Last Light

One of my favourite times of the day to be with the wild ones is at last light. Some call it "the golden hour". Whatever the term is, it's a magical moment. Here is some of what I saw with last light... last night.

Some creatures are getting their last feed for the day. The Cardinals are always the last birds out and our resident male we call "papa" is always busy taking care of his kids at this time of year.

That last hour seems to be peak time for us with Hummingbirds. There's been a couple young birds or females in the Bee Balm this past weekend. This part of the garden takes in that last hour of light. At least two males are visiting our feeders as well.

A lone young Raccoon rises early and makes an appearance in the backyard. Angie has named him "Albert".

The young male Downy Woodpecker continues to use this nest box to roost in. The sun shines down from the back, making it very difficult to get a decent photograph.

Directly across from the Downy's house is one of our Owl boxes that the Squirrels have once again taken over. They did not use the box to nest in this summer and it's been empty since April. I cleaned it out a couple weeks ago. Last night I noticed 3 of them go into it. There was a moment when all of them had their heads sticking out but I did not have my camera with me. I go get it and of course only one stayed in place. The Downy had tucked himself in his box when I took this photo but after I went back to the house, I could see both animals with their heads peeking out again. It was a cute and comical sight. Maybe they were saying "goodnight" to each other?

Since I work an afternoon shift, I only get to see the last light at home on Saturday and Sunday. I wonder if my younger self would have believed that I would be more excited about being home on the weekends, watching the wildlife in the evening and not prepping for another night of partying?

Normally I stroll the backyard after work around 11 pm. I will try to be more courteous to these sleeping creatures that are calling our backyard home, not shining my head lamp to their houses and being a little more quiet.