More photos from the yard

Here are a few photos from the last week or so. The Band-Tailed Pigeons are still hanging around. The most we counted at one time was 7! It was awesome to see so many at once.

The American Goldfinches are slowly starting to return, but they have lost most of their summer colors and are now the more muted yellows. They will winter with us by the hundreds.

Of note, this last week we saw, not only the Common Nighthawk (see post below this one) but a Pacific-Slope Flycatcher also stopped by! That's only the second Flycatcher we have ever had in the yard.

So, without further adieu, here are a few pics...

We have really enjoyed playing host to these Band-tailed Pigeons.


They are great fun to have around.


They are usually resting atop this telephone pole/wire in the mornings. This pole, strangely enough, is actually in our backyard. Here you can see 5 of them.


Here are four of them in one of our homemade fly-thrus.

One of the more colorful American Goldfinches stopping in for a quick drink. Once they get their bright yellow summer colors we usually don't see them again until the start of fall when their colors are a little more drab.

A female Bushtit. They are coming in the yard 20 or 30 times a day now.

A Lesser Goldfinch snacking on a sunflower leaf.

The Lessers decimate our sunflowers leaves during the summer. They seem to enjoy the leaves as much as they do nyjer seed.

A very friendly House Finch taking a sip.