Brown Thrasher

Very pleased to see this guy (gal?) back again today. Twice today, actually. The first time I saw him/her I didn't even manage to get my camera into my hands before s/he flitted off again. So I was doubly happy when s/he came back this afternoon and actually stayed a while.

Meanwhile - a little drama this morning just before lunch time. I had been outside briefly to receive a package from UPS, came back in, then a short while later looked out the door and saw something odd on the grass. I went out to investigate and it turned out to be a mourning dove, lying on its back, wiggling its little pink feet in alarm. I picked it up, turned it over, and discovered it had a slightly bleeding hole in its upper back between its wings. I popped it into a box and drove it over to The Wildlife Center, ruminating about it during the drive (40 minutes!!) and had decided by the time I got there that perhaps it had been caught by a hawk, and perhaps when I'd gone outside I'd scared the hawk who dropped the dove, but - intent on my package - I hadn't noticed at that point. And then a few minutes later - luckily - I saw it. Maybe? I rather think if a cat or dog had gotten it, it wouldn't have been left lying in the yard on its back. So I'm sticking to the hawk theory for now. I hope it's there at WCV when I go on Friday! It was pretty perky - aside from the hole in its back...