Youngsters at Yturria Brush, 7/4/14

This 4th of July I decided to head over to the Yturria Brush tract of the Lower Rio Grande NWR to check out the butterflies. Of course I checked out the birds too. There were not many things singing but the summer crop of young birds were very much in evidence. Pishing is not always effective on adults but it gets young birds really excited. Here's a young Verdin.

Some might misID this young Black-throated Sparrow.

This teenage Black-crested Titmouse has a lot to learn about grooming.

Is this a thrasher? Nope, it's just a young Northern Mockingbird.

I hope this awkward young cardinal grows up to match his bill.

I'm trying to turn this young bunting into a Varied, but I think it's just a Painted.

So nothing too exciting but it was a fun day in the desert.