A Raccoon, a Cat, Some Advice, and Four Birds

I know this doesn't have to do with birds, but it took place in my backyard.  My feral cat that I take care of came by last night, and she hadn't been around in a while, so I put out some food for her.  However, a giant raccoon came and started eating up all the food while she just sat there, so I decided to put food in the bowl next to it and separate the bowls so they could both eat.  Though, to do that, I had to get close to the raccoon.  I had to fend the raccoon off with a long stick because it refused to move when I tried walking toward it, and it kept trying to get to the bowl while I was filling and moving it.  Eventually I did it, and the cat and raccoon both got to eat.  Below is a photo of the two eating together.

I saw many birds this morning, though, unfortunately, I didn't get good photos of many of them.  Below is a photo of an Allen's hummingbird flying.

Allen's Hummingbird

Below is a bushtit that was picking the bugs off a rosebush.

Bushtit

Below is a mourning dove.  It was with another dove, but the other dove flew away before I could take a photo.

Mourning Dove

Advice

You might have heard this before, or I might have said this before, but it's good to leave a dead bush or tree in your yard.  Little bugs live in them, thus providing food for woodpeckers.  Most woodpeckers seem to be found on dead trees more than any other live trees.  Birds also like to break the twigs off of them to use for their nests.  (A pile of dead branches works just as well for twigs.)  I have a few dead trees in my yard and there are also some piles of branches, and every year I see birds gathering sticks from them.

 

Since nesting season is coming up soon, you might consider leaving some supplies out for the birds.  Piles of twigs (as mentioned above), some hair from your hairbrush or your pet's hairbrush, yarn, straw, or anything that is non-toxic and small enough to pick up, are good things to leave out for them.

Below is a western scrub-jay.  It was pulling twigs off of a dead tree, most likely for it's nest.  The scrub-jays always come back to the same tree every year for their twigs.

Western Scrub-Jay