White-breasted Nuthatch

The (two?) White-breasted Nuthatches that visit my feeder make me smile. They like the sunflower seeds and the suet, but they never stay long. In my mind, they seem to either act like they are stealing the food and feeling guilty about it, or they are too embarrassed to be seen taking free food and leave as soon as possible. I put some sunflower seeds on the window sill, and occasionally I'll look up to see a White-breasted Nuthatch clinging to the brick right outside the window. Lately, they have been taking sunflower seeds and stashing them in cracks on the crabapple tree. Even their quiet little calls are cute.

Great Basin Birds

Red-breasted Nuthatches were very common and friendly in the forest above 10,000 feet on Sunday morning. Several landed right next to me as they passed through the area feeding.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds got to Comins Lake just a little before I did this year. Here the sunset lights up a male near the lake.

Bushtits act like and hang out with Ruby-crowned Kinglets, combing the shrubs along Cleve Creek. It is very hard to get one to sit still for a photo.

Nestling Horned Larks beg for food out in the valley.

Again this year I spotted an Osprey in Spring Valley. Must be passing on through...

A Pied-billed Grebe patrols his part of the marsh at Comins Lake.

Marsh Wrens will sing incessantly from deep inside the bulrushes. This guy stepped out into the open for a brief second.

Western Meadowlarks didn't seem to prefer the open valley, instead they were usually on the edge of the valley where there were scattered trees.

Cross-country Skiing

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Paul and I went cross-country skiing for the first time on Saturday. It was fun to learn and the trails were nice. It took some learning to figure out how to go downhill in a controlled manner.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch

A highlight of Saturday was getting to watch a red-breasted nuthatch at the feeders in McCormick's Creek State Park. The feeders had good attendance and diversity. Another treat (as seen in the bottom photo) was seeing a couple purple finches. Other notables: Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, and three Eastern Towhees.