(Not unlike second breakfast, only with birds). In all my years here I have never seen anything like this one for birds. We keep remarking about it. Phoebes have chosen the house yard for their second nesting and they are right in front of the windows all day long. And I do mean right in front. You can see every detail of feather color, even the shading between charcoal neck and dingy grey breast feathers (they should really do their laundry.)
Now that I know the call of the indigo bunting I am awakened by them several times a week. The baby robins on the porch have shown phenomenal growth this week. From the bare ugly skull heads of last week to cheeky fat robin faces complete with the little white markings in less than three days. They still sound exactly like the bearings on the washing machine when it is spinning off balance and thus still drive me crazy thinking I have to fix it.
Earl will probably remember the killdeer baby we saw in the opening to the thirty-acre lot when we walked up there. All week long the guys regaled me with stores of how it would jump in front of the tractor when they passed and run before them all the way down to the ag bags. It slowed them down a lot but they got a kick out of it just the same. Anyhow yesterday it finally figured out how to get out of the road.
Saw the sparrow hawk streaking for the heifer barn like his tail was on fire. In hot pursuit behind him, the house mockingbird. You wouldn't think a fast little falcon would be intimidated by a clown like the mocker, but he was really moving.
Saw what I thought was a new warbler right at the window yesterday too. Warblers are not usually so obliging and are hard to identify. This one was just feet from my eyes, picking insects off the cow parsley. I looked her up in Peterson's first after getting out my lovely stack of field guides and there she was...a female yellow. We have had yellows all along the driveway all spring,,,,but just were seeing the males.
And then there is the gold finch picking larvae out of the wasp nests at the big windows (excuse the lack of clarity...I will wash them later) and grabbing spider silk, evidently for its nest. It is a bold little critter and let Alan get these pictures.
I do remember the bitty bird, not its name, there are lots of birds calling in the South, and I notice the buzzards are always slowly soaring where ever I ride - worrysome? They hadn't seen vultures for years before the battle of Gettysburg, but days before the armies they did arrive.
ReplyDeleteWow, you've got quite the variety of birds! I love this time of the year when you can hear them singing their hearts out in the early morning.
ReplyDeleteYou should also write for Birds and Blooms magazine!
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
I agree with Linda.....you have an awesome way with words. We saw some newly hatch kildeer just the other day.....seems late.
ReplyDeleteEarl, I thought you might remember him. Interesting about Gettysburg. When the boss comes in I will ask him if he knew that. He is very interested in the Civil War
ReplyDeleteCTG, we do, and I too love hearing them sing. By the time we get back from camp most of them will have gone silent, but we can hope for a late mockingbird or so
Linda, thank you...that is a very nice thing to say
Linda P, thank you as well. I wonder if all the rain you have been having washed out your killdeers' first attempt at nesting so they are trying another...ours have babies that are just about ready to fly.
And the word verification is "whing"