A Goldfinch moves in

This male Goldfinch has taken up residence in our backyard and we're delighted! We're hoping he finds a mate and moves into one of our birdhouses.

New, Improved Armored Bird Feeder

The squirrels must have found a weak spot in the original "armored" feeder because they chewed the hell out of one of the feeder holes.

Well, we're ready for them with the new, improved Version 2.0 Armored Feeder! Break your little rodent teeth on this!

An armored bird feeder

Trying to keep the squirrels from robbing the birdseed is a full-time job. Not only do they steal seeds, they destroy the feeders. At the top is a feeder that was only two weeks old, destroyed in a day by squirrels. I've armored the feed holes in its replacement, shown at the bottom, with metal, overlaid with J&B Weld metal epoxy. Click the image to view a larger version.

Hopefully this will give the squirrels a toothache.

Not a bird...

... but we saw this Pacific Tree Frog while birdwatching at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, so I'm posting it! Although it looks big in this extreme close-up (click the image to see the full-sized photo), this frog is only an inch and 1/2 long.

Barred Owl released into Carkeek Park

This male Barred Owl was found injured by the side of the road in Seattle's Carkeek Park.

Luckily, PAWS' nationally renowned Wildlife Center is nearby and he was taken there for several weeks of rehabilitation.

My neighbor works at the Center, and was kind enough to let me know that the rehabilitated owl was going to be released back into Carkeek Park from their backyard, which borders the park.

In this video, you'll see the owl released from his travel crate, whereupon he flies to a nearby shed to get his bearings. He barely has a few moments to look around before a crow first screams a challenge at him, and then attacks him from behind.

The owl escapes to a nearby tree where the crow can't get at him. I stopped filming at this point, but later, when things had calmed down a bit, the owl began hooting. He was soon answered by another nearby owl, perhaps his mate. Sounds like a happy ending to me!

Hairy Woodpecker vs Downy Woodpecker

This hungry Downy Woodpecker is getting annoyed, waiting for the much larger Hairy Woodpecker to quit hogging the suet.

Flexi-Perch in action!

Tim of Colorado has a squirrel problem so bad that he almost gave up feeding the birds. But he built himself one of my Flexi-Perch birdfeeders (using these
instructions) and got this video of a squirrel trying to get at the seeds and finally falling off the feeder. The squirrel falls quickly, so that part is re-played in slow motion.