will be hosting in February. The Blue Jay is for a photo project that I am working on.
I wasn’t able to accomplish either of my goals that day, but I did get to photograph a Dark-eyed Junco from fairly close. There’s something about this species that makes me want to capture each one that I see.
Maybe it’s their black and whit contrasting feathers. Maybe it’s the surprising amount of individual variation there is on a very subtly colored bird. Maybe it’s just their cuteness and general cooperation along trails.
No matter the reason, I took some time, paused, and enjoyed my time with the juncos.
I also spent some time this week practicing my drawing and colored pencil coloring. In slowing down this year, I mentioned that one of my goals was to journal more. To me, that would mean drawing more of the nature that I see as well.
I used a photo of an Indigo Bunting taken last summer as my reference. This helped me to think warm thoughts as the temperatures never rose throughout the day.
I was pretty happy with the result of my drawing experiment. It makes me excited to draw more through the year and practice more and more details.
Current Reads
I’d like to introduce a section to the blog that I’ve been wanting to start for a while called Current Reads. I will be sharing the books that I am reading at the time that are birding or nature related in some way. There will be links provided that will take you to Amazon where you can purchase those books. Fair warning, I do receive commissions from books purchased through these links.
Here is a list of the books that I am either reading or have read so far in 2026.
A wonderful book about some of Steve Duda’s adventures in fly fishing. This book argues for the use of real names for places and wildlife and brings the emotions of a fishing trip to life.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Robin Wall Kimmerer makes poetry out of her explanations of the joy we can receive from the gifts of nature and from sharing those gifts with others. You’ll finish this book with a new-found sense of duty to respect everything in nature.
The World of Roger Tory Peterson
This book chronicles the life of the amazing Roger Tory Peterson from boyhood through his adult life. I always enjoy learning how the figureheads of what birding is today got their start and how these people that I never got the chance to meet interacted with others and the world around them.
Where the Deer and Antelope Play
Nick Offerman explores the United States through it’s outdoor experiences and offers some insights for how we should enjoy our land of freedom. There are many tidbits of wisdom scattered among moments of comedy that make this book an extremely interesting read.
Don’t forget to check out Birds & Beans Coffee for any coffee needs.
Congratulations to Steve Overby for winning last week’s fraction pack giveaway!
Seems like all I have at the feeders lately is Juncos, and not much of anything else.
Thank you for the book recommends! Always looking for new reads.