My Fun Day

I love spring!  Yesterday was one of those spring days that make the memories of the dreary days of late-winter fade away.  It was a fun day for me.  What made it a fun day? First of all, Ruby came to visit.

As usual, we went for a long walk.  The first thing we saw when we went out the door was this:

A pair of bluebirds -- still not sure which box to nest in, since they have a choice of several in our yard.  Whichever one they seem to prefer is then also the preferred box of the house sparrows.  The saga continues as they vie for the best box.

Ruby and I walked our usual path.  The nice thing about it today was there was almost no snow left anywhere.  (There is still some in the shadier spots and in the woods).  

Ruby says as far as she can see in either direction from this spot, there is no snow! Yay!

There were a bunch of robins hopping around the hay field. The old fence is good for perching on, if nothing else.

Our walk then went thru the woods at the top of the hill and we kept our eyes out for more birds.

Ruby was very patient.  Sometimes I have to wait for her when she finds something good to sniff, other times she has to wait for me, as I bird-watch.  Today, she had to wait quite awhile for me as I tried to get a good look at the little birds flitting around near the tree tops.  

At first guess, I thought they were kinglets by the high squeeking sounds they were making, but were they ruby-crowned or golden-crowned?  Watching carefully (with Ruby being a good girl) I could see the eye-bar that meant golden-crowned kinglet, and then, one even tipped its head downward so I got to see its pretty golden cap!  There was a small flock of them busily munching something up above the hemlock trees in the deciduous tree tops.  To listen to them singing or to see a better photo, you can click here.

Another movement closer to the ground caught my attention in the same spot.

A brown creeper.  See it there on the tree trunk?  Talk about blending in! In case you are having trouble seeing it, here it is:

 These birds are so fun to watch.  They go round and round up the tree trunk, then fly back down to the bottom of another tree nearby to continue searching for hidden insects and spiders to eat.  On our 'property list' last year, brown creepers had eluded us most of the year (even though they live here all year long) turning up as # 98 bird on our 2013 list on November 1st.  This one was #46 on April 3rd.  My Sibley's field guide says they are "uncommon in mature woods.... usually solitary but often mixes with flocks of other small  song birds such as kinglets or chickadees."

It's a little easier to see in the above photo, because he's heading around the side of the tree (on the left side of the large trunk,just under the dark small limb) and you can see his white breast.  They really aren't as hard to see in the woods as you might imagine from those photos, because you can spot their movement.  I enjoyed watching both the kinglets and the brown creeper, as Ruby patiently waited.

Then Ruby and I headed back to the house and I enjoyed the snowdrops in bloom!  They are late this year compared to other springs, but they finally popped up. 

After we came back into the house, we saw this out the window...

...a pair of black-capped chickadees checking out one of the new boxes.  I would be glad if they wanted to used this one!

The next fun I had was taking a walk with my other 'grand-dog'. 

He's a very hard dog to photograph on a bright sunny day (being so black against all the brightness), but I liked this one of him and his shadow.
It was a beautiful day to be outside and walk, no matter where you went.

After that, I came back home and walked along our road looking for whatever I could see in the swamp.  Turned out there were two kinds of birds back from their winter vacations.  A few tree swallows were flying around... I'd say 'joyfully' though I might be putting my feelings onto them, but watching them was a joyful sight for me.  This video of them is a little on the bright side, but I won't complain because it was so nice to have the sunshine!

Then I saw and heard a belted kingfisher.  Welcome back!  A little later than last year, but then, he needed to wait until the ice melted, so he could catch food.

Have fun fishing!  Here he is watching the water, then...

...going diving! Like Mac, they are also hard to photograph, but I had fun trying.

He was pretty far away, so I doubted I would get any great photos, but I was pleased to at least get a couple of him diving and flying.

So, it was a fun day watching for God's creatures.  But, wait, there is one more...

My first painted turtle sighting of the spring!  With a bonus, pair of Mallards to its left.  The drake is easy to see, but can you pick out the hen just to his left?

Your idea of a fun day might be a trip to an amusement park or going shopping, but I can't think of a better kind of a day than this one, for me!