Obese Bird

We are having rain and strong winds around here.  That is not a good thing for autumn color.  Hopefully it will stop soon and sunshine will brighten up the mountains again.

Remember the very homely Cardinal?  (here)  The bird continued to follow the parents long after he was able to feed himself.  We often saw him at the feeder alone, stuffing his beak.  If either parent came by, he would hop to them and beg for more food.  I am sorry to report that he has joined the legions of the obese.  He is not fluffing up his feathers like a sick bird.  He is alert, has no problem swallowing, no problem flying, and shows no sign of illness.

Maybe not quite so homely, but really really large.

 He still has a rather goofy look that makes him easy to identify.

 This shot of the feeder compares the large cardinal to the chickadee.  Note how the feeder is leaning under the cardinal's weight.  I assure you he has no idea the chickadee is there.  If he did, he would chase it away immediately.

The cardinal is often the first bird to the feeders when we put them out in the morning.  And he and his parents are almost always the last ones to grab a bite before we bring them in.

Get the Water Where You Can, I Suppose

We have a birdbath mounted on our deck railing.  The birds need water, and we are delighted to see all the different birds coming there to drink, winter and summer.  We change the water several times a day in this hot weather so the water is always fresh.

A goldfinch at the water.

The other day, I saw a little chickadee getting water from the ant trap of the hummingbird feeder.  It had rained and the ant trap was full of water.  I have no idea why the chickadee chose the feeder rather than the birdbath.

 I think this is a juvenile who is just learning how to make it on its own.

Much to my surprise, a little titmouse did the very same thing just minutes later.

Sweet little titmouse.

I looked up from my book and saw a little goldfinch getting water from the same hummingbird feeder.  I was able to pick up my camera and get a few shots.



Upside down goldfinch. 

Amazing!

There was one great moment that I missed with the camera.  A hummingbird dive-bombed the goldfinch.  The goldfinch gave in immediately and I didn't get a photograph.  But I laughed out loud at the little fighter.  The hummingbird did not go to the feeder, but he wasn't about to allow the bigger birds to take it over.  I have no idea why three different birds would choose the water in the ant trap over the fresh water in the birdbath not three feet away.  I got up and checked to see if there were any seeds or insects in the trap.  Nope, there was nothing but water.  You figure.

Titmouse Checking Out a House

Birdhouses fill the trees in our backyard.  We have all types of them.  Some are designed to attract specific birds.  We're always happy when the birds build nests in one of the birdhouses near the deck.  We love to watch the activity.

We bought one of the birdhouses purely for its appearance.  While it had a door in the back for cleaning, we weren't sure any of the birds would use it because of its shiny metal roof.  But we liked the way it looked and we hung it up to enjoy on its own.  Surprisingly enough, it is the most popular birdhouse by far.  We have several nestings every spring and summer and many birds seek shelter in there during the winter.  The birdhouse has held chickadees. titmice, and nuthatches.  So far this spring all three have checked out this popular spot.

Hmm...wonder if they've already rented it?

I'll just take a peek inside.

All right if I just pop all the way inside?

Very nice indeed.

The outside seems to be in good shape.

Notice in the above photograph a chickadee is sitting on a branch waiting a turn to check out the birdhouse.  We never know who will end up with the first nest in there but over the summer several different bird couples will raise families in that house.  And we will have the pleasure of seeing them bring their fledglings to our feeders.

Spring is definitely here despite our sudden "cold front."  The hummingbirds arrived last week and I have heard the spring peepers.  The trees are ready to leaf out.  What a wonderful time of year!

Sometimes We Do Share

We live in the woods. Squirrels live in the woods. We feed the birds. Squirrels like the same food. So it's a constant struggle trying to outwit the squirrels, who by the way, have plenty of nuts and berries around.

We have a variety of birdfeeders offering different kinds of seeds and suet. The squirrels have shown little interest in trying to get at the feeder with cracked sunflower seeds so we have not used a baffle to protect it. At any given time, there are several different types of birds at the stations. We almost always see nuthatches, chickadees, titmice and goldfinches when we look out at this feeder. They seem to have no problem sharing.


In fact, we have had some rather unusual visitors to this particular feeder. Here a female Pileated Woodpecker and a female Eastern Towhee are feeding. A bit strange for the woodpecker to go for the seeds at a feeder clearly not well-designed for woodpeckers. And the towhee is usually a ground feeder. But they shared nonetheless.

I mentioned that squirrels have not been particularly interested in this feeder. Well, that was true until this week. And, wouldn't you know? One of the beady-eyed monsters was determined to try some of this seed.

Well, we can put a stop to that. One of my husband's PVC pipe and duct tape baffles now surrounds the pole. When the squirrel tries to climb, the pipe swivels. Not especially pretty, but quite effective. (This is the second generation homemade baffle, by the way. There's always a method for a man to improve any invention using PVC pipe and duct tape.) Since the birdfeeders hang from the upper deck at the back of the house looks aren't terribly important.

In all our years of feeding birds, this is the only truly squirrel-proof feeder we have found. It has a spring tension that shuts off the food at a given weight. We have had others with springs that shut down with the weight of large birds (doves) and squirrels. But in each of those, the squirrel would eventually learn to hang from his hind leg and scoop the seeds without tripping the spring. The current feeder is longer than the squirrel so he can't do that little trick. Well, unless we have a basketball playing squirrel who towers above all the others. So far we have had only normal-sized rascals. This particular feeder is made by Wild Birds Unlimited and is called the WBU Eliminator. (Oh, if it REALLY eliminated the squirrels I would pay a fortune for it.) But it does eliminate the squirrel feeding.

It is almost blasphemous to hate squirrels in Transylvania County. We have white squirrels here and Brevard promotes them as big tourist draws. (Guess the scenery, waterfalls, and national forests aren't enough.) You name any type of tacky souvenir you can imagine. Yep, we've got that with a white squirrel on it.

We occasionally see them in our forest and I don't like them any better than the gray ones. I just call them the beady-eyed white devils.

Finally, a Royal Flush

Tuesday, December 22...a day that will stay in our minds for a long, long while. That was the day that Arnold FINALLY delivered on his promise to see us first thing in the morning. That was the day we could finally run water in our drains rather than pouring it our over the deck like great-grandma used to do. After four days of flushing only when necessary, and we really mean NECESSARY, we can use our bathrooms. Have you ever spent four days without a shower? What an event that was for both of us.

The injured player is making phenomenal progress. Our kids are on the way home for Christmas. Simply put...we are happy as a couple of chickadees.

And the fortunes of sunshine give us as much uplift and color as this sweet Pileated Woodpecker seeking a bite to eat.

The snow is melting although there is still plenty lying around. Exhaustion has given way to extreme happiness that we are doing as well as we are. Life indeed is beautiful.

Thank you all for your supportive comments and thoughts. We have so much to be grateful for and we are definitely counting each blessing we have.

Not So Great Photos of Interesting Birds

Sometimes the lighting is perfect. Sometimes the birds are clear of obstructing leaves and branches. Sometimes the sun is shining. But sometimes you see and photograph the best of birds under the worst of camera conditions. And so it is with this post.

I finally got a glimpse of the migrating Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. The males will soon be followed by the females. Their winter coats are not as glamorous as their spring garb, but they are beautiful and welcome nonetheless.

This little chickadee looks amazed at the new bird at the feeder.

He does look pretty large sitting there stuffing himself.

And I saw a most uncooperative little bird. He gave me two quick looks and then flitted away. I was happy to see him anyway. Black-throated Blue Warblers are rare in our area.

He turned his back on me and you can see his hallmark "pocket handkerchief."

Except for his size, it would be hard to identify this little bird.

When he turns, it is even more obvious that he is a hummingbird. We still have a few of them around, but it won't be for long.

I couldn't let the post go without some mention of the game that kept me up past midnight on Monday and sent me to bed angry.

I'm always one to give credit where it is due. And Brett Favre played like the Brett Favre I used to watch years ago. He was so outstanding that everyone stood in awe to watch as he made one bullet pass completion after another.

(Photo from the Associated Press)

As a matter of fact, the Packer defense acted like the other observers and they also stood to watch in awe to watch. I've never seen ANY quarterback have more time in the pocket before having to release the football! Sometimes it seemed as if he were practicing since no one bothered to rush him. As for the Packer offensive line...they are going to let Aaron Rodgers get killed or seriously injured. He was sacked EIGHT TIMES during the game. Aaron Rodgers is a great quarterback, but he cannot throw the ball when he's knocked down almost every play. I don't think I've agonized over a football game since I was in high school and that, dear reader, was a LONG time ago.

---------------If I sound a bit bitter about Brett Favre, it's because I am. His adolescent behavior did a great deal of damage to the Packer team and to their fans. He acted like a spoiled brat. His waffling created a major distraction to the team and to Aaron Rodgers, already installed as the quarterback. Rather than play as backup and work his way back into the starting position, Brett decided to take his marbles and go home, or in this case to New York. So don't tell me about his enthusiasm and his love for the game. Don't tell me he plays like a much younger man...he acts like one as well. Much younger, as in 18 years old.

---------------I'm not the only one who feels this way about Favre. The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel did an Online poll after Monday night's game. The following question was asked, "So now do you think the Packers did the right thing when they parted ways with Brett Favre?" Nearly 24,000 people responded and 66% of them answered "yes."

---------------Of course, we will all sing the praises of Brett Favre when the Packers retire his green #4 jersey. And we all hope he will enter the NFL Hall of Fame as a Green Bay Packer. And we will honor the tremendous player that he has been over the years. But we will still remember his childish behavior and the damage he did to our team and its fans.

I've Got Jayne's Goldfinches

Jayne has been lamenting the lack of Goldfinches at her house this summer. Well Jayne, I think they have decided to hang around our house. We have seen many more goldfinches than usual with dozens of fledglings hopping about learning to feed themselves at our feeders.


The goldfinches are hanging around the sunflower hearts with one another.

They are hanging out around the sunflower with the cardinals.

They are hanging out with the chickadees.

They are hanging out in the trees awaiting a turn at the feeders.

Boys as well as girls.

They are hanging out around the birdbath on the deck.

They are hanging out with the towhees.

They are hanging out with the nuthatches.

Isn't it amazing how the birds are so prolific in one area and relatively uncommon in another area nearby? Or very common one year and not the next? None of our neighbors are seeing as many goldfinches as we are. For whatever reason, we are delighted to see these lovely yellow birds.

Cardinals and Computers

We have found that Cardinals tend to be a bit aggressive at the bird feeders. This female Cardinal seems the exception. She doesn't seem to mind the Tufted Titmouse sharing the feeders. (Perhaps she doesn't even see him. That's another great feature of this feeder.)




A chickadee comes along and she seems all right with that as well.

But truth be told, I think she is most happy when she has total control of the feeder. She looked at me as if to say, "I told you I would share. Now can I eat in peace?"

Wednesday brings us April Fool's Day. Lots of people love to play pranks, and some of the worst are almost certain to be computer viruses and worms.

----------Before midnight tomorrow night, make certain your computer is protected. A firewall does no good if it is not turn on.

----------If you do not automatically update your virus protection and spyware, go to their respective Websites and install the latest updates.

----------If you use Microsoft Operating System and Windows or Vista, make certain you have downloaded and installed the most recent updates.

----------Run your virus protection and spyware detection programs late Tuesday and make certain they are on your start up to run when you turn on your computer Wednesday morning.

----------In spite of your careful measures, you may still get infected. One method that is gaining in popularity and notoriety is through Face Book. The offenders send worms after hacking into Face Book pages. The worm is sent to all "friends" who open the message and have their computers infected. The worm tracks passwords and grabs credit card numbers. It goes without saying that you need to check your accounts regularly.

Hopefully the day will pass with only the simplest of April Fool jokes played on you.

BTW: your shoe's untied.

Birds at the Feeder

We are in the midst of a heat wave. It's hot and sticky and the air is stagnant and still. There are several groups of people who have my sympathy in this weather. Obviously, the people who have no air conditioning and/or who have to work outside paving or roofing. I also feel sorry for the families who have come to the "cool" mountains to camp, only to find the temperatures reaching the 90s and the rivers too low to do much tubing. I feel sorry for the kids in our many summer camps whose parents have paid several thousand dollars for them to attend camp in the mountains. And I REALLY feel sorry for the camp counselors who have to contend with these kids who are hot and perhaps a bit whiney.

As for me...well, it's not all that bad. Being retired we have the luxury of doing very little. I've been reading The Sisters, The Saga of the Mitford Family, a biography by Mary Lovell. It's quite fascinating. And I've done a little knitting. And I've done a lot of birdwatching without hiking to find the birds. Here are some of our common birds at the feeders.

There's almost always an American Goldfinch.

cAnd a Carolina Chicadee

The Towhee is rather unusual at birdfeeders, but we have one that visits almost every day.

These three seem to be getting along fairly well.

And these two little Titmice seem to be having fun dropping seeds and watching them fall. I have no idea what they are thinking.

And finally, a rather tired-looking White-breasted Nuthatch. This summer of nest building, egg laying, hatching and feeding has taken its toll.

I hope your weather is much better than mine. If not, I hope you have some leisure to just enjoy the birds and stay cool.

Birds and Berries Update

The little Red-bellied Woodpecker is getting some red coloring on the head. Mom and Dad are still feeding the little one, who is getting bigger and bigger. No trips to the feeder yet.




This little Carolina Chickadee looks a bit weary. It's been a summer filled with laying eggs, protecting the nest, feeding, and fledging. And without any relief, the process starts over again.

As for the blackberries. They are well on their way to becoming my cobbler. It won't be long now.

The summer days are simply flying by. So many birds and so much nature to watch and so little time. I do hope all of you are enjoying the summer and storing up memories to take you through the winter.