Sunday, May 20, 2018

FOR THE BIRDS

So in the previous post my future husband asked if I was for the birds... and I would have to say yes. Feeding these birds and watching them in the morning has become a favorite thing for me to do. It still amazes me that some of these birds feed and stay on the sill to eat. I've gotten into birds so much with window feeding and bird feeders, that I signed up for one of the summer birder watching tours up at the beautiful Peace Valley Lake, to see if there are birds I don't have here, even though its only less then five minutes up the road.  In between bird watching I had my first two sessions for sitting for my friend Doug for his art still life.  Good weekend for it since we had mostly rain. He sent me home with some Irises, my favorite flower. The birds were certainly crazy from the rain.
Neither one looked to happy to be soaked.
Happy little song sparrow.
The cardinal and a starling. I mentioned last time  I saw the male cardinal feeding the female,  and I didn't know why. I have since learned the male feeds the females seeds so they can judge the males on what kind of  attentive mate and parent they will be. The female chooses her mate based on that. Who knew?
My Golden Finches have returned and have molted.
Big Black birds have shown up and have tempted to land on the sill but are still leery.
The Red-Bellied woodpecker was quite the ham this weekend. And spent much quality time pecking at the gutters and drain pipes .
Meanwhile on the ground the finch inundated the ground feeder.
The Red Winged Black Bird returned recently. They tend to stick to the feeders by the creek or pond.
Oliver and Olivia still have four babies, luckily and have gotten bigger already
And one on my favorite birds, the Gray Catbird has returned. They have already been on the sill feeding....thanks to fresh blueberries as a lure....but boy are they quick. Gray Catbirds do indeed make a 'meow' that sounds impressively like an unhappy cat, but they can also mimic other birds and animals in their impressive song repertoire, much like their Mockingbird and Thrasher relatives.  Usually on the shy side, they often sing while hiding in shrubbery. But they are also very curious and will mingle pretty closely. In the autumn they usually migrate to the Gulf Coast, Central America, and in the Caribbean. Wouldn't that be nice? But I love to hear them sing. This was , alas, the only one I captured.
My lovely Irises.

25 comments:

  1. I have mini purple iris in my yard.

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  2. Mourning doves always let me know when their feeder is
    empty. I do enjoy them except when they sit on the bird water dish and use it as a potty. :-)

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    1. They do seem to have the messiest droppings don't they?

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  3. I have a wood pecker just like that one.

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  4. The woodpeckers are just bad ass. Great pictures.

    Now we need to hear how your "sitting" went?

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  5. Well you see this is why I love you, plus it doesn't hurt that you are incredibly good looking! Lol

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  6. I love these posts! I try to notice these birds here. Fun to learn so much about the cute little catbird, I think I have seen them here. I wondered what they were---great photos and hard to get when they move around so much.

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  7. I'm always impressed with your INCREDIBLE bird photos! Beautiful!!

    There are so many birds where I live here in the wilderness - but they're all camera-shy. I haven't been able to photograph any of them.

    A sweet couple of birds have built a nest right by my front door (on the porch lamp) but every time I go outside they fly away. I try not to bother them but I'd like to get a photo.

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  8. Aww, sweet tweets!

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  9. Beautiful photo's Mistress. You have so many different birds in your garden. And all slightly different from our birds.

    Iris are my favorite too.

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  10. Great pictures of the garden birds in your part of the world. Your goldfinch is so different from the one we have in the UK. I have never seen so many at a feeder.

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  11. Wonderful pictures you have today!

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  12. Oh, I do love the sassy woodpecker, but then, I've always had a weakness for redheads. I'm in the midst of selling my house and all the irises there have come out like never before . I can't decide if they were trying to help move the old place or just saying good bye, but they have never been more stunning, and all at the same time.

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    1. I love irises. I hope you'll find a new red head or pecker, whichever comes first.

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  13. Great pictures, and I'm glad to see the ducks still have four babies. I was worried after that one post you made about a week ago.

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  14. So much beauty... and happiness. We had a huge variety of irises at our house in Connecticut. I love them.

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  15. I love the Cardinals. They always signal Spring when they arrive in Smallville!

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  16. Birds are quite fascinating. But, do tell me more about the modeling.....

    Happy Monday. Hugs.

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  17. What a great post mistress. I was showing the grandkids all the birds and teaching them the different ones.i too love the catbirds and had no idea they left in the winter. So you see, your blog is a learning tool.

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  18. this whole week seems bird themed.

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  19. Fabulous bird photos, Mistress. I'm glad to see they stay around to entertain you. I love those Red Winged Blackbirds.

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  20. Those golden finch are stunning on the feeder!!!! I would swear you like a bird whisper. They sure must like to eat.

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  21. I had so much fun looking at the birds here that I almost forgot to comment. I finally figured out what birds I have visiting, Gray Tailed Catbirds.Thank you. Before this tidbit of knowledge I was calling them all gray birds.

    Oh, my

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  22. Those pictures made my morning!!!! I don't have quite the assortment you have, but I have A lot of variety if wrens. Before a rain or snow storm....they all go nuts feeding at the feeders.

    I too love the more colorful birds

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  23. Those pictures of the woodpecker are great! They are so pretty up close. I don't know I have ever seen them here.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!