Let the Chips Fly Where They May

The chipping sparrows, that is. They've been hanging around my feeders for a little while now and I'm hoping they decide to stick around.

 

Their trilling song is delightful to hear.

Not only that, they're just really cute.

I do have a soft spot for the migrating sparrow contingent, though.

They have been taking advantage of the lilac bush, too, striking poses, hiding among the branches and tempting me to take lots of pictures.

However, I won't be taking any pictures for a while.  At least, not any close-ups - I only have my phone to work with. My camera died and finding a suitable replacement is proving more challenging than I expected. I guess the good news is that I took a lot of pictures over the last couple weeks, so I should be able to winnow through them for blog material for a while, anyway. 

And here you thought you might be spared! Hah!
 

Some Little Rays of Sunshine

New birds are migrating into the area every day and I've been enjoying all the visitors to the little lilac bush right outside the window. Some will be sticking around for the summer and others will be passing through on their way to nesting grounds in the north.

 

So, even though the skies continue with their unrelenting gray, the goldfinches are flocking into the yard and shedding their winter feathers as they take full advantage of the bird feeders. I love their chatter in the trees. They sound like they're asking questions all the time because there's a tonal uplift at the end of their song. Tweet? Chirp? Cheep?

Getting to see the markings on these beauties is a real treat. I think I'll have to do more goldfinch carvings! I know, I've done a couple already, but just look at the graphic possibilities!

The lilac blossoms are starting to swell and the finches like to nibble on them. They keep poking their beaks in and either they're eating tiny bugs or there will be some mildly munched blooms when they finally open fully.

The girls are also putting on brighter feathers while the boys lose the motley gray and yellow mixture, adding their sunny yellow color to their bright conversations.

This fellow had some dramatic eyebrows.

There's just a tiny bit of gray left on the back of his head.

And they're starting to pair up for nesting season, even though that's a little way off for the goldfinches.

These two make a handsome couple, don't you think?

 

Just Around the River Bend

One of my favorite overlooks along the river trail can appear completely different from one day to the next.

 
I realized that I had taken pictures a couple days apart from almost the same vantage point.

Before long, there will be lots of green on the skeletal trees and undergrowth will cover the rusty leaf duff left over from the autumn. There will be wildflowers, too. I'm looking forward to it. :)
 

Trail Cam Tuesday

The night visitors are always fun to see captured on the trail cameras.  The first three pictues are from the camera my brother and I bring in from just outside the door to enjoy perusing with our morning caffeinated beverage.

 
We're always happy to see flying squirrels come in to clean up some of the bird food left over from the day crowd (there's always plenty left for nocturnal diners).

 
On this particular night, two were caught merrily munching.

 

If you look carefully, the second squirrel is still savoring seeds in the background. Happily, one of the little cuties got close enough to the camera to get a pretty good look.
 

This final picture is a bunny hopping along on the two-track near the entrance to the family property. I know it's not the best picture ever, but seeing it airborne just made me smile. There are lots of big spruce trees and other good places for bunnies to hide in that area, so it's fun to see them taking advantage of the good cover. There's also a pair of small clover/oats patches planted just for their enjoyment. Those snack bars should be starting to sprout before too long. If it ever warms up, that is.... 
 

Eager...

During a  morning walk along one of the river trails Baloo and I used to frequent, I discovered something that would have fascinated that inquisitive fellow. I could almost hear him sniffing everything thoroughly to discover things I couldn't even begin to imagine.

First, I noticed a tree down across the trail that looked as if it had been thoroughly gnawed. Almost all of the bark had been removed and most of the branches, as well.

I took a fork in the trail that almost immediately led to this structure built into the river bank. Many of the branches from that downed tree are almost certainly woven into this snug little lodge.

There's even a handy slide for slipping quickly and quietly into the water.

It's a pretty modest structure for a beaver, but the river's brisk current probably wouldn't allow for too much building before it would wash the eager architect's efforts downstream. Especially when spring thunderstorms cause the river to rise a foot or two and really roll along. 

Baloo would have loved putting his clever nose all over the area. I'm sure he would have breathed in volumes of information and had amazing post-walk dreams.

 

Morning Mourning Doves

Sometimes, Old Man Winter is reluctant to yield to Old Mother West Wind causing short-lived snows to blow in during early spring, in spite of buds swelling and birds paring up and singing their territorial arias.

We had one of these spring squalls not long ago and, when I looked out the window at the snow piling up in the back yard, I noticed a pair of mourning doves sheltering under the table on my deck, staying out of the heavy, wet snow. 

 

They seemed quite content and unperturbed by my presence on the other side of the window and let me take pictures of them, merely watching me in return. 

 
They perched there quite a while, preening and staying dry.

One of them even drowsed for a bit as the other fluffed and puffed its feathers.

 
Eventually, they decided it was time for lunch and flew over to wait in line for the bird feeders.

One of them even posed on the deer sculpture yard art in the back garden while waiting its turn at the buffet. Very picturesque. 

Oh, and extra credit to anyone who recognizes the literary character references in the first paragraph. :)

 

Pussyfooting Around

It's always fun to see who has been wandering around in the night. This time, the trail cameras caught some bobcats pussyfooting on the family property. We occasionally see bobcats when we're out working on things, but they're usually moving too rapidly to do more than stop and admire them as they zip by. That's why it's so nice to get a few pictures of them going about their nightly business.

Of course, that nightly business is prowling. There's something both beautiful and eerie about this predator padding around looking for a meal. On this occasion, it walked very close to the camera, so it's a surprisingly good nighttime image.

This one is pacing right toward a different trail cam shortly before dawn.

I tried to blow the relevant portion of the picture up a bit to see if I could coax more detail out of it. It's a little pixelated, but still pretty dramatic. Quite an intense expression, don't you think?  I'm not sure I'd like that piercing gaze fixed on me, especially not if I were a bunny. Yikes!