This past Tuesday we had at least five blue jays at the feeder. When I started processing the photos, I discovered that at least one of them was banded.
Today we were visited by dozens of dark-eyed juncos, who descended on our feeder like they were starving. Considering the amount of snow still on the ground, they probably were.
A couple of purple finches turned up this morning. One went so far as to tap on my office window, as though it wanted to get my attention. (The feeder *is* empty, I suppose.)
The Eastern Phoebes have returned to nest above our front porch light. There’s usually one in the nest at any given point: it’s rare to see them together away from it (see third photo, where they appear to be having words about who’s neglecting the kids).
And speaking of the kids, Jennifer had a peek into the phoebes’ nest. Behold, five phoebe eggs—and one egg belonging to the Brown-headed Cowbird, a brood parasite. (I *knew* those cowbirds were up to something.)
The Wandering Shop is a Mastodon instance initially geared for the science fiction and fantasy community but open to anyone. We want our 'local' timeline to have the feel of a coffee shop at a good convention: tables full of friendly conversation on a wide variety of topics. We welcome everyone who wants to participate, so long as you're willing to abide by our code of conduct.
A female Hairy Woodpecker bores a fresh hole in an old beech tree.