A wonderful weekend with friends and family. One and a half days of nice weather followed by 48 hours of drenching rain and gusting winds. You can't ask for a better combination to start and finish a long weekend, especially when you are with people you care about. . . . . That is of course unless you are a birding enthusiast, in which case you would have to confess, as I do, to having a problem getting in just one good day of birding out of three.

Jill is trying to find a room for me at one of the local BBB (Birders Beyond Boundaries) treatment centers - she thinks I need help overcoming my fear of missing too much of this spring's migration.

With that said - we owe huge thanks to Bob & Judith Bender for making possible most of the pictures below.  The American Dipper chicks are our favorites from the weekend. We could not ask for a nicer couple to bird with - Bob and Judith are excellent docents and even better hosts.  

Western Kingbird:

Rufous Hummingbird:

A pair of Black-headed Grosbeak:

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel:

American Dipper chicks in action:

Swallowtail butterfly:

The Dusky Flycatcher below stayed put, repeating its three phrased song: "sibpip, jijurree, psweee!, again and again for at least a half hour.  An uncommon opportunity to immerse myself in the real-life song of this species:

Lastly, and fittingly, a memorable Red-winged Blackbird that

Jill's father (Sam) and I came across during our walk through Camp Polk Meadow: