Return of morning light

Both this Male House Finch and I are happy to see the return of morning light. It is nice to have a few minutes of sunshine before scurrying off to work. Me to the office and the Finch to the feeder across the year. Too bad it is short lived as we switch to daylight savings time this weekend just as the daylight comes.

Boys are back

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Sitting high in a frosty tree top keeping a lookout or so it seems. The male Red Winged Blackbirds are back in the area. They have yet to descend to the cattails surrounding the local marsh and are hanging out high in the tree tops perhaps to get that first view of when the ladies return.

Denver, CO.

Willet

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A Willet soaking up the warmth of the sun.

As a new month dawns winter remains lurking just around the corner yet it’s grips has lost much strength.

March bring many things including the promise of spring.

On a small stick

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A male Downey Head Woodpecker looking for a meal on a dried stalk of dried queen Anne’s lace Usually we see these guys scurrying about in the much larger trees pecking away looking for a meal. This day we were surprised to hear the pleasant pecking of a downey head on this small plant. Surprises do come in small packages.

Hop on in.

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A little Sand Piper gives me a wink and motions me to join in their morning yoga class on the beach. Although balancing on one leg proved not too difficult I fell flat on my face trying to hop away on one leg like these characters did when a rogue wave came up the beach just a little too far.

Black Turnstone?

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While hiking around a rock outcrop in an attempt to get a better view of some large breaking waves I came across this guy busy foraging along the rocks near the shoreline. Since we spend so little time along the coast our shorebird identification skills are a bit lacking especially when the birds are dressed in their non-breeding plumage. My best guess is that this is a Black Turnstone albeit not looking very black this day. I welcome correction and tips for identification of shorebirds from costal dwellers.

Northern California Coast.