What a Week!

There's been a lot of avian excitement around here this past week.

We've been able to keep the bedroom window open at night recently (while snuggled under a blanket and a comforter) and have thrilled to the tremolo and wail calls of the common loon. They're two of my favorite sounds in the whole world.





I was driving alongside a lake last Sunday afternoon and spotted a coal-black bird with brilliant spots of bright color on each shoulder, flying low over the water and headed straight towards me...my first red-winged blackbird! Then, lo and behold, a few days later I spotted one in our forsythia bush.






Caught a glimpse of the first hummingbird of the season at our feeder this week. It was a brief encounter, but I'm excited to know they're back.








And then this beautiful guy turned up at the feeder as well...which unfortunately is not suited to his dietary needs. MaggieRaye made an interesting discovery...squirrels eschew the bread crumbs that delight songbirds like the goldfinch, so I'm going to give it a try and see if I can lure them back without having to re-implement my squirrel relocation program.



This afternoon held two great surprises. I was walking by the windows at the back of the house and saw, out of the corner of my eye, a rather plain dark gray bird hopping around our backyard. I started to ignore him, as I am wont to do, but I stopped and turned around for a second look, just to see if I was missing something interesting. I was: the beautiful iridescent blue head of a common grackle.




A short while later I spotted a family of geese in our side yard, complete with three little ones. I spent close to an hour kneeling beside my bedroom window with the camera, trying to get a good shot through the screen. :)

Thanks, MaggieRaye, for helping me see the beauty of stopping, looking and listening more mindfully.

Please click on the links for photo credits. I took the last photograph, but I bet you already knew that. :)