Let It Bee

I think I am becoming obsessed with taking pictures of bees. They are challenging little creatures who won't slow down for me to click the shutter.
I have been spending time in our garden. Our rhododendrons are in full bloom and I began taking photos of the flowers. Soon, as always, I found myself sidetracked with trying to capture the perfect bee photograph. This was a personal challenge I set for myself last year and it seems to have carried over to this one. Those bees are fast. I am trying to get one flying and in focus. What I need is a doddering old bee that will fly slowly for me. They appear to be hard to find. :-)
Here are a few of my bee photographs for you to enjoy.

Baby Bird update!

Well, the mystery of what type of baby birds these are has been solved. They are members of the Junco family. We have seen the parent birds fly in and out of the hanging fuchsia basket where they have made their nest. These birds are so well camoflaugued that I still can't see when one of the parents is on the nest. I can only tell when I get close and they fly off to a nearby shrub to yell at me if I am too close to the babies.
Today I gently added a little bit of water to the plants, on the opposite side to the nest. Just enough, I think, to keep the plant alive and the nest hidden, while the babies are there.
After all, if the basket wasn't under the eave of the porch, it would be subject to rainfall, so I think that is okay.
While I did this, I quickly snapped a couple more pictures.
As you can see, it looks like there are 3 babies. I thought there were 3 the first time I spotted them, just two nights ago, but it looks like I may have been wrong. Or perhaps the 4th baby is underneath the others. At any rate, the egg has hatched, and one of the babies flapped its little wings. They are so adorable, with their bulging eyes, skinny limbs and black fluff.
What do you think? Have you ever had a nest in a flower box before?

Bird nest in the hanging basket!

I was watering the hanging fuchsia baskets and thank goodness I took them off the hooks. Inside of both of them is a nest in each. One empty, one with 3 new baby birds and an egg yet unhatched. I'm hoping Mama comes back, but I haven't seen her yet...Anyone know what kind of bird this might be? Chickadee? House sparrow?