Tuesday, December 24, 2013

White-throated Sparrow with Snowflakes...

Watercolor painting by Kelly Riccetti of a White-crowned Sparrow at night among snowflakes.
I think our little White-throated Sparrow has just settled himself for a long winter's nap.
(...or maybe he's watching for Santa!)

Wishing you the happiest of holidays
filled with love and cheer. 

Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year! 


Winter Birds
White-throated Sparrows are one of our first winter birds to arrive in our back yard each autumn. Rick and I watch for them, along with White-crowned Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos as soon as the leaves start to turn colors and a chill hangs in the air. These sweet birds leave their nesting grounds up north and head south to live with us during the winter. They are special guests, and their musical calls and beautiful plumage brighten dull gray winter days. It's always exciting to spy the first to arrive for the season. This year, Dark-eyed Juncos won the contest, showing up on October 21. White-throated Sparrows were right on their heals, making their appearance on October 23. White-crowned Sparrows sometimes skip our yard altogether, but this year, they dropped in on November 14. We're still waiting for our musical little American Tree Sparrows to show. They usually blow in with a winter storm in January. With all the snow we've had in December, however, we were hoping they would show up sooner. We will keep watching. Maybe they will hitch a ride with Santa, and we will see them at the feeders Christmas morn...

17 comments:

Carole M. said...

you've created a beautiful greeting Kelly; best wishes

holdingmoments said...

A lovely little bird Kelly.

Best wishes to you and your family.

Arija said...

Hope your little sparrow friends arrive before the new year. Have a very Happy Christmas!

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful Sparrow! Wishing a very Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Roy said...

Merry Christmas, Kelly! Heh, heh! I put a Cardinal up for my own Christmas post. We seem to have swapped birds this year!

Kerri Farley said...

Oh I LOVE Him!
Merry Christmas!!

Montanagirl said...

Hi Kelly. I'm taking a minute to do a few quick comments this morning before anyone else gets up. We're with daughter and family in Alaska and it's 37 degrees below zero. The Northern Lights were displaying earlier this morning. Have a wonderful Christmas Day!

Lois Evensen said...

Beautiful, Kelly! Merry Christmas to you and yours! :)

Kathie Brown said...

I just love this Kelly! So beautifully done!

Sarah Knight said...

Beautiful artwork!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Happy Holidays Kelly to you and your Family. May your 2014 be all you want it to be. It's been far too long since I visited here. I have added you to my Feedly!

Kathy A. Johnson said...

So pretty, Kelly. Hope you and your family had a warm and wonderful celebration.

PalmerLakeGuy said...

I love that you noted the dates of each species showing up. Really like your White-throated painting and enjoy your blog. Keep up the great work!

E said...

Beautiful, Kelita, thanks and Happy New Year to you and your dear family.
Hugs and love

Lois said...

This is so beautiful and peaceful. A lovely holiday wish

Elaine said...

Beautiful work, Kelly! Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year!

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone for the kind words. White-throated Sparrows are such pretty birds. They are fun to paint. I'm working on a few sketches and another painting. I need to do a winter bird post...and add in White-crowned Sparrows. They are even prettier!