Great egret trying to fish our tiny pond in the backyard today.

Black Swans

When we head to the coast here down under, we often encounter Black Swans. They are a bird that is common along the coast and adapt reasonably well to human presence, often looking for a handout.

Bower wrote: ↑Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:29 am Junco ventured out... the rain stopped but winds are gusting 80 kph. Scampering from one shelter to another.
junco333.JPG
junco334.JPG

Juncos make a chipping sound that can sound like a hummingbird's chip.

It's only a small back garden, but i have put up three bird boxes around the place. One by the rear garage door is at head height and has become home to a jenny wren. Hopefully i can get some photos soon but although dowdy and tiny, she has a lovely song which greets me every morning and says goodnight every evening.

The white geese were out this morning on my drive back home from getting coffee.

Some squabbling going on in the fountain!

I had fabulous visitors this morning. I had never seen these birds before though I knew about them.

Western Tanager. Related to the Cardinal.




Down from the trees for a drink.




Mrs. too.




I guess they've been cooped up too long together due to covid.




Nothing like a good beak-off!

[mention]Growing Coastal[/mention], those birds are awesome, and cute. Orange and green are awesome bird colors.

We have a lot of birds, this spring (not loads of kinds): sparrows (lots), doves (lots), blackbirds (lots; mostly earlier), some robins, some Oregon jucos (earlier), and a few red-tailed hawks. That's about all I've seen (maybe, a few flocks of Canadian geese, and/or other geese, too). I think I heard a great-horned owl. We usually get some magpies, but I don't think I've seen any, yet, this year.

Gorgeous colors!

One afternoon I noticed some kale flowers jiggling around and found a House Finch picking off flowers to eat showing a youngster how to do it. They haven't returned. The flowers are tasty as the kids next door now know, as well.

This was in someone's yard this morning. No idea what kind of bird this is.

He looks like some kind of wading/shoreline fowl.

I did some research, because I thought the plume on its head might help me identify it. It looks like some kind of heron, either a gray or a blue. Probably a juvenile since it wasn't very tall.

You've got yourself a yellow-crowned night heron there. Cool bird; we don't get them up here much (inland northern Virginia), as we're kind of at the edge of their range. We have a similar bird, though -- the black-crowned night heron.
Seven Bends (tried to post an intro first but not sure it went through)

[mention]SpookyShoe[/mention] those Yellow-Crowned Night Herons are crawfish lovers. All this rain really gets them out feeding.

[mention]Seven Bends[/mention] your intro post didn't get posted try try again

Seven Bends wrote: ↑Sun May 23, 2021 4:04 pm You've got yourself a yellow-crowned night heron there. Cool bird; we don't get them up here much (inland northern Virginia), as we're kind of at the edge of their range. We have a similar bird, though -- the black-crowned night heron.
Seven Bends (tried to post an intro first but not sure it went through)

Welcome to the Junction Seven Bends! Glad to have you here.

Thanks, [mention]eyegrotom[/mention]; I re-submitted the intro post and I think it went through this time. And thanks for the welcome, [mention]MissS[/mention]!

The geese did not want to get out of the road today. Plus a Muscovy mama duck with all of her kids.

Look out!!!