Happy International Bluebird Day!

Okay, so there isn't really such a day, but there should be because bluebirds make everyone happy.

This mountain bluebird pair along Umptanum Road was nesting in a fence post in a hole about a foot from the ground; on the opposite side of the post about four feet up, a house wren abode was in full swing. All four parents were so intent upon feeding their young that they allowed me to sit with my camera about 10-12' away for a good half-hour.

 To the left is a male western bluebird, distinguished by ruddy coloration on its scapulars, bringing prime insect dinner to its young. Below is the inside of one of the scores of nestboxes built by the Yakima Audubon Society along the Umptanum Road to the west of Yakima. 

 If you aren't smiling by now, please seek medical advice immediately.

Nature's hieroglyphics

 

Not sure exactly who's handiwork/beakwork/mouthwork this is, but certainly looks like hieroglyphics on a totem pole. I think the hole is courtesy of a tree swallow, or perhaps a smallish woodpecker. The curvy lines, I assume, are the trails of some sort of insect boring its way through the wood, gaining sustenance along the way.

Seen along the Yakima River at Elk Meadows Park.

Warning: Cuteness Overload

If you don't like avian cuteness, this is not the blog--or the season--for you. Today's cuteness is courtesy of a local Killdeer family which resides in the gravel parking lot at the Montlake Fill (AKA the Urban Horticulture Center or the Union Bay Wildlife Area).