Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts

Saturday, February 01, 2025

Ravens Calling

I took my morning walk alone today, a little later than usual, and as I headed out I heard the ravens calling, croaking back & forth to each other. I stopped and took a little video of the trees creaking in the wind, hoping they'd call again while recording, but they didn't. So I walked to the end of the driveway and waited for a truck to pass.

@bunnykissd

Trees cracking in the cold, and crunchy deep snow... I saw a pair of ravens and the fisher!

♬ original sound - Diana Bukowski

As I waited, one raven flew overhead and in the opposite direction from the way I usually walk. After the truck passed, I decided to follow it. It looped in circles overhead, as I called good morning to it, and eventually landed in a tree not far along. I walked faster than usual, trying to keep up, and keep warm; the wind and cold were bitter!

As I approached, it continued to call to another raven, who made a brief appearance, before they both flew across the street over the woods, and perched in trees looking over the valley. I walked closer, hoping to get a better view of them, but instead saw a large dark shape in an evergreen not far from me. My first thought was that it was a great horned owl, but maybe just a strange branch. So I watched and walked a little closer to get a better view.

Then it turned on the branch, and I thought for just a split second it was a big black cat. (We have many stray/barn cats in the neighborhood.) But as it jumped to the ground, I realized it was not the right shape! Bigger, longer body, thicker longer tail... It was a fisher! It had jumped to where I could no longer see it, so I jogged home to tell my beloved!


When I looked at the photos I took of the raven flying away, I noticed that I could see the fisher in the tree!


Monday, July 22, 2013

Thistle


Click to embiggen!


Click to embiggen!


Click to embiggen!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

FlatRock and the Oswego Harbor

Last Thursday we headed up to town and stopped at FlatRock, our favorite place to hang out!  Lia & I took some time to walk out on the pier, but we only went about a quarter of the way to the lighthouse.  It was so windy, it kept blowing Lia's hair funny and her shadow looked like she had cat ears...


Click to embiggen!

Despite the wind it was a very nice walk.  We even got a nice picture of our swimming spot from a different angle!  Sadly it was still too cold for swimming...


Click to embiggen!


On the way out, we saw two very large birds arguing over a lamp post on the power plant property.  They were ospreys!  This one won.  ^o^


Click to embiggen!

I can't wait til we can go up and stay for a longer visit, that includes floating in the lake...

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Pileated Woodpecker

I love this bird! I have been seeing them in our woods for a few years now, but this time, I caught him right in the yard on a dead stump! I wish I could have gotten some better photos, but I did get some video!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Hummingbird Cam!

And one is hatching! Check it out!


Monday, September 14, 2009

Birdies!

Yesterday, we bought a shepards' hook for the garden in back, and hung the refilled bird feeder on it. Naturally the chickadees found it first, and this morning they were joined by a few strange birds and some chipping sparrows. After much research, we have determined that those strange new sparrows are just the chipping sparrows getting their winter plumage. :::le sigh::: I guess we'll have to travel abroad to see more...

Monday, July 20, 2009

Looking for a Gift?

I am sure you all are! You know my birthday is Wednesday...

Well here's a hint:


Is that not the best picture ever?!

Ok, so, you know I am all kidding about that...

If you really wanna throw your money at me, you can buy me time on LJ, or send random cash to my PayPal to help pay rent...

Monday, May 25, 2009

Hummingbirds

You may recall from last year that we had a hummingbird buzz in the front door, look around, and buzz back out. Well yesterday, we had one buzz in the back door, and try to go out the window! She was hovering in the window like a big bee and couldn't figure out how to get out; it was very sad, made even more sad by the male on the other side trying to help!

When I first heard the commotion, I thought it had just buzzed in like last year and came, camera in hand, ready to shoot, but I soon realized she needed a little help. I carefully & slowly reached my hand toward her and tried to guide her out of the window (it's recessed about 3 inches). I could hear her making little chirps and could feel the wind of her wings on my hand. I have never been so close to a wild bird ever!

After a minute she flew out but headed toward the overhead light that was on. She was definitely confused, but after turning off the light and a little more guiding from the other side of the light, she flew out the door and up into the tree with her mate.



You can almost see her mate in this picture. (It was twilight, dark almost outside, lights on inside, the camera had a hard time... ) He is almost to the right edge and looks almost like he's sitting on the clothes line.

It was a truly amazing experience. And this morning I looked up what it means...

Most websites agreed that the hummingbird is a messenger and stopper of time, a symbol of optimism and sweetness, tireless joy and the nectar of life. Ted Andrews said a lot in his book, Animal Speak. I wish I could type it all out, but this is what I found most important:
  • It reminds us to find joy in what we do and to sing it out. ...if we truly enjoy what we are doing, we become light as a feather, and life is rich with nectar.
  • The hummingbird can help you to find the joy and sweetness in any situation. It's swiftness is always a reminder to grab joy while you can - as quickly as you can.
  • [One] should watch their own sugar levels. Are you getting too much or too little? Are you hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic? Are you not getting enough sweetness in your life? Are you not savoring the sweet things in life?
  • It may be telling you to do something to create joy in the home.
  • ...it is important to get regular and deep sleep and rest. It will be necessary so you don't burn yourself out.
  • ...it is a symbol for accomplishing that which seems impossible. It will teach you how to find the miracle of joyful living from your own life circumstances.

This article is also great: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article1391.html

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Sound of Spring

Our yard is full of the sounds of birds from pre-dawn until dark:

Robins and blue jays wake me in the morning. The mourning doves, chickadees, and crows visit throughout the day, while the flicker taunts us from the treetops.

Sometimes we hear (and see) goldfinches and nuthatches, red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds, and I can't wait to see the Indigo Bunting again!

In the evening, echoing through the trees we hear the wood thrush, but we've never seen it. However, all day long lately, the chipping sparrows have been serenading us. I am so glad spring is here...

Of course I could do without the mosquitoes... :\

Thursday, January 01, 2009

New Year's Eve Party

No not mine... We did have fun though! Special punch to toast the New Year in, and watching the ball drop on the internet...

But the real point of my post is to join in the party they're having over at The Roost, where everyone is gathering to post their Favorite 10 Photos from 2008. But you know me! I couldn't pick just 10! So I decided to pick one from each month, and I couldn't even stop there! LOL!

So without further ado, I give you my Top 10 Photos of 2008:

January 08 was cold of course, but there were birds at our feeder! Here I've captured a blue jay and a chickadee...

February was spent primarily indoors. This is picture of Bunny one afternoon when Jacqueline & I were scrapping...

March was still very cold, but the sun on the snow & ice is always so pretty...

April brought the first flowers! This one looks about to kiss the sky...

This one was taken Memorial Day. Emma was showing the Esme & JoAnn her new camera...

By June we were finally swimming and loving every minute of it!

Flat Rock in July, our favorite time & place...

Me, August 2008. Lots of twilight swims during the summer for us...

Our sunflowers got a late start and didn't start blooming until September! This was one of our favorites...

A twilight walk in October at Sterling Nature Center, look at the gorgeous poison ivy growing up the tree!

The November moon, always a beautiful sight...

Just this month! Lia climbs up Ant's snowman while Ant shovels off the roof...

BONUS! I couldn't leave these out no matter how hard I tried to stay to 10 12...

Ten ran away from home this fall; I hope it's not because I made her share the seat with me...

And Saten passed away not long after. He always did the silliest things for such a dignified old man...

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Hummingbird

The hummingbird flew in the front door again this morning! Just quick in & out, in & out, quicker than I could reach the camera to turn it on and get a pic. :\ But it's so amazing when it does that! I wonder what it means...

From various sites around the web I have discovered that the Hummingbird symbolizes many different things. Known as a messenger, and a stopper of time, it reminds us to savor each moment's sweetness and joy. Because it can fly backwards, it teaches us to look back on our past, but not to dwell there. Roll with the punches, accomplish the impossible, and live joyfully in the life you were given are all lessons it teaches us. A symbol of pure love, beauty, joy, optimism, wonder, agility, and the celebration of life.

From Hill's Native Art comes this story:
A literal messenger of joy, this beautiful tiny bird, also called Sah Sen, represents friendship, playfulness, and is a symbol of good luck in Northwest Coastal Native art. It is a positive sign to see Sah Sen prior to a major event such as hunting or travelling to another village. Hummingbird's ability to hover back and forth at great speeds is believed to be a skill for guiding the people; if they fall behind Hummingbird can easily back up to keep pace.

One story of Hummingbird tells of a warm, spring day. Summer was coming and the wild flowers were in full blossom. A young girl and her mother waded through the green grass, enjoying the bright colours. They stopped as Hummingbird joined them; bussing and darting from flower to flower.

The little creature fascinated the child. She asked, "why does such a tiny bird want to fly so fast? Why doesn't it just stay at one flower instead of visiting every one?" Her mother sat down on a hill overlooking the field and said, "let me tell you the story of Hummingbird."

Many years ago there was a fragrant flower that rose every spring to display her beautiful petals and bright colours for all the world's creatures to enjoy. The people and animals waited anxiously each spring for this special flower to appear. On that day they knew the warm, kind rays of summer had arrived. Raven saw how much joy this flower brought to the world, so the next spring when it appeared, he transformed it into a tiny bird. The bird had the colours of the green spring grass and the flashing red of a setting sun. Raven gave the bird a special gift - to fly like sunlight flickering through tall trees. He also gave it a message to take to all the flowers. That's why today we see Hummingbird buzzing from flower to flower, whispering a message. Hummingbird is thanking each flower for making our world a more beautiful place.

The mother looked at her child and said, "as you grow up, remember that like each flower, each person has gifts to give the world. In return that person will be thanked by the birds, animals and flowers for helping to make our world a better place for every one."

Friday, July 04, 2008

Summer Nap

Robins and chickadees
and birds I don't know
sing songs to each other
across the yard
Crickets and cicadas
call out for a mate
and the neighbor mows
his yard
Children laugh
and scream in joy
somewhere in the distance
but nothing stirs in the room
save a housefly
buzzing in the window
and dust motes
lazing in a beam of sunlight
that creeps
ever higher
up the walls

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Birds, again!

I was just looking out the door, taking a break from all this computing nonsense, when I saw the catbird land on the wire... Cool! I thought, and grabbed the binoculars for a better view. And as I was looking, a bird landed in the top of the tree and caught my eye. So I panned up to look. At first I thought it was a robin because of the orangey butt, and similar song, but then it turned around and I saw it was mostly all yellow! Well the first thing that popped into my head was Scarlet Tanager female, maybe a juvenile of some bird...

I made some noises about bird-pretty bird-in the tree and watched it as it sang and then flew away before attempting to look it up. Well, the first page the book opened to had a picture of a female Orchard Oriole, which it very well could be, but definitely not the juvenile male, as it didn't have the black throat spot, but just wondering about my intuition, since I've never had reason to look up tanagers before, I checked the Scarlet Tanager. Well, the bird looked a lot more like the female tanager than the orchard oriole, but the descriptions say she's more olive green, and this bird was more orangey yellow... So I just don't know...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Birds in our yard

This morning I finally saw one of the birds whose call was frustrating me! It was the Gray Catbird! It was just sitting in the tree over our feeder, making that squeaky screen door sound, and I saw it and got to watch it for a bit before it flew off. As usual the chipping sparrows are always out there at the feeder, and the chickadees too, although I hear them more than I see them. The Indigo Bunting and his mate still come visiting regularly, and the other day we had TWELVE goldfinches visit the feeder at once! OMG that was a spectacular sight! Usually only one or two come at a time... We've also got robins and blue jays and crows around the yard - oh and even a flicker! But I can hear so many more birds in the trees, and I catch a flash of them here and there but never enough to make a positive ID... :::sigh::: Someday...

Monday, May 26, 2008

*headdesk*

I've spent the last hour trying to upload pics - just drag & drop it says! - and make a quick post here. It's not been quick and it's been a huge frustration. So I'll not be sharing any pics... :P

First off, less than 24 hours to vote on my blog content! Any last minute voters out there?

Second, I've had a wonderful weekend!

Friday, I got a wonderful package from friends, including a beautiful pendant which they handmake. Check them out!

It was also Jacqueline's 41st birthday - OMG! We had a lovely lunch out, just the two of us, where there was great food for small change; we shopped and had fun; and we finished the day with CAKE. Pretty yellow cake with PINK frosting, and STRAWBERRIES... Yum!

Saturday we relaxed around the house after a quick run to take the recycleables to the transfer station. I finally got to show Jacqueline the fuzzy, funny little alpacas! ^_^

Sunday, we all headed to the big city for a BBQ at Jacqueline's parent's house. First grilled hangaburgs of the season! W00T! And the whole family was there, which is always lots of fun! ^_^

Sunday was also a day for the birds! Jacqueline woke me early for our first sighting of the indigo bunting, and later their were blue jays fighting for the platform feeder, and after we got home... Oh. Em. Gee. A hummingbird flew right into the kitchen, hovered not even 6 feet beside me, flew in & out several times, before deciding there was nothing in here for him... Talk about AMAZING!

Today was another relaxing day: it sunned, the kids went to friends' homes, it rained, it cleared up... And the neighborhood was so very quiet; I could hear all the birds and bugs and probably frogs... SO peaceful....

Ok... I'll try the pics again, but don't expect them formatted all cool... :P


Pendant


Jacqueline on her birthday!


Hangin' laundry...


Ant, Es, & Jo at the BBQ


Sisters Es, Em, & Jo


Mother & Child


Dizzyingly dull day...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Birds

I haven't been writing about the birds lately but they have been a constant source of enjoyment to me, and I have been overjoyed as each and every one returned, and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the indigo bunting again.  The robins seemed to be here early, and I missed blogging when they first arrived.  The chickadees, titmice, and juncos are regulars at the feeder still (although for a while over the winter it seemed to be only the chickadees).  I have heard the blue jays, but not seen them, and seen the cardinals in others' yards, but not ours.  I can hear the killdeers across the street, and this morning the most melodious singing got me out of bed in time to see the male goldfinch take a nip of seed and fly away.  And perhaps the most noticeable of all, I can now see the mourning doves under the feeder again, because they no longer blend into the ground.  The grass is green!

Friday, August 03, 2007

Birds in our Meadow

Do you know what's amazing about our yard? We've got the feeder up, right? But it's perches are really too small for the cardinals or blue jays, but they still come! The blue jay always wakes me up in the morning and the cardinals are out there now feeding on the seed that dropped... The chipping sparrows and chickadees are still the most regular visitors, coming all day, everyday, but the goldfinches have also been coming regularly, but not just to the feeder; I see them on the ground pulling the seeds off the flowers! Earlier it was the hawkweed that had gone to seed, now it's the chicory! I've never ever seen birds do that! They can't if you don't have a meadow!