Very fun bird houses! I too like the spark arrester that your friend's husband put on her house. Yours are so full of detail. I love metal and really like how you used so many found objects in your work. Keep up the good work! =) ~~Mimi

Nice shot! I'm not hawk-literate enough to figure out what kind it is, but he sure is pretty! I've missed this place! I got kinda lost for a while when I finally got a new puter. Takes me forever to get caught up and back in the groove. This was a great re-start! 8-] ICA, Sophie ^i^

My National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds Eastern Region states that the Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor was formerly called the "Louisiana Heron". I have the 1995 edition. And the pictures of wonderful. I see them down here a lot, and I just love them.

We also get a lot of pine warblers this time of year as well. They have yellow on them as well as the palm warblers. Pine warblers seem more abundant and tend to stay in small groups whereas the palm warblers are more solitary. Dirty is so right ... we get so many winter migrants. Winter is the time for warblers for sure. My favorite bird guides are Sibley's. Anything by David Sibley is my vote on the bird guides. He tends to have more views of the birds, which makes identification easier. He also has a Sibley Birds of North America Android app.