Wednesday, December 9, 2009

New birds

Since I got that birdbath heater, it's been a regular hangout at the old front porch. I've seen two new birds, along with the regulars (two types of juncos, chickadees, jays, English sparrows, goldfinches, purple finches, nuthatches, woodpeckers, flickers, and squirrels). One new bird is the bushtit. They love the suet feeders and sometimes cover them in massive numbers. I found that they are not very widespread, but are quite common mostly in our area. Here's what they look like:

Isn't that a cute little fuzzy thing? My bird book says, "Hyperactive in everything they do, these tousled, fluffy, gregarious birds are constantly on the move. They bounce from one shrubby perch to another, examining everything of interest, filling the neighborhood with charming, bell-like, tinkling calls, and doing it all with panache." It also says that when it gets really cold (like lately) they huddle together in a tight mass to reduce heat loss. I wonder how they decide who will be on the outside.

Another new bird caught my eye on the birdbath: he knocked all the other birds off, regardless of species, and looked a little like an English sparrow but with a fatter body and shorter beak. I sent this picture to my local birders to discover that it is a song sparrow. This bully of the neighborhood will not let anybody else drink water when he's around. He also just seems to like to guard his territory.

When I see the competition that goes on in the bird world, I wonder if we humans will ever outgrow our need to wage wars with each other. Watching these birds does sometimes make me look up and realize that hours have gone by while I was in a reverie, pondering, thinking about things, watching them peck, eat, drink... and fight.

I have laughed and cried with my blogging buddies this morning. Some are having a hard time, some cause me to snort coffee up my sinuses, and some are showing me pictures of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife that congregate within their camera sites. Some are celebrating the season and sharing pictures. Again, and I hope you don't get tired of hearing this, I am grateful for the wide world that is funneled through my computer screen into my brain, which then widens again into ideas and worlds of possibilities.
:-)

14 comments:

  1. No, I am certainly not tired of your photos. Love the background and info. Keep posting!!

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  2. And we are happy to read you to! That bird bath is a magnate! I am looking forward to all the new birds that visit. You are going to hog everything in the neighborhood!

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  3. It sounds like the birds have spread the word that your place is the best in the neighborhood. I can't wait to see who else shows up, more please.

    When I think about obnoxious birds I think about crows, magpies and jays. I never realized something so little and cute could be a bully.

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  4. Those little guys are SO cute! perhaps I should get a heater for my birdbath, I don't have an outdoor electrical socket though...hummm. enjoy your new friends! sorry I have been MIA, I hope to be around more now!

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  5. I am so happy to know the birdbath heater is working out. It is such pleasure to watch all that bird activity. I sit with binoculars to get a close up view of mine. Some of my regulars have names now. Nice closeups of the birds.

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  6. Well, well seems like the warm birdbath attracted a lot of birdies this time and you made them very happy. Perhaps that's the reason why they keep on coming and made you discover more bird species. Happy blogging DJ!

    AL

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  7. I feel exactly the same way. Grateful.

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  8. I daily think the same thing about this huge world coming to our eyes through these blogs. I can be a bird-watcher while sitting her in my recliner in the middle of the night!

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  9. Love the pictures of your bird friends...and love your blog. Oh, and I love you, too!!

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  10. I would never tire of your blog or beautiful photos. People who don't blog don't understand the simple joy that comes from sharing a common interest with others...even when we have busy lives.

    I just want to learn to take photos that are as good as yours...I'm working on it!

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  11. Love that fuzzy bird a Bushtit..he look really cute! Oh I love your blog too DJan..! You are correct..people that don't blog or do not read blogs cannot possibly understand...but that is OK.:)

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  12. I declare, DJan, these birds are utterly precious – I wish I could see them all in my backyard. But again when I looked outside this morning the raccoon – it must be a huge one – had bent the poles of the two bird feeders to the ground and all the seeds were in the grass. I enjoy reading comments a lot, like you do, and thank you for your nice comments on my blog. I am always scared that my posts are boring because I dig into stuff and they are long– so I’ll try to have short ones coming up.

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  13. That bully bird (awh, he's cute really cute) looks like a thrush, only smaller. Your birds are SO different to ours over here. Did you find out what it is?
    Blessings, Star

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