Two steps back….

Seems like every time we take a step forward toward spring….we then take two steps back….

This morning…it snowed…

enough to put a skiff of white on the roofs and grass….

there were a number of Bufflehead and Hooded Mergansers down there, both this morning, in the snow, and at mid-day when the weather had moderated somewhat.

Before I get into the rest of today, I want to add to yesterday, as there were a couple of ‘first sightings’  after I did the posting….

The first was when I looked out at the feeder outside my window, to see a

male Brown Headed Cowbird – that file picture wasn’t taken yesterday but was taken here in the area.  Brown Headed Cowbirds aren’t birders favorite bird, mainly due to their parasitic nature – they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the raising of the next generation to other species….

another time when I looked outside yesterday I had a feeder full of…

Band Tail Pigeons!  again, this picture wasn’t taken yesterday but was taken in my other backyard just a block or so away…there was a similar scene yesterday though as I counted 9 of them….  and then one final sighting….

my husband saw 2 Greater Yellowlegs Sandpiper at the log bay yesterday evening.  This picture was taken at the same location on April 16, 2008 so you can see the timing is just about right!

Now, back to today….the first thing I noticed  were the numbers of Bushtits and Ruby Crowned Kinglets….the bushes were alive with them from one end of the walk to the other!

Another ‘first of the season’ by the viewing platform, was a

male Common Yellowthroat ~ again, the picture wasn’t taken today but was taken at the same location on May 4, 2006.

Along at the log bay…

the usual Red-wing Blackbirds, Robins, and the Flicker was back on that piling…

but also there were quite a few American Goldfinch just singing and singing…I did manage to catch this male but most of them were being very annoying, staying on the far side of the shrubs.

The Black Capped Chickadee pair continue to excavate at this nesting site…it is now so deep that when they dive in head first they completely disappear from sight…

look at the mouthful of sawdust this little guy has! Two very busy little birds!!

Then the surprise of the day…

was spotting a female Mountain Bluebird….

here is a better look at her.  All in all another pleasant (well not weather wise) day in the birding department!

Chickadee nest site?

Today’s walk was a bit earlier than normal….not as nice and sunny a day as the last few, but at least it was dry…

The birds seemed to be enjoying the day.  There were lots of calls from all the regulars like the American Robins…

The same pair of Song Sparrows in the same spot,

what was new today was spotting this Black Capped Chickadee disappearing into the top of this broken off tree trunk….that is it’s tail sticking up…

here it is with just the head in the hole…

and here we are perched at the side.  As I mentioned a day or so ago, Black Cap Chickadee’s are cavity nesters…this soft decaying wood makes for an ideal nesting site.  Whether they will actually nest here is another matter as they seem to spend a lot of time checking out all likely spots before making up their minds.  They will nest in smaller bird houses as well if you put wood shavings in the house as they like to ‘excavate’ the nest site, so need to be able to have something to take out in order to imitate the natural setting.

Down at the water we had one pair of Canada Geese and there were also several pairs of Mallard, one pair just barely visible here…these are the first Mallard I’ve seen this week.  Should also mention that a Great Blue Heron flew over…another species that has been scarce of late.

Blackbirds, Bushtits and Bluebirds???

Another nice day…

The clear blue skies of the morning had given way to a high haze by the time we headed out for our walk.

at the log bay there was the usual activity for this time of the year…

a Black Cap Chickadee…

That decided to be even more co-operative….before joining it’s mate (impossible to tell by just looking at them whether a male or a female)…over in the area of the fallen weeping willow I mentioned yesterday.

a pair of Song Sparrows in the same spot…

and up in one of the Poplar trees…House Finch.  The pair of Canada Geese were out swimming and there were 8 Green Wing Teal along the far shore, the only ducks of the day!  Brewer’s Blackbirds were hanging about and there were 16 or so Tree Swallows…

Red-Wing Blackbirds as well….this one had been scuttling around on the forest floor before climbing up to challenge another male calling from a near by area, no females sighted today, they must all be busy nest building

Speaking of nests…the Bushtits were back working on theirs today.  There is one in the entrance and one in the lower right….

By the viewing platform I spotted the first Yellow Rump Warbler of the season….and since the photo I took didn’t turn out….

here is a file photo one…the guy I saw today was just like this one…a male ‘Audubon’ (yellow chin as opposed to a ‘Myrtle’ that has a white chin) Yellow Rump Warbler.

and now for the puzzler of the day…while I was at the viewing platform I noticed 5 birds up in the top of one of the ‘eagle’ trees….in silhouette against the light, I couldn’t really make them out, even with my good binoculars…

and I know a while back I said not to look for Mountain Bluebirds up in the tops of trees…but I have a feeling that is exactly what they were.  The 5 are in this picture…

This picture only shows 3 but you can make out the peach color on the breast of the lower bird…like a female Mountain Bluebird has…and I think the top bird is a male but of course you are looking at the gray under parts…not at the brilliant blue ‘top’.  They certainly acted like Mountain Bluebirds…flying out ‘bug catching’…they eventually flew off across the estuary…

For interest’s sake this is a file photo of a male Mountain Bluebird…

and this a female although taken from such an angle that you can’t see the coloration on the breast…

This is a male that hung around the log bay for a couple of weeks a couple of years ago.