Mockingbirds, Finches, Kingbirds, and Goldfinches

I've been seeing quite a few birds at home and at school.  I saw something strange yesterday.  There were tons and tons of tree swallows at school.  It was the first time I've seen them at school before, and there were more than I've ever seen in one place!  Plus, flying around right in the middle of them was a turkey vulture.  It was amazing!  The sky was just full of tiny swallows and one big vulture.  Unfortunately, I do not have photos of the swallows.  In fact, the only swallows I've taken pictures of are cliff swallows, and even those weren't very good pictures.  Swallows are extremely hard to photograph!  They move too fast!

I've seen other birds I wasn't able to photograph as well, such as killdeer, sparrows,  bluebirds, and an owl that I saw today (at night, of course).  If you notice, all of the photos below are very gray.  It's been cloudy and rainy all week.  It rained pretty hard this morning.  It hasn't kept the birds away, though!

The bird I've seen (and heard) the most is the northern mockingbird.  Since the birds here are already getting ready for spring, the mockingbirds have begun their non-stop singing.  They sing all day and all night.  Unfortunately, one of them has chosen the spot right outside my bedroom window as its nighttime singing spot, and it wakes me up at night.  Below is a photo of a mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird

 

Another common bird is the house finch.  There have been more and more of them at school, and they've all been singing.  Below is a photo of a male.

House Finch

I've also been seeing many more Cassin's kingbirds; though in my backyard, not at school.  There are a lot of them everywhere and they're very noisy.  They're very nice-looking with their bright yellow feathers.  Below is a photo of one.

Cassin's Kingbird

Another equally bright yellow bird is the lesser goldfinch.  I haven't seen a ton of them, but I've seen them occasionally.  I often hear one or two of them whistling.  Below is a photo of a female.

Lesser Goldfinch