Backlit but still beautiful Red-headed Woodpeckers.

The Orchard Oriole is smaller than a Baltimore Oriole just as an orchard is smaller than Baltimore.

Naturally
My walking took me to clouds and birdsongs. Birds were living out loud. I greeted birds as if they were old friends. An eastern towhee delighted me with its presence. I'm sorry
its name was changed from rufous-sided towhee. I named a faithful canine companion after this handsome bird. The dog didn't come when I called "Eastern," so I had to shift her name to Towhee.
A brown thrasher repeated itself just as mature men tend to do. I listened to its greatest hits. The plaintive whistling of white-throated sparrows was alluring.
I heard a loud, ringing "Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, lend me your shoe" from the water's edge. The song of the northern waterthrush reminded me of the title of an Emily Dickinson poem, "A Little Madness in the Spring."
My attention was drawn to the Nashville warblers by their yellow undersides, but they foraged so low their rufous crown patches were often evident. A black-and-white warbler creeped along a tree trunk as deftly as a nuthatch. The first Harris's sparrow and rose-breasted grosbeak in the yard looked massive while maintaining social distancing from a chipping sparrow. I watched an industrious chickadee peel dead bark from a sapling for use in a nest. Elderberry leafed out. I saw squirrel nests high in oak trees. The squirrels are living in a grocery store.
A touch of nature is outside every window. I never get tired of the scenery found there. It's a snapshot in time. Just look around. It's show-and-tell for the sequestered.
I've been reading
I revisited "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck where I found this passage, “On the fences the shiny blackbirds with red epaulets clicked their dry call. The meadowlarks sang like water, and the wild doves, concealed among the bursting leaves of the oaks, made a sound of restrained grieving.”
Q&A
Leann Juveland of Albert Lea asked if great horned owls have mate for life and how many eggs they have. Great horned owls are monogamous and a pair often remains on the same territory all year. Pairs may stay together for life. If something happens to one, the survivor usually finds another mate. In the fall, the pair begins a courtship display, loudly calling to each other. They have one to four eggs with a 30-37 day incubation period.
"Why should I feed birds in the summer if they have insects to eat?" The feeders bring birds where we can see them better. It's our own private Discovery Channel or National Geographic Channel that allows us to see hummingbirds and orioles at nectar feeders. Jelly feeders bring in gorgeous orioles, tanagers and catbirds. Sunflower seeds attract handsome rose-breasted grosbeaks. American goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively. House finches eat almost solely plant materials, including seeds, buds and fruits. I love seeing a father cardinal introduce his offspring to a feeder. I keep our restaurant open year-round.
"What has webbed feet other than ducks and geese?" Other animals include: Swan, gull, loon, alcid (birds like puffins), albatross, tern, flamingo, some penguin species, beaver, muskrat, and some kinds of frogs, salamanders and turtles.
"Are juvenile bald eagles larger than their parents?" Not, really, but they might look larger their first year because of longer flight feathers that aid fledglings learning to fly.
"Where do white-throated sparrows nest in Minnesota?" In north central and northeastern Minnesota, with the highest nesting densities in the northeastern parts.
"Where do golden eagles build their nests?" Golden eagles usually nest on cliffs or in trees in open habitat. They avoid heavily forested and developed areas but have been observed nesting on manmade structures like windmills. Bald eagles typically nest high in the tallest living tree. Golden eagles don't nest in Minnesota.
"My grandfather told me that robins sing before a rain. Is that true?" When robins are intent on singing, they begin early in the morning and sing before almost everything. I believe robins often sing before a rain, a rain song of sorts filled with liquid phrases, perhaps responding to changes in barometric pressure or for some other reason.
Thanks for stopping by
"Some things in life are bad. They can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle. Don't grumble, give a whistle. And this'll help things turn out for the best. And always look on the bright side of life. Always look on the light side of life. If life seems jolly rotten. There's something you've forgotten. And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps. Don't be silly chumps. Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing. And always look on the bright side of life. Come on! Always look on the right side of life." —Eric Idle/Monty Python
Do good.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker showing some red. Photo by Al Batt

W.C. Fields would have said, “My little chickadee.”