The musician migration continued with Yngwie Malmsteen last weekend! Ass-kicking show as always.





Plenty of warblers moving through recently.

Palm



American redstart



Black-throated blue





Magnolia





Ovenbird



Golden-winged





Back home, painted buntings and butterflies add fall color!











Dragonflies in love



I just migrated back from Canada this past week and hope to enjoy some birding this weekend! A cool front is expected in South Florida. High temps in the 80's instead of 90's! Hooray!

Getting some fall-ish color







Frisky fawn









Mama woodpecker also getting pestered





Up to 4 painted buntings so far







Brown Thrasher



Cuban treefrog



Leopard frog yoga. Downward frog.



In addition to birds, fall weather is bringing good concerts our way.

Moonspell! All the way from Portugal! 4th time seeing them.

First set of painted buntings arrived this past week, 2 males and a female.



Hanging with Mr. Cardinal





Lots of hummingbirds too.







Sunbathing



Migration has brought some northern visitors.

Wilson's Warbler



Also sunbathing



Veery



American Redstart







Ovenbird





There are hints of fall in the air, so hopefully more birds will be on the way!

Migration is getting underway. We've had hummingbirds and warblers passing through the garden.



Did you get my good side?



Brown Thrasher



Black Racer



Queen Caterpillars



Looking for painted buntings to arrive in the next few weeks!

Spent a week in the PNW hoping to cool off. Unfortunately they had a heat wave but it was still a good time!

On the ferry in Seattle



Hiking





On the ferry to Victoria, BC. We were enveloped in spooky fog for almost the entire journey. Cool, at last!



We arrived just in time for the Symphony Splash, a concert held in the harbor on a barge.





Butchart Gardens











The elusive Mossy Owl



We were marveling at the spiny Monkey Puzzle Tree when my friend said that there was no way a bird could ever nest in there.

Not 30 seconds later, cheeping was heard from the spiky thicket! Guess this house finch was determined to find a safe nesting site.







The ferry ride back to Washington was also interesting. We saw loads of whale boats grouping up and saw with the long lens that they were on some whales. We later found out that they were humpback whales!





We also noticed a strange mirage effect that appeared like a mirror image. Everyone out on deck was marveling at the upside down lighthouses. Found out later it is called Fata Morgana and is associated with the legend of the Flying Dutchman! It was pretty cool looking.





Back home, tree frogs have been reveling in the heat and rain!



Is it fall yet???

Summer is not my favorite time of year to be in Florida, but there are still some interesting wildlife sightings.

For example, I learned that swallow-tailed kites do not get along with vultures. These two had an aerial battle right over the house!





The frogs love the heat and rain.





Blue Jays and Brown Thrashers continue to hang out in the garden.





The cardinal family has fledged at least one chick. It begs to be fed even though it is perfectly capable of eating on its own.









On the plus side, the hummingbirds should be back in less than 2 months!

Last week I visited Montana for the first time for work. Pretty cool place. Got to go on a field trip to see the sagebrush. Saw some sage grouse!





Couldnt escape the mosquitoes though!



Lark Bunting



Red Wing Blackbird





Horned Lark







Ruddy Duck







Cliff Swallows







Back home, the bigger mosquitoes were waiting.



Tiny toad



Leopard Frog



Swallow-tailed Kite

This marsh rabbit disapproves of the 30" of rain we had over the month of May!



The blue jay family managed to cope with the rain and raise at least 3 fledglings.



May passed in a blur of concerts, rain, travel, and work. We did have a few late migrants pass through the garden earlier in the month.

Female black throated blue warbler



Rose breasted grosbeak



Black racer hunting frogs and lizards



Black swallowtail





Hammerfall!









Caught Ghost again in Asheville. They put on a good show.







Now we just have to survive the summer until the fall migrants (both birds and musicians) come back!

All 3 owlets successfully fledged earlier this month! They grew up so fast.



No room in the box!



A rare glimpse of Dad.



Peeking out







Right after the owls fledged, I headed out to Tucson for some birding and music. It was an awesome trip!

My first destination was Patagonia.



Ladder-backed and Gila woodpecker sharing the feeder



Gambel's quail





Inca Dove



Broad-billed hummingbird



Next destination: Saguaro National Park.



Black-tailed gnatcatcher



Red-tailed hawk with dinner



Desert Cardinal (Pyrrhuloxia)







My first wild Gila Monster sighting!!!





After the wildlife excursions, it was time to see Ghost. Front and center for a killer show.



Using this sassy gentleman for my phone wallpaper :)



Kind of wish I had taken more pics, but I was too enraptured by the whole thing!







The pinnacle of the evening. And I thought that the best thing to happen that day would be the Gila Monster ;)

The screech owlets are enormous. We have noticed them peering out of the nest box during the day. Last year's chicks left the box a few days after they started doing this, so it won't be long now!





Mom spends very little time at the box. She came by to check on them the other day during a rainstorm. Other than that, we rarely see her now, other than rapid food deliveries. The male is still roosting in the yard keeping watch.







In other bird news, most of the painted buntings have gone north. We have a few green birds but they are dwindling each day. Still have catbirds and the occasional warbler visiting. We have also been seeing a ground dove, which is a nice sighting. They tend to be more common closer to the coast in the dune and scrub environment.

Ground Dove



Worm-eating warbler



Female redstart