In My Backyard

The other day I was sitting at my desk by 

the sliding glass door and a fluttering of wings

caught my eye. 

A little flock of birds was flitting about 

in the branches of the Big-Leaf Maple tree. 

Bright splashes of yellow on their throats, on their rumps, 

under their wings, and on the crowns of their heads

had me curious......

They seemed intent on their search for tasty 

insect morsels on the green flower panicles, 

moving quickly while chirping and twittering

to each other. 

I was completely intrigued, as I had never 

seen these little birds in all the years I have lived here. 

I couldn't find them in my Western Washington field guide, 

so I turned to Google. 

I found out that they are Yellow-rumped Warblers, 

and that they are fairly common here! 

They are insect and berry eaters and prefer nesting

high up in conifer groves. I think they might have 

been migrating through, because I haven't seen them since. 

They were so lively and noisy that they attracted 

the curiosity of the resident birds who flew 

in to investigate. 

The Steller's Jays wondered what the fuss was 

about and even tried to figure out what was so 

tasty, but apparently, it was not to their liking, 

so they sat and watched for a while. 

Soon, they were sounding the alarm

as a large raptor came into view. 

As it came closer, it flew lower and lower, 

casing the area for prey. 

I had recently noticed this large bird

flying over about once a day,  

with a nearly 6 ft. wingspan.....

I believe it is a Golden Eagle. 

I could be wrong......

  it might be an immature Bald Eagle, 

but if it is, it is on the large size.....

The Steller's Jays were giving the warning cry....

Creeeeeee, Creeeeee, in perfect imitation of 

a raptor's call. 

Watchdogs of the bird world, they warn of danger. 

The forest went silent as all went into hiding. 

This wild Hare froze in place and stayed that way 

for nearly 5 minutes. 

I'm glad I don't have a vegetable garden.....

and this is one reason why! 

After a beautiful, sunny day, sudden storm clouds 

moved in with thunder and lightning! 

Hail, too! 

A lightning bolt hit very close by with an 

extremely loud crack. 

It scared me right off my chair! 

Whitey Bear started howling.....

Kai grabbed his favorite toy, looking 

absolutely terrified and jumped right into

my arms, 

and even Weenie Baby, who doesn't flinch 

at anything, jumped up from her bed 

and followed me onto the sofa.

The four of us huddled together as the storm 

raged around us, and I thought of the 

poor little wild things and where did they hide? 

Just as quickly as the storm came, so it did leave, 

giving us a glimpse of Mt. Rainier in the evening skies. 

Thanks for visiting my back yard, dear friends! 

I hope you'll stop by again soon! 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Saturday's Critters

Won't you join the fun?

xoxo