Sunday at the Birdbath

These pictures of a male Summer Tanager and a Carolina Chickadee were taken this past Sunday, from the bedroom window that overlooks our birdbath.

The drought has kept our birdbath busy, but other than the usual summer birds there isn't much to report. On July 10th I was in the pool at the Silsbee Country Club when a Swallow-tailed Kite flew directly overhead (as commonplace as these sightings have become, I hope I never catch myself saying "just another Swallow-tailed Kite"). Mississippi Kites have been nesting in a pine across the road from our house, and on Sunday I checked the nest to discover that the young had already fledged. The nest appeared to be empty, but a couple of spotty juvenile kites were perched close by.