Feed on the Ground

I volunteered four hours today at the Wild Bird Rescue center. After driving to Lavell Street to check on some ducks -- and they were just fine -- I spent most of my time looking out BirdManBob's office window. Hummer, Lilly, and Sunflower worked the afternoon shift with me. Their company made bird watching out the window much more enjoyable for me.

Large birds visited the area of the feeder. BirdManBob tosses a couple of cups of bird seed out on the grass for them.

English Sparrows have taken up residence in the box outside the front porch.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard returned to the bird feed area.

Male and female Cardinals.

The more red color he displays, the higher up in the Redwing Blackbird hierarchy he stands in his flock.

I had great difficulty identifying these two visitors: Not Lark Sparrows, not Savannahs, not this, not that. Finally, Alicia helped us identify them as female Red-winged Blackbirds.

Brown-headed Blackbird.

Male Grackles. Grackles are intelligent and inquisitive.

Female Grackles.

Female White-crowned Sparrow.

White-crowned Sparrow, male, looking vulnerable in the strong, increasingly cold winds.

Female English Sparrow.

Four species of doves visited the feeding area at the Wild Bird Rescue Center: White-winged Dove, Ring-necked Turtle Dove, Mourning, and Eurasian Collared Dove (this one courting). 

But there was another visitor to the feeding area, and not of our feathered friends, but of the furry kind.

Alicia and Steve came in to visit with Lilly. 

And such were my four hours volunteering today at Wild Bird Rescue.