Yesterday we were sitting out back enjoying the nice warm day we were having. Dave & I spotted it at the same time...there on the ground was a bird we'd never seen (or at least noticed) before. Instantly he flew up in the tree, but I was still able to get a good shot of him with my camera. Then he came back out in the open & posed for me.
After doing some searching in the bird books we have decided that it was a White-crowned Sparrow. Here's the best one I have:
Cute little guy isn't he?
This morning when we got up the heron was in the river for his morning catch. And the woodpeckers don't disappoint us with their daily visits. There are Red-bellied, Hairys & Downys on a daily basis. Then there will be Northern Flicker with a lot of regularity though not daily. We've been hearing and seeing from time to time a Pileated and this spring for the first time we've had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker around. But we haven't seen him for a couple of week now, so he must have been passing through. Soon we're hoping to have the Red-headed ones back again for the summer.
And speaking of birds returning for the summer, they are beginning to arrive! The robins have been around for months, but today we had two male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks on the feeders. Hope they decide to make their home near here again this summer. Until last year we would only see them passing through. They are so pretty! Here's a shot of one of them:
Okay, so this is where I was going to stop --- but the events since I started are making me keep going! There was a Red-bellied Woodpecker kept coming up to the window feeder and eating peanuts, so I decided to get my camera (which was right by the feeder) in case he came back. Well he did come back, but not before I got my camera in hand. That's when I noticed a big splash in the river. And then another. So I used my camera as binoculars & there was the strangest looking thing in the river.
I still didn't know what it was. Then I saw a pair of wood ducks on the sand bar. Eventually the funny-looking one joined them. I guess it was a wood duck with it's head feathers standing up. I'm still not sure....what do you think?....He's in the back:
After taking about a dozen pictures & just as I was turning to go back & download the pictures onto my computer our friendly little woodchuck zipped by...
This was the first we had seen him this year. I was beginning to think he'd found a new home.
Now you thought I was done didn't you? I wasn't real happy with the duck pictures, so I thought I'd check & see if they were still there. No luck, but wait -- what's that on the sand bar? Was I seeing things? You take a look:
The female laid an egg! And just left it on the sandbar! I walked out to the river to take this & as I got down to the shore a Great Blue Heron flew down river -- didn't get a good shot at him though. Sigh.
What excitement -- off to make Jon's birthday lasagna. Have a great evening & happy bird-watching,
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