Lisa

1. Watching an American Crow: He waddles and searches my yard looking for nuts that were buried by squirrels. When he finds one, he chips at it till he gets it. Sometimes, he'll fly to the birdbath and put the food in the water, waits a few seconds and scoops it up to swallow it. He is definitely less afraid of people and will  allow me to get much closer to him that other birds. He "caws" a LOT and sticks his neck out each time. He probably broods in a huge evergreen tree across the street. They fight and fly around incessantly. 2. The House Sparrow stays put at the feeder for much longer than any other birds that visit. He seems pretty unafraid. He also chases off other birds. Right now, I have a nest right next to the right side bird feeder. This feeder is generally the most popular, due to a lavender bush situated next to it. It always empties first. Now however, it is nearly still full after 3 weeks due to the fact that the mama sparrow chases off the other birds. They have to attempt to use the left feeder if she lets them. The chickadee comes and goes quite quickly; flies to a branch and eats there. But the redbreasted nuthatch comes and goes the quickest. A speedy entrance and a quick grab - away it goes. It never eats at the feeder nor does it eat in a nearby bush or tree. 3. If I'm in the woods, the bird that I usually hear the most is the Swainson's Thrush- my favorite song of all. I've never spotted it however. I also hear the Robin and the woodpecker, sparrows and chickadees. I LOVE the Chickadee's two-noted song during mating season. It's a minor interval and totally fascinating to me. Also, I can sometimes hear the nuthatch's little horn like, monotone song, which even though it's not very exciting, I still find very fun to listen to.

I watch birds A LOT but being told to by assignment makes it even better! Gives me a good excuse to sit and watch even more. When my husband says, "Are we having dinner?" I can answer, "Oh sorry. I have to sit here and watch birds for an hour or two for a very important assignment." How can he argue with that? I just got a new camera and I'm trying to learn to use it but it may take awhile. I hope to post better pictures soon.

@Ann This has to be one of my favorite pictures of the Great Blue. I love how he is silhouetted against the grey sky. LOVE it!!!

I absolutely LOVE the Great Blue Heron, as well! They are quite plentiful here in the Pacific Northwest. I see them regularly at the Ebey Slough and have recently purchased a better camera to get pictures. I would be thrilled to see that Ibis in real life. I love the way the Heron's legs stick straight out when he flies and he usually lets out a loud honk when he takes off. Just amazing!

I would have never thought to try to draw individual feathers! I am a bird lover so your drawing (as well as the one who did feathers above this post) have inspired me to try some. I don't have anything as exciting as a road runner feather (how lucky to have that) but I guess I could start with the many crow feathers and pigeon feathers I find. Great idea!