It’s nesting season again in our Sonoma Valley back yard!

The nuthatches are back in their Nuthatch Villa. They’ve chosen the same box several years in a row now.

A jealous Nuttall’s woodpecker wanted to get in on the nesting action, eying an adjacent box . . .

“Knock, knock, anyone home?” . . .

“OCCUPIED!!!!!!!” said the disapproving oak titmouse. . . .

Meanwhile, a California scrub jay scurried about prepping a nest by collecting bits of . . . scrubs?

The titmouses were similarly collecting nesting materials. I tried to get this titmouse in focus, but somehow the photo got all mossed up.😁

And then there was an Anna’s hummingbird zooming around a corner of the house with spider webs, presumably to build a nest of its own. It’s another lousy photo, I know. Even though I asked it politely, the hummingbird just wouldn’t stay still. Sheesh!

Of course there were plenty of other birds in the yard today that weren’t nesting. Here’s a photo of a dark-eyed junco and a western bluebird, just because I think they’re pretty.

It’s not my best photo of a bluebird, but darn it, I almost ALWAYS like looking at them. Actually, all of our nesting boxes are intentionally specifically sized for bluebirds, but they’ve never decided to settle down in one. We’re crossing our fingers for 2022, but it looks like things are already getting crowded in our back yard. We’ll just have to see.
🐦 🙂🐦