The Birds

It's been weeks since it's been cool enough for Billy and I to sit outside with our birds...and when we have been out for a few minutes at a time, they've been pretty scarce.  But this morning they were everywhere...I think they were enjoying the tad bit cooler morning as much as we were!  

We've been hearing the doves occasionally, but we haven't seen them much at all since the heat wave began.  It was good to have a yard full again this morning!

The cardinals were cracking us up...there was a bird bath full of fresh water right over their heads, but they were drinking water out of the end of the hose. :)

This is the fattest, friendliest little female cardinal.  She hopped right up on the porch yesterday!

I love the brown thrashers, but this one was giving me fits about taking his picture this morning.  I was shooting through a small opening between two trees, and would have to wait until he moved his head into *just* the right position before I could shoot.  

Then he moved to a spot right above my head, again through a small gap in the trees.  Not easy to keep a non-image-stablized zoom lens still enough to shoot overhead. :)

The brown thrashers have really, really sharp beaks.  

I love the feathers on the juvenile doves...they look almost like scales. 

The juveniles are so much fun to watch this time of year!  This juvenile blue jay is just plain funny looking! :)