O'Stephanie mentioned wanting to see some birds. And although I'm not Barry or Bill S, I have been working on a bird post, so in honor of O'Steph, here it is. :)

These are all birds I've photographed around my house, which is why all the scenery looks the same. It's a bit long. Hope you enjoy them!

This is a male dark-eyed junco. We have several types of juncos in our area, they're very busy and bossy and feed together in flocks. They're small and really cute and remind me of nuns when they look straight at me.

This big guy, puffed up against the bitter cold we had in December, is a Steller's Jay. Like all Jays, they are noisy and territorial, but they're so gorgeous that I don't mind their bad attitudes.

This cute little guy is a Song Sparrow. We have a lot of small, sparrow-like birds around here, and it can be difficult to figure out which is which. This sparrow can be identified by his spectacle markings, the dark brown spot in the center of his chest, his stripes, his light background color, and his small beak, from other similar birds including fox sparrows, finches, and female red-wing blackbirds.

This is the best picture I've been able to get of a female Red-Winged Blackbird. Similar to the Song Sparrow, this bird is a bit larger, with a darker background color, and brown streaks extending down onto the belly. Her noticeable spectacles on the front view and solid slate-colored beak rule out the fox sparrow.

Western Scrub-Jay. Reminds me a lot of a Loggerhead Shrike.

This bright-eyed little bird is a Sooty Fox Sparrow. The inverted V markings on his chest, and the partially-yellow bill, are his 2 most distinguishing characteristics. He also lacks the spectacles of some of the other small sparrow-like birds. He's one of the cutest birds I've ever seen.

Two male Spotted Towhees. They feed by hopping with both feet at once to scratch up seeds, it's very amusing to watch.

This is a White-Throated Sparrow. You may notice his throat doesn't look all that white, and that's because he's a tan-striped morph. He can be distinguished from other sparrows by the yellow spot between his eye and bill (called a lore).

The three pictures above are of one of my favorite birds, the Northern Flicker. The top is a front view of the male, the middle picture is a side view of the female (notice the lack of red mustache), and the bottom is a back view of the male, which shows the intricate patterning nicely. What you can't see in any of these pictures is the brilliant white spot on its rump, which only shows when it's in flight. Gorgeous, gorgeous bird.

European Starling, back view. The white spots indicate it's the winter morph. I never knew Starlings even had a winter morph until I moved to Oregon.

Pine Siskins, one of the most frequent guests at our thistle feeders. They're beautiful, tiny little birds, with yellow on the wings and at the base of the tail, and intricate patterning on the back.

This one is a Golden-Crowned Sparrow. He's in his winter morph, which means he has less black around his gold spot than he would the rest of the year.

Nesting Mourning Dove. They may be common, but I think they're beautiful.

 Chestnut-Backed Chickadee (top) and Black-Capped Chickadee (bottom). They are quintessential winter birds.

Male (top, with black collar) and female (bottom, with grey collar) Varied Thrush. Gorgeous robin-like birds that often feed in flocks. Their coloration is gorgeous against the snow.

Male Downy Woodpecker, front and back. Similar in coloring to, but much smaller than, a Hairy Woodpecker. A gorgeous little guy to end the post with.

 (Ratings & comments greatly appreciated)