Father's Day!

Mother robin

It was 57 degrees and sunny at 7:00 a.m. A beautiful day to go birdwatching and not a soul at the park.

I was immediately greeted by a cowbird in the parking lot. Our lower garden sentinels were there - the tree swallows and house wren neighbors rearing young in the boxes by the path. I wouldn't be surprised if the tree swallows are on a 2nd brood at this point.

Baby Yellow Warbler

Saw catbirds, song sparrows, downy woodpeckers and mourning doves. I discovered a robin's nest in the small tree at the corner where the path starts to curve around the gardens. She was very still.

I saw a baby tree swallow on a post with it's proud parents, basking in the sun. It's coloring was more of a gray then the beautiful metallic blue. A large group of house finches were foraging together in one of the gardens. I love how they are so family oriented. As I rounded the bend to head up to the upper gardens, I came across this rumpled, funny colored baby and was pretty sure it was a baby yellow warbler. It looked like it was fresh out of the sac (urrrr, nest that is). Eventually, dad (see it was Father's Day after all), came and fed the baby and they sat together for a brief moment (apologies for the fuzzy picture).

Father and Son/Daughter?

The white mulberry tree next to the bath is fruiting now. Squirrels were draped over branches, gorging themselves. Catbirds and others were having a field day. I saw one bird that I couldn't quite make out and then I saw a bright red patch that was positively glowing in the sunlight! Turned out to be the rose-breasted grosbeak.

Foxgloves (Digitalis)

The upper gardens are starting to look quite lush and delicious. Many flowers are in bloom, including some bright pink foxgloves pictured below. The vegetables are growing rampant and the crisp, white flowers of the raspberries will soon become yummy fruit. The tree swallows are attending to their families and the house wrens are also busy raising their young too. I heard a phoebe calling from the woods. The baby bunny I saw last week has almost doubled in size. These creatures sure are on the fast track! The yellow warbler nest where we had seen babies, looked destroyed by all the rain. I sure hope they are o.k. I wouldn't have thought they would be old enough to leave yet.

The soccer field and pond were very quiet, save for the song of the wood thrush wafting through from the woods. I heard the witchety, witchety of the common yellowthroat that seems to be nesting somewhere there.