Recently I spent a weekend morning in my backyard – rather unusual for me, since mornings are usually when I venture beyond the backyard.  It was fun to see my yard in morning light.  This is the time of year that I love backyard birding the best.  Flowers are blooming, the air is fresh and not too hot, the goldfinches and buntings are getting into their best costumes for spring, and knowledge that they will soon be leaving makes the quiet opportunities even more special.

Within a few minutes, the alert was out.  Fresh food at the feeders!  Fresh food!  Come and get it!  The Red-winged Blackbirds are like birdseed magnets.  They pose in the nearby shrubs as they alert the neighborhood.

The little Palm Warblers came to see if I put out any fresh mealworms.  They don’t mind having me around.  This one perched in the flowers very close to where I was sitting.  So close, in fact, that I could barely focus on him.  (That’s a nice problem to have!)

Our Common Ground Dove flew in and landed on the feeder perch.  He looked a little scruffy.  He’d lost some feathers since the last time I’d seen him.

One of my target birds for the morning was the American Goldfinch.  They only seem to visit in the mornings and early afternoons.  They were very wary of the photographer sitting in their backyard.  All morning I could hear them congregated in the oak trees around me, calling.  They’d fly over the yard, see me sitting there, and keep going.  Finally they sent in a sentry.  He perched, saw me and startled, and took off again.  The birds aren’t this skittish when I use my blind.  Finally they got used to me (a little) and posed near the feeder.

He stole a few bites and fled to the nearby bushes, where he posed with his mouth full.  Didn’t his mother tell him that it’s not polite to sing with his mouth full?

My last photos of the morning were of Mr. Warbles (again). How do we know which warbler is Mr. Warblers?  He’s the one who visits Goldilocks at her window, of course!