Spring blooms and birds

I posted my April Scavenger Photo hunt yesterday.

A lovely day to end the month of April as blooms continued to blossom and the air was filled with their fragrance.

Golden plum blossom:

Cherry blossom:

Magnolia:

and I spent some of the afternoon sitting outside in the front watching the little birds flitting around while I read from my ereader. A hummingbird was in close proximity but too speedy for a photo.

Bushtit:

Pine Siskin?:

Here's to May!

April Scavenger Hunt Photos

Edited to add larger photos ...
My April Scavenger Hunt Photos hosted by Kathy at Postcards from the P.P.

1. April showers – a Yellow-rumped Warbler fed up with the rain
2. Breakfast – Scones with mixed fruit
3. Camera – a photo of my Fujifilm camera taken with my smaller Olympus
4. A set of keys – my keys attached to my Piano Key purse
5. Interesting shop names – I liked the sign and log rafters
6. A cross – a simple mark on the road
7. A church – or should it be a ‘Vinery’? ;)
8. Egg – A painted empty egg in an egg cup, with a friend
9. Yellow – There were so many yellow flowers - so here’s a mix  from my garden of primulas, daffodil, the first wallflower (today!), and ranunculus from the garden nursery
10. Sculpture – This poor soul was sitting on a shelf in an art studio looking rather embarrassed...
11. Shakespeare – a tome on top of our bookcase
12. St. George – The best I could find was a large ‘Slain dragon rock formation’ at the beach

Edit to add larger photos as requested :)

April Showers:

Breakfast:

Camera:

Church:

Cross:

Egg:

Keys:

Sculpture:

Shakespeare:

St. George's 'slain dragon'

Store sign:

Yellow:

The Call to Green

It is wonderful to see the trees finally daring to unfurl their new leaves. Here's the Red Oak in the front garden showing first signs.

This Red-Shafted Northern Flicker seemed to have found a perfect pecking spot...

Here he is in action:



A Chickadee going full-bore at the feeder:



I love Spring!

A big thank you to Hilary at Smitten Image for bringing notice to my Happy Easter from the Yellow-Rumped Warbler post as one of her posts of the week.

Garden birds

Just a few garden birds today:

Northern Flicker

House Finch

Four Pine Siskins

One Pine Siskin seemingly puzzled by the quiet aqua bird

A funny looking robin head on ;)

and another not funny robin

I managed to video the Yellow-rumped Warbler singing away, but I haven't downloaded it yet. It's probably all wobbly because the camera was handheld as I was teetering on the edge of the step.  What a terrific song he sings!  If it is any good, I'll edit this post and add it. If not, this is it!! ;)

Edit to add

Weather it rains or weather it hails...

Congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks for their overtime goal tonight, setting them up for the second round. After winning the first three of seven games, they lost the next three to the Chicago Black Hawks...tonight was the clincher, and it was a doozy!

Now back to regular broadcasting ;)

Talk about a crazy weather day. It began quite promising...

I was out there on the deck breathing in the smell of cherry blossom, such a wonderful delicate fragrance...I baked some scones, and was wondering how to best spend the day.

By mid-afternoon, the skies opened. Here's a Chickadee nibbling in the rain, having to poke its head right into the feeder... then seemed to sit back on the branch.

Oh, dear, look at grumpy ol' Yellow-rumped Warbler...better keep out of his way!

What's that racket?

I was so busy rushing from the front room window to the back, that the time passed before I knew it. (I did spend more time shredding papers in between showers).

Late afternoon, the sun returned and birds came out of the bushes...

Yellow-rumped Warbler looked much more presentable.

The night sky seemed to be filled with a golden promise for tomorrow. I hope so!

Highlight!

Looking out on another April shower day prompted me to start up the shredder and get rid of old assorted papers. So the ...

to go with the leftover turkey dinner :)

The Wetlands

Today the drizzle returned, as forecast. I put a turkey in the oven about noon and in between showers decided to head out to a wetland area to see if there was any wildlife.

Who should greet me, but none other than a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I'm beginning to see these birds in my sleep! It is obvious by looking at these photos how he acquired his name.

There were many little birds buzzing across the surface catching insects, but they were too busy to stay put long enough for a photo.

Far across I could see and hear Canada Geese, possibly nesting.

It was great to come home to the smell of turkey cooking, and the delicious meal was enjoyed immensely :)

Blossom, Beach and Birds

First thing I noticed this morning were more cherry tree buds blossoming.

As I was walking down to the beach today,I passed a trio of beautiful pink blossom trees.

Harzel seemed to be gleaming in the sunshine.

The tide was out so I was able to walk along the sand, which is much easier than on the rocky shore.

I saw a few birds on my walk (photos of Song Sparrow; Northern Flicker), but most of the photos were taken in my garden - even the eagle!

Notice that the Yellow-rumped Warbler was sitting in the Cherry Tree :) I love the colouring of the Male House Finch, too.

I cut both front and back lawns this afternoon, so lots of exercise today. I was happy to have some lounge time on the deck afterwards listening to the birds chirping happily in the sunshine.

Happy Easter from the Yellow Rumped Warbler - edit

Edited to add:

Today dawned bright and sunny so off I went again! This time I drove north to another beach and to check on the snow coverage on those mountains.

There were two eagles having a spat in a tree close to the beach...until they settled down, one getting the cold shoulder!

We are experiencing very low tides, so the beach seemed to go on forever as can be seen in these panoramic views...

Families, with their little ones, were enjoying Good Friday together:

When I returned home, I noticed that the buds on the Cherry Tree are starting to blossom at last:

The aroma of freshly baked Strawberry Rhubarb crisp rounded out the day.

Tomorrow (Sat.) is supposed to be the best weather-wise so here's hoping!