I’ve always been sad that I’ve never seen a Cardinal in person, and bummed that they don’t visit the West Coast. While grays and browns are perfectly pleasant and probably pretty practical in terms of protection from predators, I think if I were to be a bird, I’d want to be decked out in something with at least a bit of color. Still, the mixed hues of a few of our recent backyard visitors are more than satisfying. Not quite as showy as a Cardinal, but perhaps more elegant in a way.

Oddly, I don’t remember ever seeing a Sapsucker until about a month ago at a park a few miles away. Then just a couple of weeks later, this red-headed beauty appeared in our backyard. Did it follow me home?