Birdbath Wars

I've been getting a real kick out of watching the birds in the birdbath. Today this one flew in and settled down for a real bath.

You need to keep in mind that these pictures are taken through a (very) dirty window, and I can't see details until I clean the pictures up later. I originally thought this was a starling.

In a few moments, a robin showed up. I didn't get any pictures of the best scene. The robin divebombed the dark bird and there was a tussle with screeching, but the robin did not get possession of the birdbath. You can see what the combatents thought of each other.

Pretty soon, the robin backed off and just sat on the porch rail as if it were waiting in line for its turn.

The robin flew off and the brown bird casually finished its bath. So, when I could really see these pictures... it's not a starling, it's a juvenile robin! Maybe the adult robin is not its parent? Maybe the adult robin has decided the juvie is grown up enough that it needs to learn how to share? Interesting questions.

This year, the birdbath has for sure been used by phoebes, starlings, the robins, a downy woodpecker, and quite a few of these guys. This is probably a house finch, but it's pretty hard to tell them from purple finches.

I alternated between working on the gardens and writing. A good and productive day.

See Phoebe on Birdbath