Chickdees

Things have been very hectic, lately, so I haven't been able to take as many pictures. Last week it also rained the entire weekend, which caused the plants to turn a lovely shade of bright green, but prevented me from going birding.

The cockatiels are doing well. Yesterday I put the nest boxes on the bed and each bird explored them thoroughly. Conner is still confused about the function of the nest box. After Audrey was settled inside his nest box, Conner would peek in at him to see what he was doing. There were several times where Conner became frustrated and starting shrieking, as if to say, "I don't get it!!!" Conner has chewed his nest box to the point where there is only about an inch of material holding the top together. We'll have to watch it carefully to ensure the structural integrity of the box. I'd hate for it to collapse with Conner on top.

One of the things that I love about California, is the variety of birds. I've been visiting the same area every weekend for the past few months and each time I see a different type of bird! Last time I saw quails. I didn't get any pictures, but I know where the quails live, so eventually I'll photograph them.

We have several different kinds of chickadees in this part of California. This guy is a chestnut-backed chickadees; a name that is pretty self explanatory.

We also have black-capped chickadees and mountain chickadees. This guy was very

comfortable around me. At one point, he was only a few feet away from me. I got a picture, but it's pretty blurry because of some branches.

I like this picture because the chickadee has food in his mouth.

And I always like capturing bird butts. They're so fuzzy!!!