All puffed out and waiting for the sun to warm things up before hitting the lake to collect bugs.
There were literally billions, well OK, there were a boat load of swallows buzzing around the lakes in North Park last weekend collecting bugs off the top of the water. We went out early one morning to catch the action but it was cold and most of the swallows were hunkered down and puffed out trying to keep warm and the sun to come out.
It is always a nice when the Mourning Doves have returned to the neighborhood and such a pleasant sound to hear while on a early morning walk. I wonder what that small iridescent patch of feathers is for?
This spring the Dark Eyed Junco have been abundant. Singing from the junipers and shrubs which line the fields close by. They have bee around rain or shine and through wind and snow.
It is nice to have them around.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/overview
A Great Blue Heron perched on blue rocks looks for that afternoon meal.
A magnificent Blad Eagle taking a chance and playing with electricity.
Although power poles present a wonderful perch from which to hunt they also come with risks. Electrocution of raptors has increased as our construction of infrastructure has increased and with a little thought and consideration can be reduced.
Raptor interactions with power lines and power poles can be reduced and the following article suggestion way to do so might interest you.
https://www.eagles.org/take-action/avian-friendly-power-lines/
Although spring had a calendar date of March 20th we have had an extended winter and this year earth day was the day that felt like spring had actually sprung.
The sun had been out for several days in a row without a flake of snow falling and the temperatures were downright warm. The snow was receding at a rapid pace and the earth became exposed. Flowers were budding and blooming all of which were no more than several inches high.
The promise of spring seemed fulfilled at last.
Flowers blooming with life inviting the early season pollinators in for a drink.
Pine cones alive on the forest floor and glow in the morning light.
Not more than an inch in height the flowers came in yellow and white.
The state butterfly Nymphalis antiopa “Mourning Cloak” basks in the sunlight on a road which only a day or two ago was covered in snow.
And then came the day after earth day…
Sometimes you send yourself a postcard from your past.
A gentle reminder that it time to go back.
Not in time but in the present.
Vancouver Island 2015.
Announcing their presence with those wonderful squeaky sounds the Grackles are back in town. Isn’t it amazing that when photographed, in just the right light, a bird that looks jet black to your eyes is actually a multi-colored work of art. And eyes as cute as buttons…or are they buttons?
With their yipping and drumming on on tress and metal chimney tops the Northern Flickers have announced their arrival. Full of color and wonderful patterns they add another dose of color to a season already gaining color each and every day.
A Mountain Bluebird with a Killdeer behind forage for insects that thrive in the warm waters of a Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.
The warm waters provide food for birds that have arrived early this year before the spring thaw.
nature has no boss 
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