An American Goldfinch has been at the feeder for the past two days. Thirty years ago, I saw one of these guys and thought somebody’s parakeet had escaped. Researching what it was started me on a lifetime of bird watching.

White-breasted Nuthatch making off with a sunflower chip.

If you look closely at this shot, you’ll realize that there are four 3-day-old cottontail rabbits hiding in the grass (the fourth is out of focus to the upper right). We found these little guys several days ago on our daily dog-walk. They were charming, but they were also just six inches from the sidewalk — every passing dog could find them. We assume that the mother had to move them from their original nest, but couldn’t she find someplace safer for them? They were there the next day, but we didn’t go out yesterday because it was cold and drizzly — perfect weather for killing little bunnies. When we went by this morning, they weren’t there. I hope that means that the mama moved them again, this time to someplace safer.