Last weekend, we had some non-raptorial visitors at our banding blind. (Which was good because there sure weren't many hawks around.)
True to form, they brought happiness.
We do our banding in an incredibly beautiful location. It takes something special to make it even more beautiful, but these birds are up to it.
They obviously realized that our rusty stakes provided just the right coloration to help them blend into the landscape.
The females didn't stand out quite so much with their more subtle plumage, but that's just a matter of degree. They were still quite distinctive compared to all the sparrows who normally wander the site.
She looks taken aback by my statement. Really, subtle doesn't mean boring - look at those beautiful shades of blue and the tasteful terra cotta accents. I wish I could pull myself together this elegantly.
But the guys... well, they're pure eye candy, aren't they?
Seriously, how about a couple more?
... and ...
They stayed in our area for twenty minutes or so, and came very close to the blind for much of their visit. (All these photos were taken with my point and shoot - that's how close they were most of the time.) Alas, all happiness must come to an end and they finally moved on. Soon after that we decided it was time to hit the road ourselves.