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Regrets are pointless, but it’s only human to look back wishing we could have appreciated some things more.
If I could go back, I would spend so much more time noticing wild birds. After all, I had grown up feeding pigeons and seagulls and I loved birds.
It wasn’t that I didn’t notice them, it was that I took them for granted. It did not occur to me that there would come a time when catching sight of a bird would be a rare privilege, or that they might cease to exist.
But why would a child have imagined such things?
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Birds delight me. All birds.
If you are not a fan this is not for you, because I’ve collected a lot of bird photos of late and decided I should post them while they are current.
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Pigeons come and go through the year.
At the moment we have a flock that visits daily, but eventually they will get bored with the scenery or food and go off in search of other opportunities.
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By comparison, doves are so much more mild-mannered. When the others push and shove their way into the seed tray, doves are always on the periphery waiting for leftovers.
We seldom hear doves squawk.
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Note I said seldom! Even doves have their moments.
Mostly it’s when frisky lads are chasing the girls.
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During migrations we see flocks of starlings.
Red-winged blackbirds tend to flock with brown-headed cowbirds, although the latter have been scarce this year.
After hammering the suet feeders for days they vanish, probably flying further north, or south as the case may be.
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We see grackles too, but we have never seen this many juveniles before!
It was like some sort of class outing.
With no supervision!
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Young crows looking for mischief.
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All birds are special to me in their unique ways.
Crows make me laugh.
My beloved Panther was a crow in a cat body.
He strutted like one and had the same attitude.
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An array of small birds visit the feeders.
It’s easy to misidentify them but this I believe is a house finch.
We see various types of sparrows as well. I can never keep them straight. A friend of mine who loves birds refers to them collectively as LBJ’s.
Little brown jobs.
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“I like sunflower seeds missus.”
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House finch’s golden cousin.
They are quite tiny.
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Though not as tiny as the ruby-throated hummingbird.
It’s the male that has a red throat.
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You can see the tip of her tongue there.
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A final drink and she was off…
They get sugar water, a mix of 1 to 4.
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The northern flicker also has an impressive beak.
And very posh clothes.
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All too often, birds turn up that aren’t quite right.
Grant noticed this nuthatch one evening.
It seemed…different.
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Oh my. There is a bird called a crossbill that is supposed to be like this.
But not nuthatches, though apparently this is not an uncommon occurrence.
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This is a normal white-breasted nuthatch.
It seems the above bird has an elongated beak.
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Birds and animals cope with disabilities.
After noticing this feeding technique, I began shaving suet to place on the tabletop.
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Muffin is very little and fits into a small carrier which I can carry on my lap, so going to her appointment yesterday, I didn’t bring my camera. It’s the surest way of guaranteeing a sighting of some sort! The journey is very short, taking us along a country road through the woods and past a barn-sized disused chicken coop.
As we came upon the chicken coop, suddenly wild turkeys were pouring out from beside it, some 5 or 6 adults each with their 5 or more babies. It seemed like dozens of them! And no camera. Curses!! They are so sweet and we have never seen so many at once.
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On the way back we saw one small group of them.
I captured a very inadequate clip on my iPhone.
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Later on we went back out and I captured something else, but technology is doing its usual thing so I need to work on that.
In the meantime here’s an image of Zoomer the chipmunk, in competition with a crow to see who could cram in more peanuts in one go!
Under the eye of an unbiased referee.
LBJ’s is a common term in the UK for sparrows but I always thought it did them an injustice. They can be quite pretty in their individual markings and there are also various colourations if you study them. However, I still have an issue with the fact that what I used to call Hedge Sparrows are in fact Dunnocks and have never been a member of the sparrow family, but are members of a small family of birds called accentors!
Yes, my friend is British. I am a great fan of sparrows. We only have a few of the very many varieties, so I ought to remember!
Lovely post! I enjoy bird-watching also, and spend a lot of time keeping an eye on my feeders. It’s great entertainment. Thanks Carolyn.
Gladys
When I think back to my childhood, the movie “The Birds” was the movie that made me very scared of birds for a few years. But luckily I got over that and today I also love watching birds. You have so many beautiful photos here – if I had to pick a favourite, it would have been impossible. Zoomer or the crow? I definitely vote for Zoomer!
Thank you, Carolyn, for the wonderful post! I love everything about birds, and a great part of entertainment comes from watching the birds and their young doing amusing things to me but normal to them. It makes me feel good!
Joanna
A lovely tribute to birds, Carolyn. Crows are very intelligent, and can solve quite complex puzzles if food is the prize. I think we should be looking at crows much more closely, they are among the geniuses of the bird world.
Best wishes, Pete.