I love migration. It’s nature’s way of confirming spring has arrived when you see flashes of color out of the corner of your eye and have this dude reeeeaching his little head waaaay over so he can have a peek at the lady with the camera:
American Goldfinch, Male
And this guy, who I see flitting around in his typical skittish way, never too sure of what to land on until he hits a finch sock – then you couldn’t pry him off if you wanted to:
House Finch, Male
All of the other interesting birds will arrive soon and only be here for a week or so. Eastern Towhees, Grosbeaks, Creepers and Wrens will stop by, then my tried and true birds will stay here for the summer. This fella caught my ear while I was outside the other day:
Chipping Sparrow, Male
He was just singing away up in a tree, I did an overlay so you can see what he looks like singing, too.
I thought you’d like this one, since I was talking about how to identify males and females and mentioned the female Red Bellied Woodpecker had been by – but I hadn’t snapped a photo of her yet. I managed to do that the other day. Of course her hubby is here quite a bit, so here’s a new pic of him with her in the corner so you can see how they differ in appearances side by side:
And last, but not least, a squirrel with no tail. I have no idea what happened to him, and honestly it makes me sad to think about it.
It appears to be growing back, though, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for this guy (and yes, he’s a guy, he turned around and stood up and my eyes about popped out of my head), hopefully we’ll see some growth over the summer. I wonder how he communicates without his tail? Anyone know anything about squirrel behavior or communication to know how he might adapt to this injury?
{17 Comments}
Awsome Pics! I LOVE Spring too!!! I’ve been watching the little critters for a little more than a week now, and it brings out an inner peace and joy that I yearn for all winter! I need more feeder socks, though and can’t find them anywhere – without the food, that is! Thanks for the “eye candy”!!!
Wonderful shots Leanne! I’m glad Judy will soon be at BBR to get our feeders going again. I so love watching them all. Can’t help with the squirrel mystery. I’ve never seen anything like that. Wondering if he got himself in a tussle and left his fur in his attackers mouth… Do keep us posted. :squirrel: (Of course I was going to use that emoticon!)
June’s last blog post..Photo Hunt: Thirteen
gorgeous!! thanks for sharing.
That Goldfinch is amazing! So beautiful!! I really miss my bird feeder!
But Leanne… the squirrel… I’m sure he’s suffered some hideous accident, and the photo is both appalling and riveting… but if I admitted to laughing at him would you hate me? :giggle:
pam’s last blog post..Pam I Am
If my memory is working okay I think I read somewhere (someone’s nature blog) that squirrels don’t last very long without a tail. But there’s always the exception to the rule.
Pam – I wouldn’t hate you for laughing. You wouldn’t admit to that though, would ya? :smirk:
Crusty – Aww now I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled to see if he makes it or what happens to him.
Love the birds!
Tipper’s last blog post..Picking & Grinnin In The Kitchen: Guitar Man vs. Mandolin Man
I’ve always wanted to have birdfeeders and to watch the birds… but we have forty zillion squirrels (and skunks!) and I don’t want to spend $100 on those funky flying squirrel birdfeeders… I’ll have to keep visiting to see your beautiful and peaceful pretties!
D’s last blog post..Tomorrow’s Another Day
Per here: http://www.scarysquirrel.org/science/answers/
:squirrel: :/
How can you talk about the squirrel being a guy and growth in the same sentecne?! Still laughing! :rofl:
Love your birdies!
Lisa’s Chaos’s last blog post..Fun getting things done Monday
Chirping Sparrow, Male composite is awesome!
What very cool bird photos!
I wonder what happened to that squirrel? On my last trip to Tahoe, I was able to see my very first wild squirrel! I was so excited!
I always love when the birds come back, even though they keep me awake in the mornings.
Thank you, Marcia!
Your first! Now THAT is cool!! :friends:
So…. is the squirrel still about? 🙂
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