Spring Birds

Sitting on my back deck in the evening puts me in the sun and out of the wind (which seems to have been blowing strong all spring). It also puts me where I can see the feeders.

He is so brilliant he almost glows.

Not quite so bright

but still pretty.

This Downy with a sweet tooth actually drinks more than any of the other birds.

And who it was really intended for.

He's noisy and a bully but I can't resist taking pictures of him.

When Christine visited for the long weekend we walked to Bird Studies to watch the banding. Aside from walking the nets and seeing some warblers and a cat bird being banded we talked to a young woman who was doing research by taking tics of the birds and checking whether they had a disease that, until now, has only been known in Texas. Some reindeer at the Toronto zoo died of this disease and they are trying to determine if tics on birds bought it to Canada.

Checking a Bluejay for tics.

He was pretty angry,even when she was about to let him go.

Finally, a couple of fictitious birds. I am going to make a rug for Maya, my granddaughter, whose nickname is "Maya bird" or sometimes just "bird" and practiced hooking some birds:

A Rosy-breasted Maya bird.

A Pin-tailed Maya bird.

They are are on their way up to the store in Dwight, Loops on the Beach, to be sold.