I had a little backyard birding this morning that involved some behavior new to me. Right out in my alley in Boise’s North End, a trip to take out the garbage led to a very birdy few minutes. The Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches were very active, vocalizing and catching a bath in some standing water mid-alley, and some Dark-eyed Juncos were about as well. One of them, a female (or b-o-y?) landed on the south-facing (sunny) shingle roof on the neighbor’s garage, and as she moved around and changed positions, with a little of the shingles’ gravel flying, she seemed to taking a dust bath. Then a male flew in and gave her some attention. This behavior was akin to begging (seems late and out of place for that) so not sure exactly what these behaviors represented. Thoughts/insights?

(Originally posted on Facebook group, Idaho Bird Sightings and Discussion, 10/5/19.)

One additional comment – it’s great having them back, isn’t it?