Sure Signs of Spring

Had a good quick walk this afternoon at lunch thanks to a pair of cars pulled off at a trailhead gate I had not previously discovered. There is quick access from a fairly steep trail to a mesa top. On the way up I had my first look at wildflowers for the spring. Some sort of a daisy I guess?

After seeing only a single bird on my walk, and an unidentified one at that, I arrived back to my car for a great sighting.

Forty or so Mountain Bluebirds were working their way through the adjacent field, and stopping to perch and sing on fence posts and a couple of roadside trees. The sunlight makes the male's color brilliant, even if the focusing at that distance shows better detail of the post.

Here is a sharper closeup of the male. He may still be molting, or the slightest difference in light allows the more drab colors to appear.

Here is the female much closer, and from the front. At this angle Bluebird doesn't even come to mind. There is a faint bit of blue running through the wing, but for the most part the female's blue is all in her tail.

I did enjoy another Western Meadowlark perched just as close to my car window. The dense branches that formed its perch weren't very photogenic though so another picture for another day on that one.

Some of the buds on bushy trees in a road divider on my way back were looking very green and leafy, I noticed. Whenever we do get our spring blizzard it is going to be a rude awakening for humans and wildlife alike.

2009 Count: 70

Lifetime: 96