Birds in my backyard

By Elizabeth Prata

I'm blessed with a lot of foliage in and around the yard, and as a result, I'm blessed with lots of birds that visit. The other day I was writing with the window open and I heard so many calls. I began to list in my mind the birds I have come to learn by sight, and the list was pretty long (for me, not to a real birder!). I am trying to learn them by call, too.


I thought this video was perfect. The videographer records backyard common bird calls, shows them live in a tree or at his feeder, then posts a photo with label and lingers on it for a few seconds so you can really see the details. It goes at just the right pace.



Here is my list of Birds I have seen in my yard


Crows
Turkey vultures
Blue jay
Cardinal
Mockingbird
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Hen
Rooster
Robin
Killdeer
Geese
Hawk
Eurasian dove
Chickadee
Pileated Woodpecker
Red Winged Blackbird
Goldfinch
Hummingbird

Blue heron (at my other apartment)
Emu (in the county)

Elsewhere in the US

Anhinga
Road runner
Pelican
Roseate spoonbill
Puffin
Mandarin duck
Eagle
Cormorant
Loon
Seagull
Sandpiper
Osprey

Christmas Break 2018 Day 13: Well, this has never happened before...

Lest I be accused of click baiting you, here is the situation to which I refer in the title:

My two cats are Bert, the darker one who's a tiger, and Murray, the white one. Bert is 12 years old, Murray is 4. When I introduced Murray to the household (at the time I had two cats, Murray was the 3rd), it went well. No one fought. Murray, being the stray from outside, never really merged fully with the other two, who were rescued together as litter mates (not brothers) since 8 weeks old. But they got along.

Luke passed away three years ago. Sadly Murray had coronavirus, which is extremely infectious with other cats, and eventually turns to Feline Infectious Peritonitis, which is fatal. Now, with just Bert and Murray in the house, Murray has still been kind but a bit standoffish.

During the day I have a cat bed on the table near me which Murray likes to leap into and watch me as I type. Bert does not leap. He likes the floor. So his bed is at my feet in the summer, and in front of the fire in the winter.

I got up last night to turn out the lights and lock the door for bed, and I turn and see this sight. Murray and Bert together in Bert's bed. Well, then.

It finally stopped raining and I have the front door open to let in light and a little fresh air. I was watching Instant Hotel on Netflix (a type of Australian AirBnB show that rates rental properties) and at one property they kept saying how much like an old person's house ti smelled. I dont' know what that smells like no having the sense of smell, but I sure don't want my house to smell like that. By the looks on their faces no one liked the odor.

I don't use any products like Ben Gay, just deodorant and toothpaste and occasional shampoo. I cook, but that would be a cooking smell and not an old person smell. I assure you, I do use Fabuloso on my counters (which reportedly smells great) and Lemon Pledge on my wood furniture when I dust. So I dunno. I wish smells weren't a mystery to me, but then again, folks tell e I'm blessed. Maybe I am, at that.

Anyway, the fresh air has gotta help.

This is January in Maine:

This is January in Georgia:

Clover, green grass, no snow boots, no coat. I took a walk down the lane hoping to catch some bird pics. I heard so much birdsong, it made me happy. I'll go to the Cornell ornithology website later to listen to various calls and try and figure out which birds I was hearing. For now, I caught a blue jay, two mourning doves,a woodpecker, and a mockingbird.

So far, a nice day!

Cedar waxwings filled the trees this morning

When winter arrives, the birds go away. Here in Georgia, there are a few that stay around, and I love that. There's always a chirp or two in the trees, a swoop or two across the yard. But for the most part, it's quiet.

When spring arrives, the birds come back in droves. They liven the yard.

We have many tall trees and some bushes in the yard, it's great for the birds. We have a tall oak, live oak, a 100 foot magnolia tree, pine trees, and a variety of shrubbery for birds to flit here and there and light upon them. We used to have more cardinals but I don't see them much these days. Same with the mourning doves. We have lots of mockingbirds and jays and crows. I enjoy the warblers. We have lots of songbirds abounding (unless those are the mockingbirds, lol).

Birds are a knitter of air
energizing the sky
Making the air sing,
bringing life to the trees
aeronautical dips and flutterings
done so beautifully with ease

At dawn I like to walk around the yard to see what I would see. The sky lightens with pink almost all the time. it's a rural area so the the stars shine brightly, dark on the ground but starry light above twinkles. The sun had come over the horizon and the day was barely lit. A large flock of cedar waxwings flew over my head and landed in the highest of the trees at the edge of the yard. The rising sun bounced off their their gold chests into and came away as burnished gold. They sat preening, content and singing as they brushed themselves.

Most of them were facing away from me, so even with the zoom lens I could not get a great shot of their faces, but look, just look, aren't they pretty?

There were many more and a smaller flock came after a few minutes and settled in the next door tree, too. It was so fun to watch them.

The Cedar Waxwing is a medium-sized, sleek bird with a large head, short neck, and short, wide bill. Waxwings have a crest that often lies flat and droops over the back of the head. The wings are broad and pointed, like a starling’s. The tail is fairly short and square-tipped. The red waxy tips to the wing feathers are not always easy to see. Cedar Waxwings are social birds that you’re likely to see in flocks year-round. All About Birds

Here is a highly zoomed and cropped photo showing the red waxy wingtips. The birds were about 200 feet away from me at the time:

Well it was a treat.

I hope you had a nice day, wherever you are. It was nice here in Georgia, but clouded over in the afternoon and it's been sprinkling on and off ever since. You know what they say, March showers bring...oh wait, that's not right. We do have flowers though, and some warming temps and most wonderful of all, birds!

Enjoying the first day of Spring Break

The long awaited Spring Break is here. I went to bed last night after a very busy day at school and after school, and at home...tired, bleary, tapped out and running on vaporous reserves. I woke up this morning after 9 hours' great sleep to a glowingly gorgeous morning of birdsong, bright sun, and beautiful flowers. Cant be better, right?

It does get even better! Read on for more.

I had to go into Athens Friday late afternoon, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Though in my youth I drove all over the place without being fazed, as I age, my reflexes are slowing and my 'startle-reaction' is more sensitive. For example, people changing lanes suddenly in front of me startles me more than is used to, and the momentary fright lasts longer. I'm more skittish about cars around me. Too much sensory input while on the highway at high speed is burdensome to my brain and eyes, where it bothered me much less in my 30s.  After a long week and a very long day with the kids at school, I was exhausted and wanting to go home.

Their weekly sale included a pint of blackberries for $1.88, and tofu., s I scooped both those up.I found some GREAT deals on the markdown tables. There was a packet of two slices of chocolate frosted cake, and on the fish aisle, a little more than half a pound of smoked salmon for $3!!

Frugal shopping on the fly means that when you see tofu for sale, you get veggies for a stir fry. When you see smoked salmon, you get cream cheese.

Well, eventually, of course, I did get home. As I parked in the garage and opened my trunk to extract the groceries, a moving van pulled up. The tenants on the other side of the house had moved out a day or two ago, and it seemed that the landlord had quickly found new people to take their place. We all spoke in the driveway for a while, they are super nice. I know that since the economy had settled down after the crash of 2008, fewer houses are being foreclosed, fewer people are moving and the occupancy rates for various cities and counties are reaching maximum. In other words, people are staying put. So rents are hard to find, or so I'm told.In any case, I'm glad this family found a nice place to live.

Have you ever considered what a service to the community being a landlord is? Providing housing to people, maintaining a nice place for them to raise their kids, dealing with tenants fairly and honestly? It's a really good thing.

At Kroger it was nuts, so many cars gridlocked getting gas and the grocery store itself, while not overcrowded, was busier that I'd seen it. Must be the Spring Break thing.

I got home, unloaded groceries, fed the cats, straightened up, watched a few videos, and went to sleep. Blessed unconsciousness, no sensory input, and perfect bodily comfort with the bed clothes and covers.


The next morning, I awoke to this. Sun! Birds! Blue Sky! Flowers! Yay!

These baby birdies are in a nest the mama had made in the windowsill of the window that has the air conditioner. Their peeps are so cute!

New neighbor's cactus

I've been wondering where the male cardinals have gone. I know they're still around, but I used to see them closer to the house, feeding on worms near my front door, even. This guy was about 150 feet away from me, halfway up a tall tree.

Pretty dogwood tree, my favorite in the whole yard. Blooming in the sun on a spring morning. Ahhh

For breakfast, I used some of the smoked salmon to make a pate that included cream cheese (softened), lemon juice and instead of capers, minced olives. I spread the salmon pate on toasted multi-grain artisan bread (another Kroger marked down item). The blackberries went on my plate of course, as did a yellow gold potato I'd roasted in the crock pot a few days ago. It sounds fancy, and it probably is, but it was done on a budget.

Today is supposed to be in the upper 70s and I plan to stand at my potter's table and clean out my pots and refresh my outside plants that made it through the winter. In another few weeks the threat of frost will have passed and I will get some plants to put in the pots. I sure do love flowers. And birds. And warm sunny mornings. And life!

Birding Saturday

It's the end of a good and busy week. On Friday night, I was at home relaxing, eating dinner of baked salmon encrusted with sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts, baked potato, Caesar salad with broccoli and radish shreds. For dessert- white cake with chocolate frosting and hibiscus tea. I know how to shop Kroger deals like a boss. Total cost, $2.50, or less than McDonald's.

I did find a lot of marked down deals this week. In the marked down cheese fridge, I found herb encrusted brie, prosciutto wrapped mozzarella sticks,. At the fish station, there was a piece of salmon pre-made with encrusted pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes for $1.25. In produce there was lots of greens, including a Caesar salad mix and a bag of radish shreds, which I like a lot. Who knew. Radish shreds. I add them to add to salad or just eat for stand alone snacks. Also in the bread section, I scored several loaves of artisan bread for $1.29 and some dessert-y things also.

I chose the lower income job so as to have my summers off and school vacations, (time is more valuable to me than money. Therefore on my fixed and very low budget I'm content eating peanut butter sandwiches and scrambled eggs. However, it is nice to be able to sprinkle my plain meals with some gourmet tastes now and then. Kroger's marked down items allow me to do that.

Charter Internet has finally arrived in my neighborhood. This is great because Windstream has had a monopoly for many years, being the only option here in rural Georgia. Windstream has issues, namely that they oversold and can't keep up with their promises for fast DSL. It's not only slow, the connection drops all the time. The situation got so bad in 2013 and 2014 that the GA  and the FCC threatened (or filed) lawsuits and Windstream had to pay in two separate settlements. The situation is still pretty bad, they have not improved their infrastructure and consistently fail to live up to promises, so another suit is looming. In this article from 2016, it's stated

Complaints about Windstream’s slow Internet service in homes and businesses throughout Georgia’s 9th District, which encompasses all of Northeast Georgia, have prompted new complaints and a stern letter from Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins ... The complaints have become so numerous and frequent that the Jefferson City Council in Jackson County have established a Broadband Advisory Committee to address possible alternatives.

I live on a main road inside the town center across from the school. I haven't had it too bad and I stuck with Windstream until now because I obtained a $30.00 for life" plan for my internet service. It was a little slow but I don't do gaming, there are no other devices on my line, and all I need it for is to write, and watch or listen to sermons and at night, tv or movies. I could live with it.

However recently it had been dropping all the time sometimes for a minute and other times for an hour. I couldn't watch any sermons even if I put the quality at the lowest level. I really couldn't watch my Ligonier educational theology classes, because on most of those there is no option to go lower in speed/quality. Ligonier's Refnet and Grace to You's Expositor radio had become impossible for me to listen to. I drew the line. After signing up for a Charter Internet and Phone plan that was actually less expensive for the first year and only $10 more than Windstream after that, I jumped.

The guy came yesterday. He was nice and the set up only took a few hours. My cable internet is slightly faster than Windstream, not a lot faster, but that is because my laptop is older and the processor can only process so fast. I knew that going in. So the next step is to save up for another laptop sometime in the next year. If you give a mouse a cookie...one change always leads to another. But for now I can watch streaming items and the connection is steady, so I'm happy.

Saturday afternoon I sat outside in the upper 60-degree sun, watching the many, many birds in my yard. I sure do love the birds, birdsong, and avian activity. If you know what this guy is, let me know. I see this species a lot but can't find what he is. He was walking across the yard, taking a few steps, then opening his wings wide and strutting a few steps. It seemed like a courtship activity.



I believe these are Carolina wrens?



This looks to me like a female cardinal. She might be pregnant. She also looks tired. I know I'm probably anthropomorphizing too much, lol.



Huge flocks of crows ("a murder of crows") sometimes roost briefly in the yard. Here is one who settled above me. I liked how the sunshine showed off his black-purple feathers. Below that, a few of the large murder of crows in the tree-






Later today I'll be at my wonderful church learning from a powerfully packed sermon, and then attending small groups afterward with fellowship & Bible study. Can you say "great weekend"? I hope you had a good weekend all. See you next week.

The Carolina wren is expanding her nest under my window

There is a bird nest under the window air conditioner. The bird made the nest some time ago, before I moved to this apartment. The air conditioner is nailed in and not removed during the winter. It seems like a pretty smart thing to do to build a nest there.

Under the AC unit in the windowsill well

This year the bird decided to build an annex. Who doesn't like to think about adding on sometime? This bird does. So this morning I and the three cats hear loud chirping and scratches and scrambling at the window. I go outside to investigate and the birds go bonkers inside, particularly the kitten, Murray. He tries to claw his way through the little extender arms that shut the inside from the outside between the AC unit and the wall. I nail heavy cardboard over it so he doesn't punch through and make a break for freedom, taking the bird with him. He still goes crazy, standing on tip-toe trying to see the bird. Bert is pretty interested too.

I go outside to investigate and this is what I see.

The bird goes in & out thru the hole at bottom left

What you see on the right is the AC vent and at the back is the slider arms that close the window next to the unit. Mere thin plastic separates the bird from certain gobbling as my formerly outdoor kitten hunches on the other side.

The bird is pretty tiny but did an amazing (and fast) job of building the nest. I stood outside against the garage directly opposite the nest to get a picture. That is the only spot I can stand due to the vantage point- too far to the right and the AC unit obscures, and too far to the left and the window sill obscures. I have to stand directly opposite and shoot the photo straight on. Luckily there is a tree next to me and if I stand still for a long time, the bird relaxes and starts building again.

Going in...

Coming out...

If I ever thought for one minute to buy a transparent window bird house, I have my answer. NO. It is too agitating for the cats and too aggravating for the human.

Birders, do you know what this bird is? Is it a Carolina wren?

Looking at the cats...

Here are some photos of visits by some other birds today--

Back to school

Well, we've had a week off. Last Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday we were under the Sheriff's urging to "stay put" Snowmageddon snow storm. We had three snow days from school because we received about 7 inches of snow over the time period, ice, sleet and wind. By the time the weather cleared, Friday and today were an already scheduled winter break. So it's been a week off!

Only the Superintendent and School Board know how we'll make up the 3 days. They'll let us know when they decide. Meanwhile, tomorrow starts the hamster wheel again. Back to school!

Speaking of hamster wheel, I found a neat hamster ball online that had a kitty in it. I might get one for Murray. Of course I'd get a larger one than this one in the link, if it is available.

The weather has been sunny and warm. Today it is 57 degrees and tomorrow it will be in the mid-60s. What I love about Georgia is not just the temps, but the sun's warmth is actually warmer and stronger, earlier in the season. When you go outside and if you're protected from the wind, it is actually warm. The sun rays feel so gooood!

Breakfast today was farm fresh egg w/roasted green peppers, mushroom, tomato. Home fries, kiwi & tangerine salad. Most food from Bountiful Basket :)

Lunch was also from the goodies from Bountiful Basket: leek & potato soup, spinach salad with a boiled egg, croutons and avocado. I love the quality of the produce from BB and the plentifulness of it.

I filled the bird feeder and the birds have been loving it. Especially the chickadees. The birds are back in force, and I hear their concert every dawn and evening. The morning birdsong is very rousing around here.

She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes...

"Birds make me laugh"

The cafeteria at school is crowded with first and second graders. It is full, and it is loud. VERY loud. It has to be, with nearly 200 children talking even at a normal level, trays banging, feet shuffling, and forks tinkling.

There is this first grade boy who is quiet. He doesn't speak much, and when he does it is in a soft-spoken voice. He is sensitive and artistic. He has a kind heart and loving eyes.

He raised his hand today and he had something to say. I came over, expecting him to ask me the usual, please open my ketchup packet, or I dropped my fork and I need another. Instead he said,

"I saw birds at my house."
"What kind of birds did you see?"
"I saw a blue jay!" he said happily. "I saw a robin, and a red bird, and crows." He looked very pleased about this.
I said, "The red bird is a cardinal."
"OH! I saw ducks too. We have a pond. And some other birds I forgot."
"Yes, ducks are birds. What do you like about birds?"

"Birds make me laugh."

To be a child and be touched by the simplicity and beauty of birds singing and flying about your yard. What makes you laugh? Is it as simple as birds?

Spring tornadoes. And birds

I dread this aspect of spring. Tornadoes. We are supposed to catch the line that is hurtling east through the midwest and south.  They are supposed to hit us here in GA later tonight. I am going to post some bird photos while I can and hope that the power stays on long enough for me to watch Person of Interest later tonight..

We had a mini rumble of a storm earlier and though it lasted a short time, it cleared off the humidity and the hot air admirably. The birds came out in force after that. I went outside and took some photos in the yard.

Bird alighting from my chimney

Daring bird landing near my front step

Bird hanging out near the plant pot

Bird cawing on the fence

Cammo bird. Do you see him on the lawn?

Storm cloud

Patio ornaments

Summer routine

It is the beginning of week 3 in the summer vacation from school. I've settled nicely into a relaxing routine that suits me and my needs and wants nicely. Usually I arise at 6am during the school year, and always being an early riser by nature, I still get up pretty early, in this case, 6:30. Sometimes I get up 15 minutes or so later, but that is because I lay there, listening to the dawn chorus of birds.

Growing up, my mother used to listen to public radio out of Boston, and that is synonymous with Robert J. Lurtsema. He hosted the morning classical music radio show for thirty years. Eccentric as far as radio hosts go, he had an unusual cadence to this speech that paused in strange places. He also stopped speaking for long periods. Dead air on the radio is a no-no, but Robert J., as he was known, didn't care. "I'm not afraid of dead air," he was quoted as saying. "I don't think there's anything wrong with a quiet spot once in a while."

He also began his show each morning with a chorus of birds. This birdsong lasted a while, and I loved it. I have always loved birds and where I lived it was suburban, but not rural. There were some birds, but not many. Robert J.'s outbreak of birdsong burst into my mind, penetrating it like no other sound in the cacophony of sounds that is modern life in a busy home. What a balm for the harried mind. Here is the Dawn Chorus .wav file from Morning Pro Musica.

So when I wake up and hear the birds outside, I spend time distinguishing between and among the sounds and calls, then I think of the classical music show, and of growing up, and let my mind wander, and it is a peaceful way to begin the day.

I scan the news, make coffee, settle down with breakfast and get dressed by 9am. I spend the day studying, writing, listening to sermons, and responding to theological queries via email or the blog. After 8 to 10 hours of this, I take a break, have supper, and then return to personal internet surfing. At night, I read in my chair. No music is on and no television. It is quiet. Last night I heard a baby donkey braying and a wayward rooster.

The last few days I've read the latest in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency book series and a Christian historical romance called The Measure of a Lady. Light reading after the heavy topics of the day. By 10:30 or 11 I go to bed. It is a day. And each day is like that. Fridays I grocery shop and do errands, and Sunday I go to church. Those are the only breaks in the routine. I expect those will be the ONLY breaks in the routine all summer. As I said at the beginning, this suits me. Long live summer!

Hummingbird feeder is up

I hung my hummingbird feeder today. It's a bit late, but better late than never. I hope that the location will suit, it is near the other bird feeder, and the activity around that feeder gets fast and furious sometimes. But it is the best place to view them from inside the apartment. It is near enough for both me and the cats to see them and also to photograph them without scaring them off. I can move the feeder if the hummingbirds are too skittish from other birds.

This photo is from the apartment in Maine I'd had. I lived upstairs and was afforded a large deck, which I really loved. The feeder was hung at the opposite side of the deck from the sliding screen door

There is something so precious and cute about these birds. There is also the challenge to capture them in flight and to get a really good shot.

This next photo is of the same location in Georgia I'd hung the hummingbird feeder previously, and the shot isn't so great but I did capture the bird in flight --

This feeder is harder for them to perch. I may get a different feeder so they can set down for a moment...we'll see what the Dollar Store has.

While I'm waiting for the hummingbirds to show up, here are some other photos of birds I've taken--

spooky birds:

Mama & baby birds --

Shy birds --

Pretty bird --

Beach bird --

funny bird --

I love birds!