The Wetlands Summer

During the summer months, many bird families stay at the wetland. 

 

Tree Swallow:  "The breakfast is the busy time to feed all young ones."

"I like to stand still by myself."

(I saw many Great Egrets on this walk.)

"I am a young female Black-headed Grosbeak."

Wood Duck:  "We are on the swimming drill today.  I have four babies." 

Summer at the Wetlands

More wild flowers are in bloom.  

Before the Black Phoebe was in the reverse light, so today I walked in the opposite direction to take a better photo.👍

Black Phoebe:  "You can see me better."😁

Black-headed Grosbeak:  "I am a summer bird.  You can listen to my singing."😍

Summer is Almost Over

 The wetlands now show the end of  summer.😢🐝🌻

Belted Kingfisher

"I come here close to the end of summer."😄

Osprey

"I was born this year and now have to find my own food."👍

Black-headed Grosbeak

"I like these berries at the end of summer. 

I will leave for south pretty soon."🫐😎

Backyard Birds

The fuchsias are in bloom.  Anna's Hummingbird likes to drink the nectar.

"My favorite flower."👍

"My favorite is blueberries."😄

"My favorite is roasted sunflower seeds."😍

Note:  Black-headed Grosbeak visited me after many years of  absence.  Many trees are gone due to development.  It is hard for them to come to my backyard.😥

The Wetland Summer

 At the nearby wetland, young Canada Geese are busy with their parents.

.

"It takes a while to train them all.  Today is swimming."😊

Black-headed Grosbeak:  "I am still looking for a mate this summer." 😎🩷

Cedar Waxwing:  "I like to eat these berries."  😁👍

The Wetland Friends

 At the wetland nearby, I sometimes see a squirrel.

"Hi, I see many people with a black box (camera) around here👀👀."

 Here is a Rufous Hummingbird at the top of a bare branch.

"I like this top to see all the way to the other end of the reservoir💓💓."

Black-headed Grosbeaks are here every summer.  I can hear them singing, but most of the times, it is difficult to spot them.  This time luckily I saw him sticking out his head😉.

"I want my girl to find me😊😍."

Summer Colors

A flower in early summer:  Peony

Black-headed Grosbeak sometimes visit my backyard during the summer months.

Female:  "I came back to eat your sunflower seeds."

At the nearby wetland,  I found one male yodeling loud.

"I look so bright against the blue sky, don't I."

Summer Birds #2

Rufous Hummingbird stops over once in  a while when the temperature climbs up.  It is much smaller than Anna's Hummingbird and never stays long for me to take a good photo.

The other day I saw a female Black-headed Grosbeak early in the morning.  She was munching roasted sunflower seeds.   I am very happy to see it back because  many trees in the neighborhood have been cut down, making it difficult to reach my backyard.

"Hi, I remember your delicious sunflower seeds."

At the Wetland

Nowadays too many developments have taken place even in my neighborhood.  To accommodate that, too many trees have been cut down.  As a result, little birds can not hop between the trees to get to my backyard.  Black-headed Grosbeak (summer bird) is one of them.   I saw some at the nearby wetland.

"Hi, I decided not to go over to your place. 

 I am glad you came over instead."

Common Yellow-throat, male:  "Me, too."

Cedar Waxwing:  "Me, too."

A Summer Visitor

Lavenders are almost finished.  Every year I make lavender wands and lavender sache.  Lately I decorated the sache bags with Turkish Oya lace (needle crocheted).

Last week I saw a female Black-headed Grosbeak at my feeder.

She was hungry and munched while I was staring at her through the camera lens.  A tough woman.

"I came here for the first time this year. "

A Cutest Returnee

Early in the morning I was watching the House Sparrows chirping and feeding.  Then I sensed someone was watching me.

"It's me!  I've seen you last summer.  I am back."

A female Black-capped Grosbeak returned with  her partner who has shown up earlier.

"I like this backyard because it is safe."

"Now I'll get down to a feeder for more seeds."

A Summer Greeting

After all those rainy days, suddenly yesterday turned to be a summer day.  Birds knew about the arrival of this hot weather.   I saw several summer birds.

The first surprise was a male Black-headed Grosbeak.  He was busy munching the seeds as he did last summer.

"Yum, yum.  I like your seeds."

Then a bright yellow bird crossed in front.  Who could it be?  Someone yellow with a black cap.

"Hi, I am a male Wilson's Warbler.  I was here last year."

Then, a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers are back for blueberry blossoms.

"I am busy with the berry nectar this time.  It's so sweet. 

 I may like it better than the pear blossoms.  I can keep on 

drinking till the evening."

A Summer Song

It is already in the middle of May.

Iris in bloom

The other morning I heard a familiar summer song in the backyard.  I knew a Black-headed Grosbeak, a summer bird, had arrived.    The song went away, but after a little while, I saw the bird landed on his branch.

"Somebody finished my suet here."

About a week later, a female Black-headed Grosbeak arrived here.

"I am not so bright and eye-catching as my partner, but I am sweet."

On a Rainy Day

For the last few days it's been rainy, cooling down the temperature.  It's a good news since the forest fires have been going on in the Eastern Oregon.

When it rains, birds like to find food close to their home instead of travelling some distance.  So there were many visitors on a heavy rain day.  One of the visitors was a Black-headed Grosbeak for the first time this summer.

I first spotted at a feeder underneath the wisteria tree.

"I came at this feeder last year when I was just a 

few months old.  I can get along with other birdies."

Later he was at another familiar feeder on the patio.

"You may not be able to see my eyes, 

but I have big dark ones on my black head."

More Young Ones

In my backyard, dandelions are for bees to collect pollen and for finches to eat seeds.

 

Some more young ones in the backyard.

A juvenile Black-headed Grosbeak

A juvenile Spotted Towhee: his/her eyes are not red yet.

"I like your bath."

A  juvenile Bewick's Wren: busy calling someone.

"I need a lot of practice."

 

Hello Again

Amongst the little birds I saw during the coast range outing was a Purple Finch, a pretty deep pink colored bird.  Once in a while, one comes over to my backyard. 

"Did I see you before?"

"Here in the woods, I can visit with many
of my bird friends and dine at
the same time.  What a nice place!"

A Female Black-headed Grosbeak

Now that the summer weather has arrived, the Black-headed Grosbeak took off for the north.  While he was here, I also saw a female grosbeak at my feeder for a couple of days.

She had such a sweet eye expression.

"I like your sunflower seeds. 

Munch, munch..."

"I am not as colorful

as my husband."

Take care and have a nice trip to the north.