Pine siskin...in the pines

I confess to being a bit taken with pine siskins, perhaps because they are not common in my area. Last fall/winter was considered to be an "irruptive year" in our area for winter finches, which include this tiny finch. When the first few showed up at my feeders in the fall, I was mesmerized - and as a few turned into 50, my fascination increased (as did my budget for sunflower seeds which they were devouring at an alarming rate!) Over the winter, they disappeared in this area, but for the last few weeks I've seen small groups of them at my feeders, usually mixed in with goldfinches.

Today, there was just this single siskin - which is odd since they are flock birds. He perched on the top of one of our pine trees and as I was clicking away, sampled the "candle" that was sprouting from the tree. I found that I just liked everything about this shot. And who knows how much longer the siskins will be around this area, so best blip while the blipping is good!

The house wrens were back at the nest box this morning - and also at a second box later in the day. Poor Mister is working hard to please the Missus. He diligently brings twigs and sticks up and jams then in the box, while she sits on a branch and verbally supervises him. So far, they're leaving the chickadee box alone.

There were a few grackles out back today - after suet and water. I very nearly blipped this fine specimen, showing off his iridescent feathers, but I really liked the siskin a bit better. I also had a blue jay doing his best imitation of Don King.

There were several spats between Darth and P-Hummie and both have retreated to their respective branches where they are glowering at each other. Really.

The damned raccoons are giving me fits. I found little muddy foot prints on my kitchen window, which means one of them managed to scale the siding of the house and cling to the window sill, trying to reach the window-mounted hummingbird feeder. And yesterday afternoon as I was driving up our road, I glanced over and saw a black bear sitting there. He took one look at me and ran into the woods - that's the kind of bear you want, one that is afraid of humans. It was just the tiniest bit unnerving though.

Sorry that I've been a bit off on comments lately - just seems that there is never enough time to do everything. I do enjoy browsing your journals, even if I don't always leave comments. Thank you for continuing to stop by!

xxoo
Debbi