There is nothing better to brighten a day than a gorgeous male goldfinch in the spotlight of the morning sun. We are fortunate to have about a dozen of these males (along with their mates) adorning our backyard all summer long.
The goldfinches will find a nice sunny spot within the branches of a tree to spend time grooming. This female goldfinch really stood out among the otherwise dark branches of our backyard crabapple tree.
It is common to see these brightly colored male barn swallows perched on our horse pasture wires in the morning sun. This guy was busy grooming and let me get very close without a fuss.
After taking a very vigorous bath, this male bluebird spent about 10 minutes grooming every part of his body. In this shot he is getting ready to scratch his head with his left claw.
