It’s like census day at the bird feeder.

In one day, there’s been: downy woodpecker, Carolina wren, brown-headed nuthatch, white breasted nuthatch, male and female bluebirds, goldfinch in winter plumage, pine warbler, myrtle warbler, indeterminate brown warbler shaped thingies that I lack the patience to try and identify, slate sided junco, house finches, Carolina chickadees, more brown finchy things, female red bellied woodpecker, some variety of sparrow, tufted titmice, female cardinal, and a squirrel with a growth on its head.

The two bluebirds are hanging around together a lot. I’d guess they’re a mated pair, but hell, I don’t know bluebirds, I’ve had lunch with male friends plenty of times, so maybe they just knew each other from high school and were catching up on old times sake. I shouldn’t assume that two birds can’t hang around together without having hot bird sex when my back is turned. I guess.

No idea what the thing on the squirrel’s head is. Possibly it’s wearing a little hat. If it gets close enough, I will see if I can ID it–it could be a scar, or just something stuck to it’s head. Could be. Of course, with my luck, I’ll be plunged into yet another exciting learning experience where I discover a whole new class of squirrel parasites that I was heretofore ignorant of, which means that my family and friends will get to hear about squirrel head worms or whatever. for the next six months. It’s a good thing they either love me or are working on having enough originals to really cash in after I die.

What the hell is up with my squirrels? Are all squirrels unhealthy and plagued with illness and botflies, and you just never watch long enough to notice their individual ailments, or am I living the squirrel equivalent of a leper colony or something?