More of the same

A day much like yesterday.....

If the water keeps receding at this rate we'll be walking out there and peeking around the corner by this time next week!  All bodes well as in a couple of weeks shorebird migration will be underway and if we have some 'shore' we stand a better chance of seeing something as it they stop for a rest enroute.

Back at home the White-crowned Sparrow family have been around off and on all day.

here is one of the fledgling on it's own...

at the same time the White-crowned sparrows were out there, this young Steller's Jay was busy sunning itself.  After numerous discussions on other bird sites, it has been decided that they do this to allow the sun to kill feather mites....although sometimes I think they just do it because they like it.

This scruffy looking male House Finch showed up at the feeders today...since it has been a while since I'd seen a House Finch thought I'd include it. 'Tis the time of year when many birds are looking decidedly moth eaten!

American Goldfinch were steady visitors all day long.  Female on left with two males on right.

This male Black-headed Grosbeak quietly snuck in for a snack and then quietly departed.  For a bird that was so visible earlier in the season, they are making themselves scarce right now.

Caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and found this Pale Swallowtail Butterfly, slightly the worse for wear as it is missing it's 'tail'...We only get two types of Swallowtail Butterflies here, the more common 'Western' which is yellower and this, the 'Pale'.....and speaking of being tail-less I've been noticing for the past week or more a poor adult Spotted Towhee that is completely missing it's tail.  The bird is obviously aware of how vulnerable it is in it's tail-less state and has been keeping close to the foliage - probably a narrow escape from a domestic cat.  In our complex all cats have to be indoor cats or kept on a leash but sometimes we get a new owner who takes a bit of educating and I fear that was the case.  Fortunately the tail will grow back eventually.

Just for comparison purposes, here is a picture of a Western Swallowtail Butterfly that I took on a recent trip to Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park.