Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Black-Headed Grosbeak





The Black-Headed Grosbeak is a welcome visitor to my garden, arriving mid-May. The first sign they have arrived is the robin- like song of the males, and the sharp woodpecker -like calls of the females. This male was quite curious about my presence, and stopped chowing down seed long enough to glance at me before resuming his meal, but when I got too close for his comfort he flew away, but not before I snapped his picture. I was very pleased to capture such clear pictures of this beautiful bird, showing the stunning color and details of his feathers, and cheeky expression.

5 comments:

tina said...

Spectacular pictures indeed! I've only ever seen the rose-breasted grosbeaks and they are quite the treat so I know how excited you are to see these. I wonder if they ever come on the east side of the country? Your birds are so neat.

Chloe m said...

We get grosbeaks here in the Rocky Mountains but they look slightly different. This is a great shot and one to be proud of.
Thanks for stopping by, KeeWee!

Laura said...

what a beautiful little bird. I enjoy watching the bird visit our feeder. The kids love spying on them too!

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Such lovely photos, I love these little birds. Our first house had these beautiful visitors arriving mid-spring each year, and camping out on our bird feeders for hours each day. I haven't (yet) seen any here though, even though we haven't moved that far away. I do miss having them around.

D said...

We love the grosbeaks, the Black headed and the Evening grosbeak frequent the garden... so many wonderful birds here in the PNW. It looks like the sun is finally here for the weekend... hope you have an enjoyable one.