WESTERN SCREECH-OWL

May 31, 2008. A Western Screech-Owl made a relatively uncommon daytime appearance today. However the owl kept its eyes mostly shut throughout the time it was out. And though it normally turns to follow us if we move, it just kept silently looking forward.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES

May 31, 2008. The Black-capped Chickadees in our nest box are getting bigger and bigger, and much noisier. When the parents come, their squeaks are now easy to hear even at some distance. The one on the left kept staring at me, but the others didn't move.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE CHICKS

May 26, 2008. The Black-capped Chickadees in our nest box are getting a little bigger.

WESTERN SCREECH-OWL

May 24, 2008. The owl made an uncommon daytime appearance this morning, and Amy was ready with the camera.

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD CHICKS

May 24, 2008. Two Rufous Hummingbird chicks in a nest at Smith and Bybee Lakes. After finding the nest, I heard from someone else that they had seen the young 9 days ago. 8 days ago I went with Amy but the nest appeared empty. As there are clearly two chicks there now, and I saw the mom flying around, I assume that we missed them because they were so small.

WESTERN SCREECH-OWL

May 19, 2008 in our yard, at 8:30PM.

BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE CHICKS

May 18, 2008. A few weeks ago we saw a Black-capped Chickadee grabbing moss from our tree and bringing it into one of our nest boxes. As of yesterday we heard faint peeps coming from the box and so today while the parents were away, Amy and I took a look. There are 4 chicks, though only 3 are visible here. When I first opened the box, they popped up chirping, but then quickly went back down and were not visible from my angle. If I made any noise, they quickly popped up with mouths wide open, chirping. After taking the photo, both parents showed up with food in their bills, and were clearly not very pleased to see us there, and started a strident serenade of chick-a-dee-dee-dee. They soon quieted down and entered the nestbox with their treats.

WESTERN SCREECH-OWL

May 2, 2008. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL in our yard.