Okay, it's possible that I may have spent a little TOO much time taking bird photos while in Idyllwild. I'm still only halfway through reviewing them. Here are a few more of the highlights:
One of the new birds I came across during the trip was the Pygmy Nuthatch. Smaller than the White-Breasted that I was familiar with, these tiny birds were frequent visitors to the feeder.
They liked both the suet and the sunflower seeds. Apologies for the extreme cropping on the left - I was shooting between the bars of the deck railing.
Here he is on a branch with his prize sunflower seed. He proceeded to wedge it into a crack in the bark and then repeatedly hammer at it with his beak to get it open.
Enjoying some post-meal sunshine.
Late in the afternoon got an unusual visitor - one Black-headed Grosbeak. At this time, they were just starting to migrate in for Spring - this is the first one I have seen this year.
It was almost sunset so I was starting to lose the light, but wasn't sure I'd see this guy any more so I kept shooting anyway.
He stuck around long enough to serenade us from the top of this tree for a while. Never saw a female or heard any responses, though. He might be a bit early.
KJ