As for birds, it was pretty good both days. All spring I've been quite sure that grackles have nested by the pond, and today I had confirmation of that. Adults were carrying food to a barely fledged young in the pond. This is another addition to our list of breeding species for the garden. No doubt grackles have nested there before and we've not noticed, for they are hardly an uncommon species! However, this is the first spring where they have been consistently present every time I visit and behaving in ways that indicate they are nesting. They were quite ticked off at a red squirrel and three grackles chased the little guy up and down one of the willows by the pond. They seemed very upset with it, no doubt because reds are egg and nestling predators.

I found a couple of yellow warblers engaging in courtship, with the male feeding the female. At times she seemed to be trying to get away from this constant feeding, but nothing daunted, he'd pluck another insect and hurry off to feed his lady love :-)

Barn swallows were mud-gathering at a damp, muddy spot on the edge of the garden. I hoped to be able to get a photo of them doing this but when I moved in a little closer they flew away, and then flew around and around without landing, so I left them to it. Also around were several northern rough-winged swallows, as well as the tree swallows.

A great-crested flycatcher seems to be back, and noisily so, at the garden. A pair of American redstarts are still there, as are several red-eyed vireos, a pair of eastern kingbirds, a small flock of cedar waxwings, and all the other usual birds.