American Goldfinch

Juvenile American Goldfinch. I'm guessing that this is a female and she is probably just weeks old, now on her own. She was hanging with House sparrows in my backyard. Here are some images of her working a cottonwood, gleaming bugs and whatnot from the leaf surfaces. 

 

 

More hummingbirds!

This looks to me to be a juvenile Caliope hummingbird, visiting a patch of Bee Balm I've planted in my garden. Note the distinct streaking on the chin. 

This one appears to be either a female or a juvenile Black-chinned hummingbird judging by its slim build.

 

Tree Swallows

I've never had Tree swallows nest in my backyard, only Violet-green swallows. Here is a daddy on the nest and the mommy dropping off a treat.

Yellow-headed blackbirds

I also saw these at the Clark Fork River delta. The pictures are a little dark, sorry about that! The top one is a male and I believe the second one is a female.

Bald Eagle Nest

No birds here, but a shot of a bald eagle's nest. I was out on the Clark Fork Delta to help with a restoration project. And I saw this nest.

Black-capped Chickadee

These little chickadees are finishing off the remains of this winter's tallow feeder. These guys are year-round residents and we see them almost everyday in our backyard.

Brewer's Blackbird

A common bird. They often hang out in our backyard apple tree or lilac bushes. Here is a male and female. Compare the two images of the male: in one he is in a rested pose, the other he is puffed up, displaying for the female.

 

And the object of his desire! She must be mighty pretty!

Euransian Collard-Doves

There is a pair of mated collard-doves in our neighborhood. I've been hoping that they'd nest in our front yard spruce, but no luck so far. But they've set up a home somewhere close by and they visit our yard multiple times a day and often sit on our roof, the male cooing loudly. Pretty birds.This is the same bird chased away by the robin, posted below.

American Robin

This bad boy was chasing the Eurasian Collared-doves from my backyard. Why? I don't know! We have a lot of male robins in the neighborhood -- they're all establishing territories while they wait for the females to arrive. Maybe this fellow fancies keeping our backyard to himself.

Snow Goose

Here's a lone snow goose hanging out with a flock of Canada geese. Why? I have no idea. But it's a snow goose, as evidenced by its size, the overall white body, the black wing tips (appearing as a what seems to be a black tail) and the "grimace" on the beak. 

This is the first time I've seen a lone goose like this with Canada geese.

Here the bird is with some Canada geese for size reference.

 Note the black wing tips (looking like a black tail here) and the "black lips" on the pink beak.

And another profile.

 

Eurasian Collared-Dove

I hoping that the mated pair I see winging around my neighborhood will nest in our front yard spruce tree. I even installed a nesting platform in it two years ago. They've inspected the tree many times, but still no nest building. Still hoping...

Here's the male singing on Easter morning. A lot to sing about, for sure!

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is not as commonly seen in my backyard as the Black-capped, so it is a welcomed visitor. Beautiful little fellas!

 

 

House Finch

Gotta love house finches. So pretty, These are a mated pair feeding at the backyard feeder. Probably passing through, but who knows? They didn't respond to my questions...

 

Song Sparrow

For the last three years we've had the same male song sparrow in our backyard. Our yard was part of his territory. But he was chased off by an especially aggressive male white-crowned sparrow this past summer. Now, we have a new song sparrow singing his heart out from perches around both our front and back yards. He sings slightly different than the song sparrow before him, though still very much a song-sparrow style. 

 

 

Pine Siskin

Yeah for spring! A small flock of Pine Siskins were visiting the backyard feeder. Pretty little things, albeit understated for a cousin of the American Goldfinch.