He's Back

This nutball towhee is at it again...we've tried now to cover both mirrors completely. Silly bird.

Saving It from Itself

There is a goofy towhee in the yard who first started repeatedly "flying" up off of the metal table that is in front of the mirrors and pecking at its reflection. REPEATEDLY. Because I was afraid it was going to hurt itself--its head feathers did look a bit beaten up--I put bubble wrap on the mirror on the left, thinking that would put a stop to it. It did, until the nutty bird started doing the same thing on the right. It's not mating season, so it's a weird time of year for birds to be messing with their own reflections.

Is this the little goofball? Maybe!

Special Guest Appearance

 

...from Mr. Towhee. These birds rarely land in the fountain and are very very quick and skittish; most often I see them kicking up mulch to dislodge insects. You usually see them more than hear them.

Strike a Pose

 

This lovely towhee was bopping around the backyard--they are VERY fast and hard to photograph, but he/she seemed to be posing for me. 

I hope that it is the same bird seen above. I think this is just a crazy molt where this poor bird lost all of its face feathers at the same time; I so hope that it doesn't have some sort of disease. (I do think it's a molt--the bird looks rather bedraggled in general...)

Towhee in a Tree

 

It is unusual to see a towhee in a tree...they are usually skittering along on the ground (and kicking up dirt/mulch in search of insects). 

P.S. Please pretend that this is Wednesday's blog post...once again, oops!

Bird-o-Rama Week: Orioles and More

 

Orioles, girl and boy.

Even the back view is pretty!

Yellow warbler.

Finch pool party.

Byeeee!

Goldfinch.

Goldfinch and house (?) or purple (?) finch.

California towhee.

Birdies

 These are not unusual birds, but I don't often photograph them. Above is a phoebe (very skittish, thus blurry).

A mockingbird enjoying pomegranate seeds.

This picture cracks me up because of its long skinny legs.

And a California towhee. These birds are also skittish--they run (not hop, run) around the yard. These are the birds that sound a lot like a smoke detector whose batteries are dying. And they do this funny little kick kick kick in the dirt, using both feet, to stir up food.

I'm a bird nerd!