Papa Bluejay and Junior

I watched from my desk as Papa Bluejay schooled his son.  They were
about 10 feet from me.  It was fascinating.  Son was wanting Dad to
feed him.  Papa was having none of that; his goal was getting Junior
self-sufficient.  It was priceless.

Yesterday one of the pileated youngsters came around to the deck.
He was strutting his stuff on railing--oblivious of me sitting here,
motionless and watching.  He visited the suet feeder, ate a while,
then left.

My Natural was telling me about me about seeing the "Western
Cardinal" (Pyrrhuloxia)--he'd never seen one either.  I showed
him the picture  and he identified it also.  I have seen both the male
and female now.  The male has a red face--the female doesn't.  So
we have at least one pair of them.

Hummingbirds?  Still no ruby throats.  But every kind of western
hummer.  The latest identified by both of us is the Bumblebee
Hummingbird.  It is so tiny and looks as though it's missing tail
feathers.  It's beak is also much shorter than the usual hummers.
The one we have been watching is watching is male with a
magenta gorget.  It's breast is a whte with peach or rufous
on sides.  This bird is also found in Mexico.  What's it doing here?

Also there are more  hummers than I am spotting. Two weeks ago
we filled their feeder 2/3 full.  Now it's only 1/8 full.  That's a lot
of nectar for the few actually seen.

To the chicken-birds:  They now know the sound of Mr. Natural's
new truck.  They run for the gate when they hear his truck.  Their
running is humorous and endearing.  Company is coming in 3 weeks,
so their bathtub days are nearly over.  I ordered sheets, bedspreads,
and blankets for the 2 spare beds.  They are twin size, but great for
guests.  We have 3 extra beds, and room for still more.  I love this house.

All for now. 

Kate  Thorn