I'll nominate these four bird species as hardy birds after seeing them brave my feeders during fierce gusts this morning that made me grab for my hat to put on and my mother-in-law's to rescue when it blew away, almost taking us with it:  cardinal, tree sparrow, blue jay, and junco.


I think the cardinal was the first to show up and soon there were four.  They have a reputation of being first at the feeders in the morning and last in the evening.  I recently saw only one bird stay in the bushes near the feeder after a Cooper's hawk landed nearby.


Sometimes I think it's because the cardinals live in the evergreen trees lining two sides of our property.  Then again, maybe the others live nearby too.  I often see birds fly out of the bushes around our house.


Those are the only birds I saw during the my breakfast bird watch this morning.