...What's Black and White and Wonderful?

Well, a Black and White Warbler, of course! As I was hunkered down under our gazebo on the deck, in the pouring rain this morning, this little poof of loveliness showed up. There was a minor feeding frenzy going on with the bedraggled titmice, the sodden chickadees, the nutty ' hatches and the zen-like woodpeckers ... oh, and yes, lest I forget ... the chipmunks! Apparently the warbler was curious about all the hullabaloo so he whizzed up, perched long enough for me to get a handful of less-than-perfect-but-okay-for-today shots, and zipped off. This is the second one I've seen in the last week, and a new life-bird for me. Did I mention that I am LOVING the fall warbler migration???

Thank you very much for sending my nutty nuthatch fluttering onto the Spotlight page this morning. He's joined some rather impressive company and I think he may be feeling a touch inadequate. But what do I know?

I had plans to run down to the farm today and get a bunch of their dead sunflowers, but the rain put a damper (ha, pun, get it?) on those plans. And, why, you ask, am I getting dead sunflowers? Well, I am hanging the seed heads in my garage to dry and will put them out for the birds this winter. This was another great tip I got from a wildlife photographer to help set up some interesting backdrops for backyard bird photos.

I'll be back later to check up on you all and to see what wonderful things have been seen today in the blip-osphere. In the meantime, have a great Tuesday and if you are in the northeast US, stay dry!

PS: and if you want a laugh, check out Scar the Chipmunk, sizing up the VERY same squirrel proof feeder he got stuck in yesterday, causing the Great Chippie Rescue Mission...