Featured Photo: WHO'S THE NEW GUY

The birds are back in full force and large numbers this year at Pumpkinseed Acres in the coastal hills northwest of Willamina. This is one of my favorite photos from last year, of a goldfinch and a pine siskin checking out the chubby and rather stony "new guy" at the feeder.

Although we currently have a very large contingent of goldfinches at the feeders, we have not seen a single pine siskin yet--last year we had quite a few by this time.

For more information on back yard birdwatching visit this site: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc

Featured Photo: CHOCOLATE BUNNY

Chocolate is one of my favorite food groups, so it stands to reason that when I saw this little cottontail, he reminded me of a milk chocolate Easter bunny. I took this picture at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden in Claremont, California last spring. He was so busy chomping on the delectable grape leaf at the end of the vine that he never noticed me....The RSABG is an excellent place to enjoy and learn about native California plants, birds, and wildlife. Their annual Wildflower Festival is in March.

Featured Photos- BIRD COUNT BIRDS

As mentioned earlier this week, I enjoyed participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count in February. I was able to take pictures of many of the Countees and submitted several photos to the website. I was thrilled to discover that two of these photos were chosen for the GBBC Gallery!!! Included were this photo of a handsome Steller's Jay radiating blue in the morning sunlight, and the close-up of a male and female pair of Evening Grosbeaks enjoying their breakfast together at one of our feeders. To view the 2008 Photo Gallery click on this link: GBBC Photo Gallery


This is another photo I took that day of just a small portion of the maple tree that was FILLED with close to 30 Evening Grosbeaks enjoying the early morning sun, all happily cheeping and chirping! What a sight and sound treat!

Thanks for visiting!


The Great Backyard Bird Count is led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, with sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited. For more information visit the website at:http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/