Leucism

Leucism is a condition in birds and mammals that causes a partial loss of pigmentation.  Sometimes it is just a small part of the bird (or mammal) that is affected and other times it is the entire bird as in this case.  This is a House Finch which is usually streaked dark and light brown with paler colors mixed in.  When I saw this, I had no idea at first glance what I was seeing because it was distinctly yellow looking.  A closer look at the bill and overall shape, as well as the company it was keeping, proved it to be a house finch with leucism.  If you view this in large you may be able to see the weakness in the feathers which is a common effect of this condition.  I first saw this bird yesterday and it was back again today with all its "normal" buddies.  It is a young bird, confirmed by the little bit of gape remaining around its beak.  Quite a fun find and I hope it continues to come around!  For perspective, I will put a shot in Extra of a normal house finch.

I also found an American Carrion Beetle on my deck this morning which was a fun find.  I moved it to a safer spot.  And, the mountain mint patch is now in full bloom with at least a half dozen big Great Black Digger Wasps, one of my very favorite wasp species.  I love watching them although my husband is somewhat horrified by them - they are very large and make a loud buzzing sound, but are almost totally harmless.  Expect to see one here soon.

Had a great FT call with my parents this morning.  Plans are moving forward to move east which makes me very, very happy.  It will be so very nice to spend more time with them.

SiL came over for lunch and then she and Hubs put new inner tubes in her mountain bike tires.  Nice to catch up with her.  

A little warmer and more humid today but still managed to spend quite a bit of time outside.  Tomorrow is going to be cooler and pretty near perfect I think.

xoxo
Debbi