Summer Flowers #2

More flowers are in bloom as July comes near.  This year I have added more perennials for hummingbirds. 


Cardinal Flower

 

"This bright deep red is just calling me." 

 

Hot Lips

"This is my all time favorite,

blooming all summer long." 

 

 

Cape Fuchsia 

 

"So many red flowers to choose from. 

Sometimes it is difficult to decide."

Summer Flowers

The weather this summer seems to fluctuate too much between the rainy cold  and the sunny hot.   Despite the change in temperature, summer flowers are slowly beginning to bloom in my backyard.


Blue Salvia

Fuchsia

 Miniature Petunia

At this time, hummingbirds are busy drinking flower nectar and eating  bugs in the air, ignoring the sugar water for a while.

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!"

Unresistable Neon Blue

Up at the Coast Range restaurant, there are many bird feeders close to the back windows so that customers/bird watchers can enjoy watching birds while dining.

At my backyard,  I saw a Stellar's Jay a couple of times.  Being in the Western Scrub-Jay's territory,  Stellar's had a hard time then.  Ever since,  it has not returned to my backyard for a long time.

But in the woods, it is a different story.  A Stellar's Jay seems to dominate this surrounding.  Look at this confident look with the brilliant neon blue feathers.

"I am the master of this forest."

 

 

Loves to Wade and Swim under Water

The other morning we stopped over at a log cabin restaurant in the Oregon Coast Mountain Range, where we visited an old logging museum and watched the wild birds coming to the feeders at the back of the restaurant.

At a nearby creek in the back,  in the early morning darkness, I first saw a little dark bird wading and dipping the head in the cold running stream.

"Who am I?"

Since it was my first encounter, I looked through my bird book to figure out after returning home.  There he was.

"I am an American Dipper.  I like

to wade and even swim underwater

feeding in a clear mountain stream."

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."

No Harassment in My Neighborhood

Early in the morning up on top of my front neighbor's fir tree, I saw one Flicker.  And then another one next to the right was moving slightly.


A Starling just landed above them as if telling the male Northern Flicker to back off from the other one, apparently being harassed.

And then the male Flicker noticed I was watching with the camera across the street.

Luckily grabbing the chance, the female Flicker on the right dived straight down away from the harasser.   Finally she got away from the distress.



For next couple of days she showed up at my backyard.

"Thanks a million for rescuing me the other day.  I was stuck up there not knowing what to do with that predicament."

"I told all my friends your place is the safe place to be.  Thanks again."