A four day gentle rain fall left much of my tiny back yard lush with thick grass growing where I don't want it, but also glorious perennials, fresh tomatoes and some new visitors.
Hiding on the fence rail amidst a glorious display of rudbeckia is I believe a tiny black and white warbler. There have been a few warbles passing through, stopping for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It feels a bit like Union Church Free Cafe some days during migrations.
Since I keep one or two seed feeders filled, I'm finding lately they're empty by the end of the day, where in the heavy heat of summer, only a few seeds were taken.
Local residents - a collection of about fourteen noisy and busy house sparrows - are very active right now which sort of surprises me. Are we to expect a sudden drop in temperatures when the kids return to school?
This fellow hides in the Siberian elm next to the deck. I let two of these trees grow from a hedgerow to replace a glorious old American elm that fell victim to Dutch Elm Disease shortly after I moved here, much to my dismay.
However I've placed a small tube feeder on this tree and the birds seem to love it.
I'm not sure what kind of baby this bird is - an immature house finch or rose breasted gros beak? A few more visited this morning - you can decide.
Here the same bird sits amidst some seed I scatter on the rail - looks like a grosbeak to me - but there are more. (Apologies for the blurriness of the photo - I use only a little Nikon Coolpix that is at least two or more years old. Sometimes I'm lucky and get good sharp photos, but if I'm in a hurry - not so great.)
This morning three similar immature birds sit on the silo feeder. The rosy breast on one says they might be house finches. On the other hand they have large beaks. Perhaps they are young rose breasted gros beaks after all?
Such fun and completely possible given that there were two male rose breasteds hanging around along with one female from early spring until about a month ago. They obviously nested, I suspect in a large blue spruce that leans lovingly against the southwest corner of the drive shed. The lower branches would be safe enough from prowling predators.
What do you think my bird loving friends...you're all much more capable of identification of these three than I?
Well given the comparable size here with an American goldfinch which moved up to the "upper level" on the arrival of the little bird below - I suspect these stripe-breasted avian babies are house or purple finches.
But this little one at the lower level I can easily identify. There are several black-capped chickadees that hang around all year and their cheerful dee-dee-dee always delights me. I see in this photo one of the ones I can't identify with the rosy breast is waiting above on a branch.
Watching bird activity is another form of meditation for me. I become completely engrossed in the comings and goings and forget about anything else but the moment.
The morning garden will welcome all kinds of visitors today including the birds, wasps and bees searching for a drink, the chipmunk that has decided to brave the dogs and cats and many butterflies. A tiny yard full of activity and joy - lots of visitors, regular and just passing through. What kinds of things bring you joy and help you take your mind away from problems, troubles or whatever, allowing you to stay in the moment I wonder?
