May, the month of miss

It seems without fail that every day during May somewhere near me gets rain and I don't. Yesterday it rained and hailed a mile to the north of the oasis and not a drop here. Today it looked like rain all around, heard lots of near-sounding thunder, but not a drop here.

Oh, migration, my goodness! Seems like there are fewer birds every year. Very slow birding today. Saw this Cassin's Kingbird, and very little else. But then, I have to remind myself that everywhere is an oasis this year, so it's hard to judge.

Saw this lovely fresh male Queen today too. They're common at the oasis, but this one just seemed so new and fresh.

UPDATE: I went to see if there was any activity at the Elf Owl nest hole, but again tonight it's cool and breezy. I heard one bopping around the area, but not at the hole. While I was waiting, I took a practice photo of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker inside one of the new holes he made in a new agave stalk. Of course, he stayed put. The owl doesn't, so this shot wouldn't have been possible with the owl. And I have better owl photos with the spotlight, anyway.