Mountain birds

Male and female Mountain Bluebird
I snuck up on these guys, moving slowly and quietly, like a cat. I hope they stick around, they'd be a great help to the garden.

Mountain Chickadees The chickadees take their seeds to a tree and open them by tapping the seed against a branch, because their beaks can't open them.

Brown-headed Cowbird

I heard the cowbird this morning. It has a funny bubbly song, like water gurgling. I didn't mean the picture to come out so dark and sinister looking. But this is the bird that lays an egg in the nest of another bird species and then the cowbird nestling hogs all the food and crowds out the hosts' young. According to the Stokes, there are some clever ways birds can defeat the cowbird: "Some birds deal with cowbird parasitism by ejecting or destroying cowbird eggs, abandoning their nest, or building over the eggs and starting a new clutch." (Stokes, Field Guide to Birds).
Ha ha cowbird! I do like your song though.

In other news, Coco was feeling a bit spotty the other day. He does this when he feels threatened. Does he look thin? He's half-starved because we ran out of crickets last week, and haven't had any luck finding him good eatin' outside. Off to the pet store I go for more food...In still other news, I have to find a way to hide the horrible box with the yellow caution sticker. It can be seen from most windows of the house, front and center. Everything we plant by it dies mysteriously, or not so mysteriously. I wouldn't want to live next to it either. So I've given up on plants, and am moving on to fencing. If we put up a low fence across the yard I think it will block our view of it from the house. Then I'll plant some herbs and flowers along the fence. A little gate would be nice...and an arbor...and...A final note. I've heard that the poll is malfunctioning, let me know if you can see it properly.