A Quiet Sunday

We've all been enjoying the warmer weather. 

But being cats...yawn...a nap is always in the works.

The deer having nothing against a morning nap.

Mama does keep an eye on things.

Yep, we're looking at you!

The fawn chews his cud.

Then he settles down for a nap.

I don't think Hummingbirds nap.

My Rufous male seem always to be on patrol.

The male Anna's sneaks a drink in Rufous Territory!

And here's a female Rufous. As more and more of my plants come into bloom, I'll have more Hummingbird activity close to the house.

Further Chipmunk Adventures

Lots of chipmunk action on the Big Woodpile.

Everyone is dedicated to consuming sunflower seeds.

It's the breakfast of Champion Chipmunks.

They even cease chasing one another for the Breakfast break.

Look at those chubby cheeks!

And such pretty brown eyes...

...and cute little paws.

The Cutest Thing Ever!

Even Vonna's husband would have to agree!

Tigers and Waxwings

 

Soon it will have been a year since I began stitching this Mosey 'n Me design. I did work on it a bit and got some more of the stripes stitched. 

My Tigers are telling me to get a move on and get that cat stitched up!

On the bird front, with the departure of most of the Evening Grosbeaks, it is nice to have Cedar Waxwings most everywhere! 

I am seeing a flock of 16 or so birds most days. 

They gather in a group before taking off for the night.

Here's the group I saw at the Farmers' Market.

I had a couple of smart looking gentlemen stop by the backyard.

You can see the dot of red on the wing - the 

'wax' that gave them their name.

This one looks particularly grumpy to me.

Frowny Face!

And here they are again at the Farmers' Market.

Such beautiful colors.  Look at the bottom right of the photo and you can see the bird popping a berry in his mouth.

New Birds

I'm unstoppable! I looked at my bird header and it is missing a pelican.  So this stitch will rectify that and add a new bird to my stitched pieces. 

Speaking of new birds...

Most evenings this month I've had 2-3 Vaux Swifts flying about.  They have a very high-pitched call, so I usually hear them before I see them.  Vaux Swifts are in flight all day long eating insects. They do not set down on trees or the ground as their legs will not support them.  They used to roost in large colonies in the hollows of old growth trees, hanging like bats. Here in Eugene, they roost in an abandoned chimney on the University of Oregon campus. It is a amazing sight to watch thousands of birds swirl in black spirals down into the chimney for the night.         

As they are always in flight it's hard to get a good photo of these 'flying cigars' as they are fondly called. They will breed here and then fly back to Central America for the winter.

Here's another Summer Friend - the Olive-sided Flycatcher.

He made a brief appearance one evening.  I am hoping he returns as he has a most amusing call that sounds like "Quick three beers!"   

I took a walk down by the Big Creek and found this female Bushtit building a mossy nest. They create a very cool hanging nest.  I'll have to see if I can remember where I was and find it again. 

This is a Bushtit eating away.

And here's a mystery bird.  Might be a female Warbler of some sort.

On Monday a most welcome infrequent visitor came by while my sister and I were outside gardening. 

A male Pileated Woodpecker!

And this time I was able to get some nice photos of this majestic bird.

Interestingly, he never spoke, just tapped away on the dead top of a Big Leaf Maple.

I have to wonder if he isn't responsible for the new hole on the left of the trunk beneath the bird.

I think this photo looks like an Audubon painting! 

And here's a welcome sight!  A Western Bluebird!

I haven't seen one for two years, and just happened to look out the window as he lit on a feeder in the backyard.  

Such a pretty bird.

I have a Bluebird nesting box and rushed out to see what was up with it.  The darned Starling have taken it over and are still raising a family.  I am not heartless enough to prematurely evict them, even though I'd much prefer to have the Bluebirds using it.

May Blooms and May Bird Walk

I've interrupted my Bird Stitching Program to toss in this sweet little ode to May Flowers.

We usually take a walk on Wednesday.  This Wednesday let's do something a bit different and go on a bird walk.

It's 7:00am, early I know, but that's the best time to hear and see the dawn chorus birds.  We're atop Skinner's Butte looking south across the city (Eugene) toward Skinner's Butte which has its head in the clouds.

A couple of employees from our local bird supplies store, Wild Birds Unlimited led a small group on a two hour walk.  We started out by watching a Brown Creeper flit in and out from its heart-shaped nest under the bark of this tree.

There were lots of Anna's Hummingbirds.

And a couple of Flycatchers.  I'm not sure exactly who this might be.

And this walk is not exclusively about birds!  

This vine grows like crazy and produces gourd-type fruit.

Here's the backside of a Warbler - either a Yellow Warbler or a Wilson's Warbler.

The hillside is loaded with Osoberries or Indian Plums.

And where there are ripe berries, there are large groups of Cedar Waxwings! 

They are one bird I cannot get enough of!

I figure you can't get bored looking at these distinctive birds.

Here's a bush of ripe Osoberries...

...and no surprise there's a Cedar Waxwing too!

Another Anna's Hummingbird.

I was super pleased to get a couple of good looks at a Lazuli Bunting. 

The male has a wonderfully blue head and back.

And he was singing away. Looking for a female I suppose.   

We saw several American Goldfinches too.

But the big draw, literally and figuratively, was the Bald Eagles' nest with two large chick and an adult Bald Eagle standing guard overhead.

The chicks were laying flat on the nest.  If you look closely or 'inbigin' the photo, yo can see the head and beak of one bird facing to the right.

A magnificent adult!

Now the chick in the back is up a bit and facing the camera.

Back to the adult.

Both chicks with their head up.  Waiting for breakfast!

The Willamette River is not far away from the nest as an eagle flies. 

After watching the eagles, we continued on past cascades of Ocean Spray just beginning to set blossoms. 

We were rewarded the a male Western Tanager. 

It's a pretty bright yellow bird with black wings and a red head.

Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

Mr. Towhee says, "Skinner's Butte is a great place to bird all year long.  Come back again soon!"