As spring slowly makes it’s way into our area we have had an influx of Dark-eyed Juncos in the neighborhood. First we noticed a few foraging for seed on the ground and within a week or so that two became ten or more at a time. When not foraging the males have begun to sing their musical trill while perched in the trees nearby. A wonderful spring chorus to liven days now spent at home.
Presence simply stated.
While getting ready to go for a hike a while ago we were pleased to have the company of numerous Pinyon Jays buzzing about in the parking area collecting seeds.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Pinyon Jays are highly social birds of the lower mountain slopes of the western United States, the Pinyon Jay is specialized for feeding on pine seeds. Each jay stores thousands of seeds each year, and has such a good memory that it can remember where most of them were hidden.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pinyon_Jay/id
Now if only I could bottle that kind of memory and take a sip every morning I might never forget where I placed my keys.
Much smaller than the leaves on this tree a Female White-Necked Jacobin puts proportion in perspective….. how can something so small can leave an impression so large.
With snow still covering the fields the Mountain Bluebirds have made their return. Yes, at this point there are only a few scattered along the county roads staking out the prime real estate and empty nesting boxes, but what a welcome sight they are.
The male a brilliant blue perched upon an old fence post was a welcome sight on this mid-March afternoon.
So much joy in such a small package.
A Crowned Woodnymph brightens the day. And we can all use just a smidgen of brightening to start this week off right.
Wishing you a wonderful week and one day at a time will be this week motto for us.
Just as dusk sets in a cute little wren made a visit to the fence in the backyard hopping from picket to picket for just a couple of minutes before taking off into the approaching evening proving the adage that something small and unexpected can make your day.
Almost but not quite. Red Winged Blackbirds are back in town but the shoulder badges on the males are not quite a vibrant red and the sky is still a bit grey and wintery this day. Almost, but not quite, spring is indeed in the air. I can hear this blackbird singing.
We sat and watched this Green Heron as they slowly moved along the river bank and while we could see them they maintained constant cover in a tangle of dead branches and roots. After about 20 minutes they flew out into the open and landed on this tangle of roots in the river.
Amazing birds in that they can use tools to catch fish.
That would be something amazing to see and something to keep an eye out for next time you spend some time observing one.
It is always amazing to us when we find raptors perched up high in the tree tops of a dense forest. This day a Common Black Hawk sits perched looking to the forest floor right above your heads looking for a potential meal. This bird only sat long enough for us to snap a quick photo before nimbly soaring off through the branches and dense foliage. An amazing sight indeed.
nature has no boss 
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