by CKR
Claret-cup hedgehogs from a coming attraction a couple of weeks back.
The ravens seem to be gone, but I haven't put out those rich blocks of seed that contain pecans and dried cranberries yet. Every time I think about doing so, I see a raven making a low pass over the feeder area.
I do have quite a few doves, mostly the mourning sort. I thought I saw one the other day with a white edge along its wing, although the rest of it was clearly a mourning dove. I've been wondering if they can interbreed with the white-winged doves.
A pair of black-headed grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) are regular customers. This is the female.
The hummingbird feeders are on the other side of the house. At least one broad-tailed hummingbird is a regular. A couple of weeks ago, a female Bullock's oriole (Icterus bullockii) was checking the hummingbird feeders out. Orioles like sugar water, too, and the stores sell a larger version of hummingbird feeders for them. I quickly put some orange halves into the trees, but I haven't seen her since. What I did see, just the other day, was a male western tanager (Piranga ludoviciana), who also likes fruit. So I went out to renew the oranges. They were pretty well pecked-at, which means that just because I'm not seeing the birds doesn't mean they're not there.
They have a new admirer, too, one that I'm not wild about. A young gray cat was watching the feeder the other day. He's clearly interested in the lizards too. Yesterday I saw him with something in his mouth. It was small, but now that I think about it, it may have been a mouse, which would be okay with me.
A few nights back, there was quite a ruckus. Apparently two families, one of three birds and the other of two, were having something of a disagreement. This was one of them. It looks like a Cassin's kingbird (Tyrannus vociferans), but it's hard to be sure from this distance. I haven't seen them before or since.