What a really cool post! So many beautiful birds around you! Did you get all the photos yourself? And to be able to know what they all are...

I was working in the New Herb garden the other day and this muddy yellow/tan bird kept perching on the stakes watching me. It hung around for quite a while. I would have sworn I'd not seen one before. Of course, the camera was in the house... A few hours later, I'd worked it out, it was the female oriole from the pair nesting in the signature oak this year. I most probably have seen one before, but they are normally skittish, so this one was out of context: a brief flash.

I thought of doing a bird post, but I don't have all the photos, the glimpses we see are so fleeting, and I seldom have my camera in hand...