Last weekend I was surprised to see a Clark's nutcracker at the suet feeder.
We commonly hear and see them in the tops of the ponderosa pines around us,
but had never seen them at a feeder, nor had the opportunity to view from so
close up. Their eyes are particularly beautiful.

Today, the bird is accompanied by two raucous, but softer, fluffier versions
of itself, who are being fed suet by the parent. The begging cries that
the fledglings make sound as if they are being strangled! In fact, our
neighbour on the hill above was peering down to check the situation out!

Evening grosbeaks are here in numbers similar to last year, and have emptied
the seed feeder of black oil sunflower seeds for the third time in three
days. The one difference this year is that so far anyway, there have been
no window kills. In times past, I've thought the sliding door glass had
been broken on impact by a male in full (kamakaze) flight. We usually find
several window kills, most of which are males.

Joan Inkster-Smith
jinkster at netshop.net
Kamloops BC
Canada