Hot Weather, Bugs, and a Few Birds

Summer is here, with all its heat, humidity, and bugginess.  Apparently airborne insects see me as a kind of bipedal landing strip (or filling station, in the case of the mosquitoes).  Twice today I also had that old familiar burning sensation...some fire ants just wanted to say hello, and watch where you're stepping...

My mom, who lives in California, came to stay with us for a week, and brought a couple of her great-grandchildren with her (at 77 she is raising a two-year-old boy and four-year-old girl).  We did some local sightseeing and took the kids to the beach one day (no oil coming ashore here...yet).  Needless to say I haven't had much time for birding lately, but on Saturday afternoon I noticed a Mississippi Kite circling over our neighborhood, and a few days earlier, while driving home,  I saw an adult Swallow-tailed Kite flying over Pine Island Bayou, the dividing line between Jefferson and Hardin Counties.

White-winged Doves continue to crowd our feeders, which also attracted a Common Grackle on Saturday.  A pair of Brown Thrashers in our yard this weekend were the first I'd seen here in a while, and from their open gapes appeared to be a bit heat-stressed.  The other day I also noticed a gray squirrel sitting on our Yankee Flipper, brazenly enjoying a snack without consequence.  The battery had died.  I'm recharging it now, so he'll be in for a surprise next time.