Noisemaker

 I was reminded this morning that there is actually a baby bird with a voice more obnoxious than a magpie! Clark's Nutcrackers are regular visitors to our place, although they spend most of their summers higher in the mountains. They have their chicks very early, probably so they can be ready to head up as soon as the snow melts.

These birds are instrumental in propagating the white bark pine as they stash seeds which turn into trees if not collected.

Can't you tell that his beak is ideal for breaking into pine cones and extracting seeds?

The tree below is a fir - not food for the Nutcracker - but you can tell by its new growth that this is going to be a year of great cone production - at least at this elevation!