Birds...

This winter we went through enormous amounts of bird seed.  Now that there are bugs and such out, there is diminished activity at the feeders. Still, there is enough action out there that visitors comment things like, "You have so many different kinds of birds than we do at our feeders." And, "I've never seen so may birds come to one place before."  Some days they just beg to have their pictures taken.

I am happy to oblige.  This is a male Rose Breasted Grossbeak. I have two pair of them here, and hope they will stay and raise chicks as they did last summer.  The females are very differently marked, with nondescript brown and white stripes.

 This bird looks like a sparrow that was dipped in Kool Aid to me. I believe it is a Purple Finch.

 I have a large amount of woodpeckers here, this is a wee male Downy.

There were few Mourning Doves about our place when we first moved in, but now sometimes 18 or so of them will gather in the crab apple tree, and take turns at the feeder.  They like the bird bath I have out, too, drinking deeply and wading in it with their funny pink feet.

One of them left this in my pansy pot, and never came back to take care of it.

Not all the birds that come to the yard visit the feeders.  I put special food out each day for the crows, and have managed to attract a pair of Raven's, as well.  This guy enchants me. He is huge, and flaps down on broad, dark wings, blocking the sun from the glass as he passes by.

And not all the animals that come in search of sustenance are birds, either.  Check out this cheeky lass. She looked up at me, startled, and dropped the sunflower seed hull. You can see it falling, just over her right paw.  I don't have a lot of squirrels here, but one or two stop in from time to time for a square meal. 

There are plenty of Goldfinches flitting about.  Their brightness is in stark contrast to the colors of many of the other birds here. They never fail to catch my eye. 

I'll keep the feeders full all summer.  Watching the birds, and seeing visitors enjoy them, brightens my days.