2006-04-18: Bird Watching
by Meguey
Remember back in October, when I posted this about my Grandpa? Well, one of the other things about him is that he loved birds, and had a tree full of bird feeders outside the picture window by the kitchen table. The window sill was full of bird books and he taught me how to use the binoculars that sat along side.
For my 35th birthday, Vincent and the boys got me a bird feeder. It has three tubes, so I can have different mixes and get lots of birds. So far I have seen doves, red-breasted house finches, THREE PAIR of goldfinches, nuthatches, and some dark purply-black bird. It makes me happy.
2006-04-18 15:02:01 Emily
Bird watching is so great. I've got to get out the Sibley's guide to help me figure out what the little birds are that flit about at the farm. We've had a hawk keening from the dead tree in the meadow the last couple of days.
And a third lamb was born today! Hurrah!
2006-04-19 15:10:54 ScottM
Sounds like a nice pasttime. Your family did good.
2006-04-19 17:23:23 Ben Lehman
Yay for life and things that fly.
yrs—
—Ben
2006-04-20 03:08:50 droog
In our backyard we get honeyeaters, wattlebirds, fairy-wrens, willie wagtails and lorikeets. You'll see the occasional crow, magpie or cockatoo. There are also several introduced species: blackbirds, mynas, finches, sparrows and doves (all more or less vermin here, unfortunately). Oh, and there are plenty of fruit bats (flying foxes) around at night.
We've got a hen, but she lives with a neighbour. She started laying eggs!
2006-04-20 21:02:58 Meguey
"honeyeaters, wattlebirds, fairy-wrens, willie wagtails and lorikeets" What great names birds have :)
I once spent a week camped next to a rooster who thought the full moon was the sun, and crowed all night long. Chicken is so tastey.
2006-04-21 01:01:51 Julia
We have a cheapo bird feeder on the awning of our side door, which only attracts little black birds which I can't identify—maybe a cowbird? Might be the same kinds of purpley black birds you're seeing. They live in the tree next to the door. Anyway, that's all we get. Little black birds. They are slowing driving our cat insane. He sits by the side door all day and waits for them. Sometimes he jumps on the door, and I'm afraid he's going to jump through the window some day. Silly kitty.
We have too many cats who frequent our yard to get any interesting birds, except for the woodpeckers who live in the dying maple in front of our house. They make me happy.
2006-05-04 20:31:41 Sydney Freedberg
My father-in-law put up two bird feeders in our yard, and now our toddler watches them most mornings at breakfast: "Theah a cawdinal! Theah a mouwning dowe! Weah tha birdy go? He fly away."