Made it back to Wingsong after a long absence due to our vacation in Hawaii. I was anxious to see if the Mourning Doves and House Sparrows had their babies. There are no MODOs on the nests that were on the garden box by the front door and on the garage door opener. However, I also haven’t seen any young MODOs. I hope they made it!
The first day back, I put the feeders back up and a water station. I’d taken everything down out of precaution because of the dead Northern Mockingbird I’d found in the yard. The yard quickly became a hub of bird activity. I was thrilled to see that not only is Mittens still hanging around, but he/she has a baby! Mittens Junior was following mom/dad around the yard and eventually, I saw mom/dad pop some snacks into baby’s mouth!! I saw at least two adult Canyon Towhees feeding young.
I also saw young House Finches following a male HOFI around. At times, 1-3 juveniles were frantically chasing dad. Gotta say, those HOFI aren’t nearly as polite in their requests for food as little Mittens Junior. The juvies would even land on dad and nip at his back, hangrily. Look at this silly baby bird!
Two more life yard birds were added to Wingsong. I saw a raptor flying overhead and it called, causing Merlin to light up with a Swainson’s Hawk. It swooped down fairly low and I was worried it was gonna eat Mittens Junior. Eventually, it flew off, snackless. The second lifer was a female Bullock’s Oriole! It drank for a moment on the Oriole feeder, long enough to get a picture.
An interesting bird that came up on Merlin was the Black-headed Grosbeak, but I didn’t see one.
A Greater Roadrunner ran through the yard twice, and I just happened to be looking out a window when it/they did. It’s always a treat to see a meep-meep. What was especially cool was that I got a great look at a male’s head with the red and orange coloring, signifying its breeding plumage. I even managed to get a photo!
It was a deliciously cool, overcast day in the low 70s. I tackled pulling russian thistle out of the yard, which, just like the mustard, is getting overgrown and out of hand. After 45 minutes of weed pulling, I called it quits, sat on the front stoop, and continued to birdwatch late into the evening.
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