A White Beard

Under the cloudy morning sky, birds are flying into my backyard for their breakfast.  More seeds have been consumed as the weather gets colder.  Every morning I replenish with more mixed seeds, roasted sunflower seeds, and new suet into the feeders.

This morning I saw one returnee sparrow.  I heard him talking to House Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and a Song Sparrow in the backyard.

"Ta, ta... do you remember me?  I am one of your cousin sparrows."

"It's been a long time since I was here last time.  I'm glad

 there are enough seeds around here."

"I am a tan-striped White-throated Sparrow."

A Bath in Autumn #2

Under the chilly temperature with sprinkles of rain, I saw a couple of House Finches taking a bath.

Mrs. House Finch:  "Between the storms I'd better get cleaned."

Mr. House Finch:  "Me, too.  Here I go!"

"What a nice day feeling free of all the bugs and dirt before the real winter arrives."

A Bath in Autumn

Black-capped Chickadees live in my neighborhood.  They visit my backyard all the year round.  But I do not see them taking a bath in the summer time as often as Western Scrub-jays, American Robins, House Finches do.  But the other day, in this cool pre-winter weather, a Chickadee was about to do it.

"1, 2, 3.....  ready to dive into the water."

"Boy, did I need this so badly....  A gigantic splash."

"Now I am feeling good after many months."

A Winter Visitor

On the top of a neighbor's sequoia tree, there was a large bird.  I quietly moved close to my backyard fence to take a close look.  It turned out not to be a Cooper's Hawk, which often hangs around here.

"I am Merlin, a kind of falcon."

One of my bird books mentions that he is a powerful flyer without hovering and catches birds in flight by a sudden burst of speed.."

"I don't have luck here and off to another locale to find 

some birds, large insects and small rodents."

Frozen Bath Water

Now that most of the leaves have fallen, the backyard is getting ready for winter.  It  is the best season to observe wild birds.  Yahoo!


The other day began with a beautiful sunrise and crows were flying out for their morning business.

It was below the freezing point in my backyard.  Look at this birdbath water.

Golden-crowned Sparrow:

"Quite slippery.  I need to walk slowly and surely.  

I don't want to break my bones."

House Finch:  "Yup.  Very carefully.  When the sunshine 

melts the water a little, I can still drink it."

A Morning Fishing in the Columbia River

On our way back home, we travelled along the Columbia Gorge where millions of years ago the moving glaciers have curved a gigantic gorge and later water has filled to make the majestic Columbia river.

Right around these cliffs on both sides of the river, there are many wildlife areas.  I saw a large number of waterfowl.  Guess what I found out at home when I looked closely one of the pictures I had taken.

Due to a stormy weather, the photo looks grey.  But you can tell there are two Bald Eagles wading and fishing next to the sandbank.

"Honey, since there are a lot of waterfowl around here, 

this may be a good fishing ground.  Let's find out."

Hello from a Rosehip Bush

There are many nature parks with trails in Washington.  This one we stopped over was near the Yakima River.

Along a trail there were many rosehip bushes.  I heard "chi, chi,..." here and there.   And when I stood quietly for a while, that individual appeared inside the bush and then hopped onto the front branch to say hello.

"In case you are wondering if I am a Song Sparrow,

I have a blurry streak near my mid chest  for the identification."