Friendly Neighborhood Phoebe

The Eastern Phoebes in our yard are remarkably calm around people. Perhaps they fledged here and are used to human activity; all I know is I've been closer to these birds than any phoebe I've met before. On Friday morning, I was out walking in the yard and I ended up just feet away from a young phoebe before I even noticed it was there. The little guy kept an eye on me but basically went on with business as usual. Hello, beautiful bird:

I love this flycatcher's broad beak and those whiskers on its face -- all the better for catching insects on the wing, I imagine:

See anything good up there?

The phoebe took the time for some nice big stretches; it really just didn't seem to care at all that I was standing nearby. Look at those amazing wing feathers!

Stretchy bird, I didn't know you had pale yellow armpits:

I took a brief video of this obliging bird as well. I think the constant tail wagging -- an Eastern Phoebe trait -- is super endearing, and I love the hunter's instinct that takes over when an insect flies by a few seconds into the video:



Phoebe's are such fun little birds, and I'm very grateful to this creature for letting me observe its morning activities up close!