Birds and Surprises

One day I took Flash out on the deck so he could keep me company while I filled the bird feeders. I was surprised to see this cat watching me on the lower level of the deck. I almost walked right past him without seeing him because he was very still. But as soon as I took his picture, he ran away. (Yes, I often carry my camera when I feed the birds. Sometimes they hang around nearby.)

I think this is a feral cat. There are a bunch of them around because a couple of neighbors feed them. Flash was quite fascinated by the cat and watched for a while after he disappeared.

Sharing with Black and White Weekend and Caturday.

Usually I take more than one picture of each subject, just in case one is blurred or another one looks better in some way. This bird flew away as I clicked the shutter for another shot.

Next we have a little goldfinch. I was glad to catch him posing on a branch. Usually I just photograph them on a feeder. They eat a lot of seed!

The downy woodpeckers like suet rather than seed.

A family of geese visit my yard every day. The neighborhood lake is home to several kinds of geese and ducks.

This squirrel was scarfing down some sunflower seed the other day. When I looked outside this morning, this feeder lay broken on the ground, and a suet cake was also on the grass. Did the squirrel do that, or was it something bigger? Well, I wouldn't put it past the squirrel, but he doesn't like my suet because it is seasoned with red pepper. So it's possible that the guilty party was something else, like a bear! It has happened a couple of times before, and the weather has been mild enough that the bears may be out of their winter dens.

Sharing with Saturday's Critters and The Bird D'Pot