What to do when you are stuck indoors? Why, look out the window!

I've been sidelined by the worst cold ever, and haven't been able to see my beloved river trail for several days. Spring has arrived and I have been looking hard for the spring migrants that have been arriving in the region, and really felt like I was missing out.

But wouldn't you know that backyards with feeders can actually attract some of those migrants? We've had them before in previous years, but it still takes your breath away when you actually see one of them. This morning it was a beautiful male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus).

We also saw some intensely colored American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis). We've had them in the yard on rare occasions in the past, but never got good enough photos to post on the blog.

It was nice of the birds to come to me, since I couldn't get out to them!