H.J. Ruiz – Avian101

It’s amazing that we are in the middle of our third week without rain. The heat is still in the mid 90’s and very humid.

You might think I’m crazy but, I’m thankful for the humidity, even is the most hated thing during the summer because the stickiness filling. However, the humidity condenses over the vegetation and grass as dew in the morning and that amount of water is enough to preserve the plants until the following morning. Then when you have your mind occupied with that, suddenly an American Goldfinch flies in and shows his full new breeding plumage, strong and handsome, most likely looking for a mate. By then you have already forgotten about the lack of rain!

The Red-winged Blackbirds are not coming frequently anymore, so once in a while I see one or two that show up for a short period of time and then take off again. It’s nice to see them displaying their red and yellow wing patches. 

My dear friends the House Finches and their respective family members are always delightful visitors. I enjoy their sense of unity as a family. The parents responsibility is there 100%, the members of their family keep an eye on each other constantly and are ready to fly away together on the leader’s command any given moment… “the last one to get home is a poopy-head!”

Bonus: This one is not considered a bluebird whatsoever, it’s just a noise maker dedicated to spook all the birds when flying low. He’s not invited to my backyard!

Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101