Junco At The Garden Gate

At least I think it's a Junco. I'm really bad on bird ID because I don't have many birds to ID. Mary Jo gave me a book -- "Birds of The Puget Sound Region" and I've been studying. This little guy seems to fit the description on page 345. I think I also spotted a Bushtit (honestly, just the cutest little thing ever).

I think I figured out that the marauding flock of pigeons that live in the neighborhood might be to blame for why there aren't many birds around because they eat absolutely everything except peanuts. They raid all the bird feeders and if I throw seed on the ground they usually find it before the little ground feeders can get to it. Blue Jays don't seem to mind the pigeons and neither do the crows, but I'm wondering if the pigeons have just outgunned the little guys.

Speaking of birds, have any fellow blippers checked out the Birds of Paradise Project for the National Geographic and Cornell University undertaken by Tim Laman and Edwin Scholes? Check out the website at birds-of-paradise.org, These birds will take your breath away.