Hey, that's why I love posting here, because I'm definitely NOT a know-it-all. I need backup. :D It all happened so quickly (gliding, landing, sitting pretty), but I really think it had a banded tail with darker colors! I know the chest was white, with brown vertical speckles, if that makes sense. I took the camera out yesterday morning, as I will today, but it didn't show up. There is another bird, though, maybe someone can ID for me. Again, not a very good pic, but it's one of a few birds that have been hanging around. They have a weird flight pattern, where they take off from their perch, swoop out (or up) and around, returning to their perch, almost like a boomerang (or like they're snagging some insects in mid-air?). Anyway, I've mentioned it before as having a light yellow front, and you can just see some peeking out from above the tail in this pic. They usually hang around in pairs, and they're very protective of their "area". This is the one and only time any of them have ventured this close to the house, that I've seen, anyway. It was very hot that day, and it definitely wasn't doing the swoop thing. Maybe someone can help! :) Brenda

I've so enjoyed reading through this tread. My thanks to all who contributed and who take time to plant for the wildlife. Sherry, couldn't help but relate to your story regarding your blackberry canes. I, too, have been fighting the spread of Blackberry canes. I don't know if they were planted by the prior owner or by the neighbor behind me but even with me cutting each cane over and over during the growing season, they had spread so badly they were even beginning to show up all over my small grassy area in the backyard, not to mention the garden beds. Strong canes with terrible thorns that catch at fabric and skin, no matter how carefully the canes are handled. Last year I could see I was losing the battle so I purchased brush killer and carefully sprayed in the spring with the first spring flush of growth, everywhere I could spray without hitting other plants (I used a tall hollow cone to try and contain the spray to each cane). I managed to set back the growth somewhat but couldn't eliminate everything and managed to also kill spots in my lawn. Didn't want to attempt that process again but with this spring's blackberry cane again sprouting all over, I decided to try something new. I cut each growing cane I could reach down to about 6 inches above ground, soaked a cotton ball in full strength brush killer, placed the cotton ball on top of the fresh cut, covered it with a plastic sandwich baggie and used a rubber band to hold all in place. I am proud to say the cane's are dying, even the ones growing up into my neighbors flower beds, where I couldn't place cotton balls. I'm hopeful that with a season of doing this, I can get rid of the underground roots that spread so far and wide. Blackberries are wonderful but for a small city lot, some can be terribly invasive and destructive. Of course, I would not place these covered, soaked cotton balls in an area where pets or small animals might roam. I don't know if wild animals would sense the danger but I doubt if domesticated pets would know to leave them alone. I've wondered if an inverted flower pot placed over each cut cane, with a heavy rock on top, would be enough of a deterrent to keep animals from investigating? My hope is this season will see the end of the blackberry canes on my property! :-) Mary

Whoa! Thanks for sharing all those wonderful photos! I would give myself points if I so much as glimpsed many of those species, much less photographing them. Now we can visit your own website (via the link in your My Page) to see all your latest captures and I wish you the best with your continuing photography ventures

We've been trying to get some pics of our little ones but it's proved to be quite difficult. They hide way down in the nest keeping super still under all those feathers. We managed to get a couple - here's the latest @ 10 days old....(these pics aren't the greatest) As you can see --- it's a mass of feathers (the ones Mama put in there and the babies') ... it's hard to tell which end is which... but you can just make out an eye peeking just left of the egg. We had thought Mama had either removed the 3rd egg or it had dropped down inside the nest --but it 'reappeared' the other day so I guess they had been lying on it. Mama and Papa have been ultra busy feeding.... Papa seems to have some trouble getting inside the box and tends to stick his head in the opening hoping the little ones will take what he has - which wasn't happening being as they were so young and all....seems like he's having more success now. Mama just dives right in there. Here's Mama with supper.... (bit fuzzy - sorry) We think it's a flying grasshopper -- HUGE!! Well-- we have decided not to look inside the box anymore as it's getting close to fledging. We're hoping to start seeing little beaks appearing at the hole soon to take what's being offered. Hopefully we can get some decent pics then! As for our Blues.... they have 4 eggs and we're on day 9 of incubation... : )