Sunday wonders - B

B is for Birds.  I don't think of myself as a bird-watcher in the 'twitcher' sort of way.  In fact, this became very clear on our trip to the canyons.  Our guide was a serious bird-watcher...it was hard for me to keep  up.   I just like to watch birds do their bird thing. I'm amazed at how some have extraordinarily beautiful coloring and some are so very plain.  And it's fascinating that they all have their special seasons and habits which help them to survive.

There are winter birds who visit us in the fall on their way to warmer nesting grounds, like the snow geese.

The robins come back to us in the spring when our ground is warmer and the food is more plentiful for those begging beaks of their chicks.

Mother and Father Goose go everywhere with their family in tow...

The great blue heron hunts in solitary patience...

While others feed communally - and with some help from their human friends.

Some birds seem familiar to us, like this moor hen we found paddling in Ireland.  At first glance, we just said: 'oh, a coot'.  But, when we looked closely, we realized that it was an exotic kind of coot with a brilliant beak and a different name.

There are birds that don't mind  standing out on a rainy, fall day...

And birds that like the drier, warmer weather and find it difficult to fly in the rain.

There are homely birds who take shelter from the noon sun in summer...

And birds who are with us year-round - even in the snow.

Birds can be any color at all.  Some blend in with their surroundings...

And others don't seem to blend at all. 
All are worth watching.  It's easy - and free.