Apr. 22/05 - I would have loved to spend the week birding in the wonderful spring sunshine, but it never happened. My only hope was that one of beautiful Mountain Bluebirds that have been spotted in Victoria, Nanaimo, Lantzville and Port Alberni would land in my backyard. That didn't happen either, but I did have a pair of ghosty Townsend Solitaires drop in. Except for a couple of pictures at Dolphin Lake, I had to rely on my yard birds this week.

Dolphin Lake is only a few minutes away so when I need a quick birding break, I often go there. The Tree Swallow was still there . I'm not sure if it found a suitable nest cavity. I felt guilty for not building a nest box as I had planned. A Steller Jay was taking advantage of the sun and never paid attention when I suggested that it should be using sunscreen. A pair of House Finches tried to be inconspicuous by staying in the shade, but a little window of sun exposed the male for a photo.

YARD BIRDS

Purple Finches are year-round residents. I expect that there should be a couple nests in production and some fledglings in a few weeks.

The Orange-crowned Warbler arrived back from its Mexican vacation about 10 days ago.

The Townsend Solitaire is a new yard bird for me. It sayed around with its partner for about 3 hours.

The Black-throated gray Warblers have also been back for over a week, but today was the first time I even got a flimpse of one.

Mrs. & Mr. Towhee are year-round birds in my yard. They've been here for years. I wonder how long they live?