Sparrow stills

The feeder was hopping this morning. Well, actually the ground below the feeder was hopping. Ten house sparrows, two white-capped sparrows, one scrub jay and three california towhees were partying hard, vying for the fallen seed. I had to give in and toss a cup of seed out there for the growing crowd.

My entrance inspired great ire from the birds and most of the sparrows ended up in a nearby tree.

Celeste was transfixed and hoping against hope that I would just open the damn glass door so she could make the birds fly. I didn't let her do this, and she is currently sulking or sleeping. It's hard to tell the difference with her.

Here's one more shot:

Luisa over at Lassie, Get Help posted about Cornell's Project FeederWatch. I've finally been able to start participating. It took me forever to figure out the matte brown birds with a dusting of rose were California towhees, but once I did, VICTORY WAS MINE.

Also, I really need to get a teleconverter for my 200mm lens. The birds are flighty and, well, unlike my dogs won't let me get three feet from them. My pleas fall on deaf avian ears and so I'm just going to have to suck it up and get me a teleconverter so I can get better close-ups of these nifty little creatures.