Our friends have come back

[Aggie_Ama]

I actually live right by the protected area where the Golden Cheek Warbler lives. There is a great hiking trail you can supposedly get a good look at them. And Bald eagles nest down the road a piece. I haven't seen either yet.

Unfortunately my house sits on what was once ranch land, it is just cleared of cedar so no tall trees. I need to get a book before I head back to Ft. Davis, they had tons of neat birds out there! And the coast is good for birding but we always go in the summer when they have left because it is so hot, never the bird months. Go figure.

[bmccasland]

Hard to tell from the photo, but I'll go with the Purple / House Finch, leaning towards the House Finch. Both have a nice song.

As for bird books - I'd recommend the Sibley guides. He's a terrific illustrator, has flight, perched, side, front poses of all birds, so it's easier to compare birds. Probably the best thing is to get to a good bookstore or nature center that has multiple bird books and compare one type to the next. There are several out there, from the classic Peterson, or Golden Guide (is it still published?), National Geographic, to the more recent Sibley, and some others. The only ones I don't really like are the ones with photographs, you just don't see everything you need to with a photo, where an artist/illustrator works to capture all the little bits. It also helps to have range maps, descriptions, and art work all on the same/facing pages. Peterson actually insisted his range maps be in the back because he wanted you to look at and listen to the bird, not concentrate on some map - long ago I heard the man talk and he answered a question about his book format.

[salsabike]

Listen up when that house finch sings. They have the MOST delightful spring songs. Here, it's a sort of long babbling twittering song that ends in a three-note trill. We love it.