... Peep!

Today was a good photo day, in spite of the very chilly temps. In fact, it was hard to choose "the one" ... ultimately, I picked the one that spoke to me. I'm actually not sure if this little white-throated sparrow ( zonotrichia albicollis) was yawning or talking. I took this at 500mm and still had to crop it a bit - didn't even realize his little beak was wide open until I got the shot up on the screen. If you'd like to see the rest of the birds from Day Two of the Great Backyard Bird Count, you can few them on Flickr, starting here.

I had quite a good list of birds today, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to get decent shots of the yellow-rumped warbler or the Cooper's Hawk. Rats. Coop was around all morning, which was actually a bit unnerving. Just as I'd get set up for some shots of the feeder birds, all the little birds would fly into the bushes - and by the time I could spot Coop, it would be too late to get a shot of him either! I think it was his repeated appearances that scared off the warbler as well as the Common Grackle (both are unusual birds to have at my feeders). Ah well. Tomorrow is another day.

Today is my dad's birthday - and it's a big one (I won't tell!) So, Happy Birthday, Dad!! Love you.

Hope you are all having a great weekend - and for all you birders out there, it's not to late to submit some counts to the Great Backyard Bird Count!

cheers!

Debbi