July 10 photo of the day

Always lots of drama in the front yard birdie spa. I have two bird feeders with black sunflower seeds in my ornamental plum tree, and two hummingbird feeders on the porch right outside my studio window. Mostly finches - gold, house, purple - pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, an occasional mourning dove. Last summer, I looked out to find a dozen red-winged blackbirds cleaning out the feeders. There's also a neighborhood cat that knows that the birds get complacent and feed on the ground below the feeders. One gets picked off about once a week.

I attribute the tree's job of hosting dozens of birds a day to its healthiness. Most of the houses on my street have ornamental plums in the front yard. Mine is the tallest and has the largest diameter trunk of any of the plums planted in 2005 when these houses were built.

This guy getting a drink (and very aware that I am watching him) is a purple finch. They look almost identical to house finches but are more of a rosy red, have a splash of red at the base of the tail, and almost a crest that pops up on the top of their heads. He blends in with the wine & roses weigela surrounding the birdbath.