Having reached St.Louis in response to an appeal from Ye Daughter (the call came on Wednesday, the ticket was bought on Friday, and I was here just past midnight on Wednesday!) I decided to peep out at the birds that were coming to the front yard as I could not sleep, on the 16th; and on the 18th, I had two hours to walk to Forest Park, walk around the Prairie area, and walk back.

So…here are the winged beauties that delighted me at both places!

At home:

Northern Mockingbird

The

Dark-eyed Junco ,

a winter visitor

The House Sparrow imported from other countries, and regarded as a pest in America: The Common Housefinch (male) which is a local winter visitor: the female: The Mourning Dove The Northern Cardinal (male) iconic bird of St.Louis: The female, blending right into the colours of the Japanese Maple: The American Robin The European Starling another import that seems to be overruning local species now: Four kinds of Woodpeckers that I saw within the space of an hour: 1.The Red-headed Woodpecker (on which the cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker, is based) 2.The Red-bellied Woodpecker 3.The Downy Woodpecker 4.The Northern Flicker The Song Sparrow The Common Grackle The Red-winged Blackbird The Red-tailed Hawkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk I'll add more birds as I photograph them (especially that elusive Blue Jay!)

Let me close with another look at, and from, the Cardinal: