House finch fledgling
Looking for Papa Finch
"Papa, papa, where are you??"
A bird flies over...
"Are you my father?"
"No... guess not..."
(...sniff...)
"Pa!!!! There you are!"
Papa and baby house finch
American goldfinch
Windblown
"Hey! There's that crazy robin!"
"Who, me?!"
American robin
It's a windy day
Male housefinch
Young house finch -- note yellow underwing feathers
Robin getting suet from the feeder. First time I've witnessed this behavior from a robin.
The finches stare... the robin attempts hovering...
Male American goldfinch
Goldfinches and house finches
The Fuss and The Spectator
The Fuss
Still working on hovering, the robin comes back for another beakful...
Success! Nom nom nom nom nom...
Male house finch
The red of a male house finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. The more pigment in the food, the redder the male. When a male consumes less pigment, he will sometimes display orange or yellowish feathers. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find, perhaps raising the chances they get a capable mate who can do his part in feeding the nestlings.
A good shake to put the feathers in their proper place...
And the robin returns!
-- while the finches turn aside to see this great sight.
Robin spots a squirrel...
... and trots down the railing to check things out.
Windblown topknot
"Wouldja just look at that goofy robin."
"Did you see that?!"
Incoming!
Landing gear down...
Li'l Orange performs an aerobatic stunt, and gets roundly scolded by his mother (or auntie, or sister).
American goldfinch
This male house finch is a petty thief!
Just watch: he dogs the female's steps, watching closely as she hulls a sunflower seed --
...he sneaks in closer... ... closer ...
--- and then, as soon as the tasty seed is free of the shell, he dives right in and steals it straight out of her mouth! Way to go courting, Bub. Some birds bring treats to the girls.
Squirrel-watching
Mourning dove. These are our smaller and darker doves, at about 11 inches.
Mama and young squirrel
Grooming time
"Ooooo, gots an itch..."
"Time for a li'l sumpthin'..."
"Hold still, kid! You're a mess."
"Ahhhhh... feels good."
"Aw righty, I need another snack..."
Scritchety-scratchety
Mama squirrel has a tick on her left ear and below her right eye, poor thing.
The male house finch watches as the squirrels racket about on the deck bracing.
Watching the squirrels shinnying down the deck support post
"Crazy things, expending all that energy. Tsk."
Incoming female goldfinch
"See that you don't spill anything on my head!"
Mama and youngster.
The squirrel family is now down on the ground, one story beneath the deck. I went downstairs to the patio door to get these shots.
Toddler bench
Chipping sparrow
Female Northern cardinal
"Those squirrels are something else!"
"What's he up to now?!"
"Up the post! Up the post!"
"Hey! You lookin' at me?!"
"What?! You haven't ever seen a robin impersonate a hummingbird before??"
Back up on deck...
Li'l brat chewed a hole in the chair binding in two nibbles flat!
I stuck my head out the window and said, "HEY!!! STOP THAT!!!"
So he went a couple of paces farther down the rail...
...looked back to see if I really meant it...
...and Mama Squirrel came rushing up to see what the trouble was.
(See her coming up between them, on the upright post?)
"What were you doing, Sonny?"
Grooming time again...
...and the robin returns again (see him in background).
"Who's behind that chair?"
"Oh, it's you."
"You still looking at me?"
"All right, I'll just go."
Blue jay
Female Northern cardinal
Male American goldfinch
Female American goldfinch
And back comes the robin...
"Whew! This is hard work! A guy could get a cramp in his foot."
The blue jay has better perching apparatuses (apparata? apparati?) than the robin.
Makes suet-feeder dining much less labor-intensive.
Turtle dove, or, more accurately, Eurasian collared-dove. At about 13" in height, these doves are a couple of inches larger than the mourning dove, and they have a deeper voice -- coo-COO-coo -- and a harsh in-flight call often emitted just before landing.
This bird was native to Asia and Europe. It was introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970s, and spread from there to Florida by 1982. It is now as far west as California and as far north as Alaska.
The end! -- and away he goes. I had the camera on Sports mode... was all set to catch his exit... but this is the one and only shot I got when the dove flew away. :-D
Beautiful
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