For the Birds

A few weeks ago, we finally got some hanging baskets for the front of our house. Since they are on either side of the kitchen window, I enjoy looking at them while I wash the dishes. Last year it seemed that a lot of humming birds visited our flowers, so I didn't think much of it when I first noticed a pair of house finches regularly coming to our geraniums. They male would sit on the wire, while the female would "explore" the inner parts of the plant.

In this picture, it's the female on the lookout.

The girls told me the female was building a nest, but until I saw her with nesting material in her beak, I didn't really believe. Of course this peaked my curiosity, so I took down the basket and sure enough, there was a lovely little nest. We wonder if their are eggs in the nest, but I don't want to disturb it if there are thus no picture of the nest). Here is a more close up picture.

Not only do we have birds living in our hanging baskets, but there is a family of woodpeckers living in my mom and dad's corkscrew willow tree. The girls were very excited at this discovery and suggested that we take pictures of it. We have heard lots of little chirping noises coming from the tree. Here is a picture of a woodpecker in the tree, and another of the woodpecker working on the power lines in the backyard.

And just for grins, here's an attempt at a video to capture the noise we keep hearing of the woodpecker at work.