Spring at the Wetland

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  We stopped over at the nearby wetland.  Spring has arrived here.

Several Red-wing Blackbirds are back, warbling in high spirits as we walked around the reservoirs.

"I am back!"

At the far end of the wetland, a couple of Bald Eagles were nesting as before.

"I am drying my feathers after the long rainy winter."

Stay Back!

Spring has sprung in my backyard.  A honeysuckle bush now has many new leaves.

Daffodils just started to bloom.

A Mourning Dove made a quick stop.  A few weeks ago six of them were in the backyard.

"I saw you.  Just stay there and DO NOT come any closer for my safety."

Yellow Crosus

Yellow crocus are about to finish.  Yesterday I was startled to see purple crocus already in bloom near the front lawn.  

I saw a couple of American Robins coming down to dig worms in the ground.

"Spring is here.  I need to find fresh worms."

And one took a bath.

"My dirty feathers are heavy.  I like spring 'cause I can clean up myself." 

A Beautiful Sunrise for Early Risers

This week had several days of sunny weather.  In addition, one morning we had a spectacular sunrise only for a very short while.  Something good happens for early risers.

Guess what birds like to do on a nice day.  Not only they often take an outing to somewhere else (like people), but also they like to take a bath to their heart's content.

House Sparrow, male:  "A splash with a big wing flap.  I like to take a long bath in the warm sun."

Song Sparrow:  "See, I told you today is gonna be a super day for my bath."

Oregon Junco, male:  "Now it's my turn!"

Nice to See You Back

Anna's Hummingbirds were not around here for a few weeks, maybe because they wanted to eat bugs instead in the beginning of the spring season.   This week, they returned and a couple of them were fighting for the territorial dominance.

Male: "Don't you see my pink helmet?  I am the ruler of this garden."

Female: "The backyard owner likes me better!"

On a peaceful time,  they frequent the feeders in my backyard.

"I can drink from this pretty juice feeder."

"I know how to drink here.  I'm a smarty."

"Boy, this is a hard one with one small hole!"