Very busy week around the hacienda with the bird migrations ongoing. Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flickers and male and female red-bellied woodpeckers! All within walking distance of the house. Glad spring is here!

I seriously botched photos for my daughters wedding. Got a few nice shots, but I was completely out of my element. I'm not doing weddings anymore! Lighting is a major challenge!!!!

First Dragonfly of the season!

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker - found h8m on our afternoon walk!

During our walk earlier this week we came across this bird. I was confused so I took a few pictures because I had never seen one before. Turns out it’s an Eastern Phoebe flycatcher. Probably have seen it a million times before but just ignored it.

EDITED TO ADD: I shot this picture in a park across the street from the house and the park was loaded with flowers everywhere. The flowers in this picture (Siberian Squill) are sometimes considered to be an "invasive" species. Many are buying the bulbs and planting them all over but a word of...

Having never seen one, my curiosity was piqued. It turns out the Grebe is actually not a duck (it does not have webbed feet) and are actually a distant cousin of the flamingo. The "matted plug" of their feathers in their stomach aids them in eating fish whole (so they can fully digest it)...

My wife is the best bird spotter I know - and is absolutely as clueless as me as to what the bird is... Today we were taking our daily walk when out of the clear blue she said, "what is that tiny bird in the middle of the lake?" "That's a Mallard Duck, dear..." "No - not the duck, the bird...

First time I've seen this guy at the feeders - a Tree Sparrow stopped by earlier today.

we spotted this guy on our walk today - Great Horned Owl. We think they’re nesting near us

I pretty angry looking Grackle, a European Starling with a bum leg, a puffed up Redwing Blackbird and a pretty calm Black-Capped Chickadee also showed up. We had a large concentration of European Starlings, Redwing Blackbirds and Brown Headed Cowbirds - hundreds of them all over the yard and at...

The weather was not the best (snowy on and off and blustery), but it sure did not deter the birds at the feeders today! The male Red Belly Woodpecker stopped by a few times.

And the European Goldfinches showed back up today, after a 2 week absence. Hoping the coming snowstorm does not drive them away again!

Had not seen our red-bellied woodpeckers for a couple of weeks - but the female was back at the feeders today. What was not able to capture - she was fending off the European Starlings trying to take her lunch!

Love that intent look...

Just had a squirrel give it a whirl just this morning! They don't yet seem very deterred... 😁 <edited to add> ...and I've finally captured the action on film!!!! He never got to the seeds, but had a great ride for few seconds! Look at that face - not sure if that's a look of joy or fear...

And the Robins have been showing up in numbers again!

Some of the birds around the feeders the last few days. Goldfinches are starting to develop their color.