Sialia mexicana

I never get tired of seeing our Western Bluebirds visiting. It's hard to describe how deep their blue coloration is -- almost fluorescent. We never see them eating anything, just drinking from the pond (see also the picture of Jan 14, very similar). They eat fruit and berries (juniper especially) in the winter, and dine on insects during the breeding season.

This was the last day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count," and was the only day the Bluebirds showed up. Other visitors were the back-yard regulars, Doves (Collared and White-Winged), Northern Flickers, Juncos, House Finches and American Goldfinches, and Sparrows. Only saw one Bushtit and one Robin. Less usual birds for today were a White-Crowned Sparrow, Mountain Chickadee, Canyon Towhees, and Pine Siskins. Then, around 3PM, a very large flock of Sandhill Cranes flew over, migrating back north from the Bosque del Apache (150 miles to the south of us). I took pictures of the flocks, and from the pictures counted over 400 in one wave alone.