July 20-Virginia trip-birdwatcher heaven!

Virginia and I visited her sister Julie and her hubby David Schwartz, who's a prof of Philosophy at Randolph-Macon in Lynchburg (Lunchbag) Va. Bee-utiful place full of decaying mountains, rivers and very large trees and forests too. They got a beautiful house and they have an excellent array of bird feeders that brings the cool flying fauna to their big, plate-glass windows. And of course, I couldn't resist, especially with birds we don't get to see in Austin.

Check it out.

All this sites showed up on our first day there.






House Finches. Now, we get these in our neck of the woods but not around my house so much, so I went nuts with the camera. At home I saw them at the Niger thistle feeder, but here they were at the standard feeder. Indulge me.

Now these American Goldfinches are extremely cool. We don't get to see them in our hood. We get the lesser goldfinches, which are cool, don't get me wrong. But check out the striking colors on these birds. Even the drabber female is dang pretty.

And check out the Ruby-throats! I was so jealous there were so many. Probably ten to twenty times what I get at my house. And, lots of males here where most visitors at my house had been females. (When I got back, I suddenly saw lots of males at home too. Go figure.)

And check out Dolly, their crazy 13 month-old chocolate lab. Pretty no?

Also check out this beautiful flowering vine. Don't know what it is exactly, but I was compelled to see shoot it.

Plus, they had a bluebird nest box and it had 4 little one in it too! Of course, the parent Eastern Bluebirds had to be nearby, Here's one bringing worms. Really, worms, like in the picture books.