Crowded Bird Feeder

Mostly house finches yesterday afternoon, with one house sparrow dipping into the seed in this photo.

Mourning Dove

Mourning doves are common, I think, just about everywhere in the U.S. Some serious birders try to discourage them from visiting their yards. I like them to visit. Doves prefer to feed at ground-level, which means they help clean up seed that other birds knock out of the feeders.

Indoor Crocus

A handful of crocus bulbs starting to peek out in a candy dish of vermiculite. I think I meant to plant these outdoors, but since I didn't, I decided to let them bloom inside.

Abandoned Kitty on His Way to a New Home

This little boy hanging around our yard for a month or so is on his way to a new home. I scooped him up the other day and took him in to the Cat Doctor to have him checked out. He turned out to be the sweetest little lover kitty. He got neutered, up to date on shots and got a bath, and Northwest Animal Companions is putting him on display at a Petsmart so he can go to a real home. We learned from renters on the block behind us that the previous renters had left his cat behind. He had been spending nights in the garage, getting in through a pet door, until the new renters nailed it shut. He must have been confused.

Hawk Victim

If it was summer, I would have blamed the neighborhood cat for this. But I have a feeling this little bird was a victim of one of the Cooper's Hawks that have been frequenting the yard this winter.

Robin Visit

A robin perched in a river birch tree. They're not singing yet. We know spring is on the way when they do start singing. They sing loudest in the morning and the evening.

Eastern European Starlings

Quite a mass of starlings stopped by to pick up fallen crabapples. Starlings have quite a bad reputation in most of the country and are accused of picking crops clean. I actually appreciate that they're cleaning up the crabapple mess. They move on pretty quickly.