Summer Days

 My backyard was heating up for a week.  But finally it cooled down and is just right for summer.  A couple of cabbage patch butterflies visit here often.  Their favorite is the lavender.

"Sweet juice."😋

Western Scrub-jay:  "I still like the suet."😋

American Robin:  "I picked up one of the sweet blueberries."😋

Chestnut-backed Chickadee:  "I like the suet all the year around."😋

Spring is Coming

Look at my first crocus.  With the warm temperature, it just came out.  Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) is Feb 17 this year.

 

🌷🪻🌸

"Spring is coming per the lunar calender.  No wonder it is getting warm.

I still need to nibble the suet to warm up."☺️🐦‍⬛

"I am happy to know it is getting warm for sure.  

I like the suet here."😋👍

Dark and Rainy Days

 It has been dark and rainy.  After a long absence, I saw a Mourning Dove.

"Hi,  it's nice to be back here.  I can find some food during winter."😉

Bewick's Wren:  "I like your suet here."🤩

Western Scrub-Jay:  "I like your seeds, too."👍

Fall is Here

Our schools are starting after Labor Day holidays.  Butterflies are still on the last of lavenders. 

Summer Hummingbirds are in a hurry to fly down to south now.

Rufous Hummingbird:  "It is already getting cool lately."😉🌻

Western Scrub-jay:  "I have to grow up fast before the cold weather arrives."👍

Bewick's Wren:  "I am already grown up and ready for winter."😊

Fall is Red

 After Halloween, it was very dark.   Now that the winter time started yesterday, I feel better.  Maybe birds may feel the same?

More birds come and visit in the backyard with the cold temperature outside.

"I am back when the leaves change to red."

"I am here all the time for the suet and peanuts."

"I munch on the suet, too.  I am very small and swift." 

September Backyard

 My two dwarf pear trees had a couple dozens of pears.  I ate some fresh and am trying to cook the rest.

"That's a good idea."🤩

"I am back from the woods.  Today I took a bath here."😉

"I live here.  Your Hotlip nectar is still sweet."😍

Fall is Here

 Here, school will start this week (some schools started last week).

"The lavender season is already gone."😢

Rufous Hummingbirds have left here.

"I am on the way to south now."😢

A young Western Scrub-jay stopped by.

"I will stay here all winter long."👍😊🪿

 

Birdbath Friends

 The weather is now very hot for a week (around 100 F).  My backyard finally have one, two, and three white butterflies floating around.

I have three birdbaths in the backyard.  This cement one is heavy and old.  

"I like this one in the shade, though it is shallow."😉😁

"I like it, too.  It hides me for safety."😉👍

Frequent Backyard Visitors

 We see the blue sky more often these days.

"I like the blue sky."

"Look at me!  I am already dressed for summer."

"I am the prettiest of the visitors here."

(He/she posed for me; it is one of the clearest photos.)

Autumn Nuts

Early in spring, there used to be several squirrels, but some of them seemed to be attacked by a racoon.  So at this time, I only see two in my backyard.

"Autumn is the best time of the year.  I can find many nuts."

Another nut lover is a Western Scrub Jay.

"I do like peanuts.  But you have not given me much lately."

"So, I just found another nut in the neighborhood."

A Big Catch

Several juvenile Scrub-jays came around this summer.  The other day one of them hopped onto the neighbor's hedge suddenly.  What is he doing?

"What am I doing?"

"Here it is!  A big bug."

One Family

Around this time of year, I see many birds visiting my backyard with their young ones.  Scrub jay, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finches, Spotted Towhees to name a few.

At present,  three young Scrub Jays and their Mom come here everyday.


An independent kid

Upon spotting his Mom, another one is ready with their mouth open big.

Here is the last one, inspecting his surrounding like a sentinel.

"I am big now.  No longer a baby."

Bathe Before the Rainy Season

It is cold in the morning, but on a sunny day it can warm up by noon.  Here are friends who enjoy the bath time before the rainy season starts in October.  Can you count how many birds there are here?

Out in the shady area, two young Scrub Jays are washing, too.

"Splash, splash,.... I didn't know it was so fun to bathe."

Here is a wise bird who comes early to enjoy the clean water.

"It's a little cold, but it is not crowded."

Young Ones

Summer is a busy season for rearing the young.  In my backyard, I see quite a few young birds just born this summer.


The other day several young Western Scrub-Jays were fussing around the big fir tree.   Right in the middle of the circling birds, guess what I found.

"Naughty Scrub-jays are bugging me. 

I am only a month old(?), so help me 

to get rid of these noisy birds."

A couple of House Sparrow families live around here.   They are one of the early risers.   This young one came to eat seeds and suet with her dad.

"I was born this summer, too. 

See I still have the yellowish corner

on the mouth."

Here is a young Scrub-Jay who has mastered bathing.

"It's fun to take a bath."

Lesson #103

Lately young Western Scrub Jays have been here.  They have learned to fly down to my pine tree.  Also they now can find food themselves, even though they prefer to be fed sometimes.

And finally they are learning to make splashes in the bird bath.

"I think I can do this...."

"Just do it.  See I can."

"Mom, I did it!"

"Now, I'm grown up."

Raising a Family #2

In the summer time, the morning comes early.   Spotlighted by the rising sun, this new flower called "Monkey Flowers" looks so charming.

June is already the time for parent birds to start training their young ones on flying, finding food, etc.

This morning, I saw the Scrub-Jay baby.  He/she is as big as the parent, but still needs to be fed.

"Mummy, mummy, mummy, hungry!"

"I've been waiting for a long time...."

"Now I am good for a little while."