[TN-Bird] Birds "enjoying" a shower. Eurasian C-D, cardinals, grackles, red-wings, etc.

Good Rainy Morning!!!!
 
Here in the Charlotte Park section of West Nashville, we finally had a  
fairly decent rain this morning.  The birds were delighted!!!!!  I  felt as of 
I 
was invading their privacy as I watched them bathe, preen and  stretch their 
wings during the rain.
 
Yesterday's "beer-gutted" hummingbirds either lost their "beer" overnight  or 
migrated and have been replaced by scads of skinny, hungry hummers this  
morning.  Maybe I should call them "pot-bellied" since they are not  drinking 
beer!  One was sipping around my puny althea (rose of  Sharon) blossoms 
yesterday, 
so they must have produced a little sugar  in this heat and drought.  I have 
never seen my altheas look more pathetic  and TINY!
 
The Eurasian collared dove came for breakfast at 8:20 AM, then flew up to a  
bare limb in the hackberry tree where it stayed for over an hour.  It put  on 
quite a show with all its acrobatics while completing its showering  chores.  
What an opportunity it gave me to study this bird which has been  somewhat 
unfamiliar to me.  This is its third day of coming to my yard, and  it seemed 
far 
more comfortable than on the previous two days.  A huge flock  of rock 
pigeons landed on the deck below the dove's perch, and that seemed to  
disgruntle it 
enough that it flew away at 9:38.
 
While it rained, a female cardinal was going through all kinds of bathing  
contortions only about ten feet from the dove on another bare limb.   Several 
other cardinals were doing the same elsewhere in the yard.
 
All over the yard, birds were on bare or near bare limbs enjoying their  
showers, too.  A huge flock of starlings were in the tree tops going  through 
the 
motions of taking their showers.  Several migrating(?) grackles  also joined 
the bathers.  Chickadees, titmice and others provided lots of  enjoyment for 
me.  Wonder of I am a bird voyeur?????
 
Two grackles just landed on the deck along with an adult male red-winged  
blackbird and one of the prettiest immature male red-winged blackbirds I have  
ever seen that close.  His epaulettes(sp?) are almost defined when he  is 
perched, and they show the red and yellow quite nicely when he  flies, 
although, 
otherwise, he is still quite streaked.  Another  thrill!
 
Happy birding,
 
Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN


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