A number of years ago a pair of Gray Catbirds nested right under my dining room window--what wonderful intimate views I had. Unfortunately I had to clean up the very overgrown shrub in which they nested so they haven't nested in my yard since but do come to visit--well, they come to eat here anyway. And the male, or males, engage me in countersinging--or I engage them. This afternoon we had a strong storm with some small hail and a half inch of rain--afterwards there was a mini-fallout of birds: a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak and 2 male Black-headed Grosbeak; 4+ Yellow-rumped Warblers (more than I have seen on our Riverwalk all week); several singing Yellow Warblers; 2 Broad-tailed Hummingbirds; two male and 1 female Lazuli Buntings and 1 male Indigo Bunting (that have been around for a week); a few Pine Siskin that should have gone to breeding territories; and the pair of Gray Catbirds.
Since this action took place around 6 pm with still a few raindrops from clouds, I was unable to get any reasonable photos of these birds with the exception of the catbirds that foraged only about 20 feet away. The top two pics I believe are of the male as when I started singing, this is the catbird that jumped up on top of the post to confront me. And I think the bottom pic is of the female, the bird that continued foraging and ignored my whistled challenge. SeEtta
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