Hello Tweets;
Just a note to share with you two extraordinary experiences I had
yesterday and today. I've been trying all winter to capture some good
photos of a Varied thrush but these birds are so shy they always make
themselves invisible. But yesterday I was thrilled when one just kept
hopping from limb to limb of an Elderberry bush in plain site. When I
got home and looked at some of my close up shots to my surprise this
bird had an acorn on the end of its bill and in the last two photos his
throat area looked swollen like he had swallowed it! No wonder he was
hopping around so much. It doesn't seem possible but maybe an expert
could tell from the anatomy in the photos if he actually did swallow
it.

The other experience happened this morning. All winter there have been
about a hundred Pine siskins frequenting my thistle feeder. But when I
opened the back door this morning I heard literally thousands of
siskens calling. I grabbed my camera and slipped in close to them near
to the bank of the pond. All around the edges of the pond they were
bathing and looking for seeds. Every time a Steller's jay would scold
they would fly up by the thousands into the nearby trees and then begin
their decent back to the pond again. They paid little attention to me
so I was able to take many photographs, capturing a few close ups.
After about thirty minutes they were all gone except for a few at the
feeder. It was so joyful just being in their midst and was perhaps a
once in a lifetime experience.

One other interesting sight I should mention; several days ago I saw a
Downy woodpecker eating Poison oak berries. Nature is always so full of
surprises.

Joy Stickney-Markgraf

Some of my wildlife photographs are displayed on my website at
www.canyoncreations.com. Although the photos mentioned above are not
yet displayed I plan In time to post some of them (still need to learn
how.)