Indigo Bunting ~ male

Newly returned from his Winter in the tropics - our resident Indigo Bunting! Very glad to see him back. Last Summer he and the Misses brought their brood to dine regularly once they had fledged... The thing that is always explained about the Indigo Bunting is that his feathers aren't *really blue* but instead the blue hue comes from the angle of the light. Or something. Possibly this is true of all blue birds? And the yellow bird behind him is a male American Goldfinch with most of his fresh new breeding plumage (he seems to have a few bare spots - but he's most of the way there).

Also, as an extra, a male House Finch visiting the bird seed café today.

I am leaving tomorrow to drive to West Virginia (or as we Virginians and they West Virginians sometimes say "West, by God, Virginia") to attend the New River Birding & Nature Festival. This will be my third time there - and this is the first year I'll be there for the full week. I'm meeting an old friend - she has joined me each year - who will be coming from Kentucky. I will try to blip while I'm there, but odds are I might not manage to find the time. And certainly commenting won't be likely to be happening. We'll get to see Spring Warblers and a wide variety of other things - lots of birds I never see here at home. Here's hoping there isn't too very much rain...