We were married at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City.

And all the food was vegan, even the wedding cake!

You can be kicked out of a pizza parlor for swearing!

Then I heard screeching!  Here’s the other hawk:

Now, I know without question that the second bird is a Red-Tailed Hawk.  I know this because he took off and I could see under his wings.

Do you see the brown bit along the top of his wings?  That’s called a “patagial bar.”  In the other hawks it’s either dark along with the rest of the wing, white or striped.  The Red-Tailed Hawk is the only raptor (in my guidebook) that has a dark patagial bar without the rest of the wing also being dark.

These birds are so fantastic when they fly that even an imperfect picture like the one above is good enough to post.  So, if the first bird and the second bird both look like different pictures in the same guidebook of Red-Tailed Hawks, can they both be Red-Tailed Hawks?

Oh hello there, can I help you?

I took picture after picture, hoping that I could get a good shot.  And then, as if sensing my frustration, the Brewer’s Sparrow flew down on a branch mere feet from me.  There’s even a ladybug in this picture!!!

This species doesn’t have any easy markers for identification.  The guidebook mentions a white eye ring, but really it’s the absence of markings that make him identifiable.

That, and the fact that they’re most commonly found in sagebrush.  Which is where I found him.

The Song Sparrow, on the other hand, is easily identifiable by the brown spot on his breast.

The Brewer’s Sparrow may not be easily identifiable, but I really like his pink beak and bedroom eyes.

Audrey enjoys the shower but he doesn’t like me to take pictures afterwards.

Trevor, on the other hand, doesn’t mind having pictures taken.  Isn’t he adorable?  He smiles the same way that Conner does.

I keep trying to get him wet because he’s shedding a huge amount of dander these days.  It’s in clouds.  He produces so much dander that sometimes after he shakes it out, it scares him!

Conner is still only willing to take showers when it pleases him.  But at least he hams is up for the camera.

I also used the squash to make a stir fry with feta, tomatoes and tempeh.

Food tastes so much better when it comes from your own garden.

The breeding plumage has a brown head.  Below is a picture taken in Utah.

I know I’m excited by his sexy brown head!  This picture also has a dragonfly, oooh.

The brown is very distinctive.  You can make out the Avocets from quite far away.  The picture below was taken in Newport Bay, CA back in March.

The Avocets let me get closer than many other birds.  They spend a lot of time starting at me, but not flying.  And when they do fly, it’s quite a view.

I really like how they hang out with other birds.  They’re a constant companion that make little whimpering noises in the background.

The Avocets will be leaving in a few weeks for migration.  I’m really going to miss them.

By the time I got the car the light was already starting to fade.  It creates a nice soft light for the birds.  The birds in Oakland are very used to people, so I was able to get much closer to a Double-Crested Cormorant than usual.

In Utah, the picture below is the closest that I’ve gotten to the cormorants and it’s only because they were fishing underwater when I appeared around a bend.  So I scared the daylights out of them, which is why this is such an action shock.

I used to see Double-Crested Cormorants in front of the house in California, but they were always so far away that the pictures were too grainy.  You couldn’t even see how light the Double-Crested Cormorants are compared to other cormorants, such as this Pelagic Cormorant.

You can also see a big difference in the throat pouch.  The Double-Crested Cormorant has a giant throat pouch.

That is the healthiest cracker that you will ever see.  It’s wheat, flour, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and poppy seeds.  I grabbed a bunch of packets from this deli that we enjoy.

Conner and Trevor were so excited about Audrey expressing an interest in food that they mobbed him and the cracker.  I had to put Audrey inside the cage while I held the cracker in front of him so he could eat in peace.  For the harder food you have to hold it for Audrey.  He won’t eat the dried corn in the seed mix either unless you hold it.  By the way, Audrey is now on Facebook so feel free to friend him.