Warning: Birds at Work

Lately we've had a crew of these birds of the woodpecker family hard at work in our yard. They're aerating the ground as they work like little jackhammers to find worms, bugs, whatever they want to eat. Our yard must be particularly full of goodies this year since we'll see 8 or 10 of the birds at any one time in the side yard, plus a few scattered around the front and back yards.

I like the distinct markings of yellow-shafted flickers. Very easy to recognize and large enough to spot at a distance. They're as big as a robin, maybe a little bigger actually.

Yesterday I saw something rare for our place, two bluebirds. Hope they will stay. We do have a house for them but the swallows usually grab it quickly. Speaking of swallows, the purple martin house is filling up and I presume we'll soon be fighting the battle to keep barn swallows from building a nest in the rafters on the inner part of our patio. They make too much of a mess to let them alone, and last year although we gave up on keeping them out, it was so hot up there that the two babies died.

Maybe Scaredy Cat will scare them away. She's hanging out on the patio more and more.