Bad Weather Brings Good Birds

[@kusgilb]

I live in Northern Wisconsin and while the birds stop by my heated fountain for a drink, I've never seen a bird bathe after October. Great videos, I'm learning a lot !

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

It gets much colder in Wisconsin than here in Missouri, and I've never lived that far north.Around here, though, yeah, they bathe in the coldest weather. It pleases me to hear that you're learning a lot from my videos. Thanks for telling me so.

[@lovewillwinnn]

You’re an absolute GEM 💎. Thank you for this beautifully-narrated videography. 👏. So glad I found you. 👍😍👍😍❤️✅

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I’m glad you found me too, and welcome to my channel. My next movie up will be a 15 minute long video in super slow motion about dragonflies. Stay tuned!

[@woodsonjane]

I did notice couple of new birds at my feeders in this cold weather. So glad to know running water is important for birds in winter. Thank you Jo!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

This same idea will crop up briefly in my next film--about how we helped birds weather a cold snap. I found learning about the importance of bathing so interesting,

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Great job, Jo. You did good with explaining the differences to notice between the American Sparrow and chipping sparrow, altogether great information in the video!! 

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Thanks so much, Lesley. This one was hard to write a narrative for. I thought the subject might not interest people much--you know, just shots of different birds. But in the end, it came together. It's a challenge to make the information grab people's interest.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

And by the way, Lesley, you have more depth in the information you offer. You always impress me that way.

[@annereynolds66]

@@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME thank you , I found this very helpful

[@annereynolds66]

Nice seeing you on here Lesley, I am learning a lot from you . I appreciate you both so much . Covid is actually the reason I got very interested in birds last year . I got over zealous buying different bird foods and will have to give some away to keep fresh . Maybe I should buy another freezer 😂

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

@@annereynolds66 Glad to hear it, Anne.

[@winnhill3736]

Don't have towee or red pols on my farm in Arkansas but the rough winter weather sure brings in alot of others.Just shows how much the birdies need us in cold weather.Heated birdbath also a big help 2 them.Great jo,Jo

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I guess in Tennessee, heated birdbaths might work. We're just enough further north to make them impractical. But running water works unless the temp really plunges.

[@brunab8867]

Beautiful Jo! So rare to see so many different species all at one time! You are lucky.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I guess you Canadians are deprived in that respect, but then again we Missourians are deprived compared to people in Texas and Florida, not to mention the tropics.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

What can I say, Eve U? When you're right, you're right--they're breathtaking. My husband provides every imaginable kind of food for them, and with the brutal winter we've just had the birds literally flock to us. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@sunnymango2101]

I can watch these videos anytime. I love these birds

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Love to hear that, Joey. I've got 165 movies here, so you can entertain yourself for quite awhile. 😉

[@EveDove77]

How breath taking. You're so fortunate. I have no other words to describe watching these beautiful birds, but breath taking. Thanks for sharing. :-)

[@temp24Lno5]

Well, Jo, I just checked into your channel and was amazed at how much you know about the little birds and told in such a delightful way. Lucky you live in Missouri because you have many more birds in winter than we do here in Quebec, Canada. I have subscribed to your channel and hope to see many more wonderful stories of our little feathered friends. Joan

[@wintermoonomen]

Loved the concluding words host that serves beverages

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I haven't watched this one in close to a decade. And I gotta say that the conclusion was good. Glad you liked it. We're having just that kind of day here in St. Louis. I've been making the most of it by filming goldfinches and house finches squabbling at the feeder.

[@beepbeepitsabird748]

I love that thing the sparrows do when they're looking for food in the snow or dirt! The little flicking type of movement, it's just so cool lookin. Like what the american tree did at 1:08

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Oh, I know exactly what movement you're talking about, Alex, without even looking at 1:08: that kicking move. It's a sparrow thing. Too cute.

[@beepbeepitsabird748]

Mhm! I quite enjoy watching the white throats in my yard do it.

[@kiskakuznetsova503]

Lovely!

[@brunab8867]

those red polls are here in Canada more in the winter time. They love fruit berry trees and small pine cones.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

When that Redpoll showed up at our feeder, the Alwood house was the favorite destination for local birders for several days. He's a pretty little thing.

[@karenvasso2342]

can you please make video showing your birdbath/pond? id love to see it

[@my35Xvision]

Beautiful birds! Great work with all the birds and information on them. Thank you for sharing.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Thanks for watching, my35Xvision. My husband is the experienced birder in the family. I'm just starting to learn. But I find, as I stare again and again at the same images while I'm making a given film, that I see even more beauty in birds that I thought were pretty from the start. Since you make bird films yourself, I'm betting you recognize the feeling.

[@my35Xvision]

Jo Alwood Yes, they are getting more personal the more you watch them... and all of them have very interesting and different characters.

[@57137RUSTY]

That's awesome Jo :) Real cool to hear that you let your fellow birders in to enjoy that redpoll... heard about them but never saw one until this video. Thanks for sharing! :) #BirdersRule

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Sharing the Redpoll with other birders was a pleasure; it compounded the fun of seeing him here.

[@lisavoyce6775]

Amazing video! Great narrating! Who makes the feeder with the see-thru top? I would love to order or buy one for my feathered friends.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

You buy the top separately from the feeder, Lisa, at any Wild Birds Unlimited--and probably lots of other places. (I recommend WBU for buying feeders because they all come with lifetime guarantees! If one cracks, take it back and get a new one.) I explain about the hoods and many other useful tips in a two part series on How to Attract Birds to Your Yard in Winter: Here--kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2fIdqhmf5uhbLNh-and here--kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH_Fq6Wmasd8iK8

[@EBspeciesfishing]

I love your nature movies, they inspire me. And I was also curious how you set up your stream for drinking water, Thanks and happy birding.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

Thank you. By now, we have two streams, both of them dug by a local company that builds and maintains ponds for people. Each one has a motor that runs the recirculating water.

[@donnawadsworth-brown6351]

Jo, I'm interested in your process. Do you shoot all the video, edit and then overlay the narrative? It's all beautifully orchestrated!

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

It's pretty much what you described, Donna, except that editing the footage and overlaying the narrative is a chicken/egg process. I examine the footage and decide basically what I want to say about it (after doing some research). Then I put the footage in approximately the order I think I'll need and overlay the narrative. After that, I rearrange the footage so that it actually does match what I'm saying or I reword the script to go with the visuals. It can take quite a bit of juggling to get them to go together precisely: a second or two too much of narration can throw it off, and I often find I didn't think to get a shot that it turns out I need. Sometimes I can go back and get that shot. In the Barn Swallow movie, for example, I had no shot of those birds nesting beneath an overpass and I had to drive fifteen minutes to a spot where I could get the three seconds of footage I needed. And with scripts, even the pauses have to be taken into account. if I need a pause to keep from sounding rushed and if I don't have the footage to cover that extra second, I have to figure out a way to deal with that spot. Because birds are usually so uncooperative, I rarely have every shot I need or more footage than I will use. Lots of gerrymandering happens. Then there are the issues of correcting faulty lighting and--if I'm using the sounds of the natural world instead of music--getting rid of buzzes and hums and power mowers. Lately, I've been investigating and investing in a better audio system for recording narratives. That's been an adventure all its own. I've wondered about how the creative process works for you. And I think I'll get myself back over to Facebook and ask you the question.

[@donnawadsworth-brown6351]

Your work is so professional that you make it look easy. I have some idea of the preciseness and patience needed to do what you do. I continue to be impressed.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

It's nice to know you're still enjoying my movies, Donna. And I enjoyed laying out how the process goes. You're probably the only person I've explained it to so carefully.

[@dazzling-dawn]

食べ物をありがとうございます。 鳥達は厳しい中で生きてます。 from Japan.

[@JoAlwoodBIRDSANDTHENSOME]

I wish I could read all those intricate characters. But even though I can't, I appreciate that you watched and commented.

[@tornadoandfiresirensofohio8479]

Our house has a lots of birds that yours has more and we have lots of flickers and Robbins most of our birds come in the winter but some like Robbins come all the time and we have lots of Starlings you like starlings but cheap stuff and berries

[@tornadoandfiresirensofohio8479]

Is what we feed