Well, since it's August 1st and no one began a new thread for the month, I'm starting us off with a couple of pictures from my backyard this afternoon.

Thank you for the new thread Lin!

Long shot - Goldfinch on Purple Coneflower seedhead

In the air, after much waiting for the takeoff.

Throught the lavender.

This one should have come out better because I was so close. But I pressed the shutter as I was standing up from behind the trellis.

Finch.

The street light that is never lit, so our street is very dark at night.

Goldfinch.

J: Lovely photo ... pretty Goldfinch and pretty Coneflowers!!

Ckat: Great shots ... I sure love those finches and although that streetlight isn't lit I think the photo with the dove perched on the lamp is great!

Ckat, about that streetlight...... go to the pole & look on it. It will have a row of numbers somewhere, copy those #'s down & then call the power company, speak to a real human being, & report the light bulb is burned out. They will come fix it.

Nice!! The goldfinch here are getting anxious for the cone flowers to go to seed.

POOL PARTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


Crappy photo. That's why I need that new camera.
It's that time of year when this year's hatchlings begin flocking. These are bluebird juvies. Soon the juvies of many birds will all band together in one big flock & there will be bluebirds, cardinals, finches, sparrows all together fighting for space in the birdbath. We get somewhat used to hearing a thump sound on the kitchen window as they get in a frenzy jockeying for position & they don't have their aerodynamics down pat. I haven't found an expired one yet thank goodness.

Love that pool party shot, Ann!

Thanks Tee. We have a lot of fun watching them. They scare each other & they even scare themselves. Yesterday I was watching a juvie cardinal who wanted to be bully & was intimidating all the others until 1 juvie male bluebird landed & the two had a face off. That little bluebird wasn't backing down! He held his ground.

Ann, that is so cool! I'd love to see even 1 Bluebird here.

I had never seen a bluebird Lin until we moved here. They are really pretty & BLUE (on their backs & tails). Maybe one day you & your hubs will come up this way or inland on one of your jaunts & see some. I don't think they hang out along the coast for some reason. All my years in Florida & I never saw any on the coast.

A few from a cloudy Sunday morning.

Great Blue Heron




Mockingbird



I believe this to be a Phoebe. Could be a Peewee.


Quizzical female Cardinal

Dave, nice shots of the Heron and cute expression on that Cardinal in the last photo. I'm not certain but that one pretty little one looks like the Eastern Phoebe: http://www.tnwatchablewildlife...

I got a great surprise this morning. I was gardening and nearly walked on my Australian Wood Ducks. I have been feeding them for several months but - what I didn't expect - was the six ducklings with them.
I have not identified where they were nesting but at dusk when they flew off they were still flying quite a large distance before they disappeared. I am fairly certain they would have walked them several hundred yards to reach my yard across two roads.
They nest high up in hollow trees and the young fall to the ground to leave the nest. The ducklings are so cute. Now there are weeks of surviving feral cats and careless drivers to come.














The problem is they will curtail my movements while gardening and I am going to have to fence more plants off. They quite like daylilies.

PS. Which is no trouble compared to the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos deflowering my marigolds, everlasting daisies and grevilleas and part of a handrail this morning.

What a treat, Glen. Nothing much cuter than a mother and her babies. It's great to view birds like that up close.

Awwwwwwwwwwww, how cute! If you put a pond/fountain in among those new rocks you got; they will be in duck heaven.

Strange you should mention that Ann. The adults love standing on those rocks.

Oh Gleni your ducks are so cute!