Last weekend, I took my mom to visit a heron rookery a friend told me
about - we counted TWENTY THREE NESTS!!!!! WOW! I would love to have a
stool, and legal access to sit all day and watch/wait for herons to
photograph. <sigh> They are SO beautiful! We also enjoyed watching a
female eagle in her nest feeding her young (too small to peek above the
nest's edge) while the male brought her food and watched nearby. This
was our first time to see an eagle's nest. Holy smokes! What an
amazing piece of architecture!!!!!

Lst week, I had the purple finch show up
(http://westernimagphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2290326#143200282) - I was
entranced... In conversation with my fellow birding neighbor, she told
me about Goldfinches! Lo and behold, the next day I saw a flash of
yellow, and quickly looked up on my bird chart - Goldfinch. Off I ran
to the WILDBIRD store to acquire the necessary things for finches... I
hung three socks wednesday evening, and Thursday morning enjoyed the
antics of between four and eight goldfinches! One of the finches has
realized the hanging feeder is the place to be, so while everyone crowds
amongst song sparrows and pine siskins on the socks... this little guy
hangs out on the feeder and eats like a champ! :O)

My neighbor also caught a snapshot of a Calliope Hummingbird last
week!!!!! It's blurry, but there's no doubt (even for my un-practiced
eye) that it's a Calliope!!!! Of course, she enjoys probably 30+
hummingbirds in her yard all the time but there have apparently been
VERY FEW sightings of this bird in Kitsap, and only her photograph that
we know of! I was truly excited for her!.

This morning, I had two new someones visit - can't tell if it's a dove
or a pigeon... I think one is a dove - All I could get was a headshot
through the railing of my porch.
http://westernimagphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2290326#147344251

The second visitor was a pigeon (Band Tailed Pigeon) I've never seen
before - never seen a pigeon here in the neighborhood...a grab shot in
my tree. http://westernimagphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2290326#147344194

Rest assured, I am going to B&N tonight, armed with my emailed coupon to
invest in a solid bird reference!!!!!!!!!

nina
Newberry Hill area (Bremerton)