Quite the View for Canada Goose

This Canada goose made itself comfy in a hawk nest built in an aspen a few miles east of Elko. I was surprised she'd claimed it as her own, but according to A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds by Colin Harrison, "The nest is usually by water...rarely it may be on a raised site, a rock ledge, tree-stump, broken tree-trunk, or even the old nest of a large raptor." The goslings will have quite a jump. (Click on pic to enlarge.)

Two Baby Hummingbirds Sittin' In A Tree

Yesterday evening, Steve and I rode our bikes to the pond behind one of our local business parks to check out the beaver hut. We saw the two adults we knew were there -- one schlepping a willow branch back to the den -- the other skimming the edges of the pond, generally checking things out. No kits, though, which was a little disappointing. There was a pair of Canada geese, however, with eight goslings (or geeslings, as Oprah calls them), as well as a Mallard pair with two fuzzy ducklings.

Just as we were preparing to leave, the Canada geese swam over to the beaver hut and climbed atop it, the youngsters trailing behind. Steve said he thought they'd roost there, and seeing them settle in was a perfect cap to the evening. I wish we'd brought the camera.

Meanwhile, my neighbor, Laura VanCouvering, took this photo of a hummingbird nest, two tubby babies tucked inside. The nest is in a camillia in the yard of a friend in El Dorado Hills, and was taken in late March. Babies here are a little over two weeks old.