utenzi

The little nestlings outside my dining room window got a lot bigger during the 3 day weekend I was away at my parent's house. This is the first time I've seen them really standing up on their own. The parents squalk a lot when I take pictures of the chicks so I try to only do it once in a while. But you'd think they'd have picked a better spot than 4 inches away from my window if they really wanted privacy! BTW, they're cardinals though it's a little difficult to tell at this stage of the game.

I was wandering around a swamp yesterday. I was hoping to get a picture of an alligator. I know it's been too cold lately but maybe a particularly stubborn one would have stuck around---but if so, I didn't see it. Instead I just got pictures of leaves floating on stagnant canal water. And one lonely bird. The bird blended in so well with the leaves that I had to use Photoshop to make it stand out a little better---and once I did that I decided to make a small flock of them. I guess it's kinda obvious since all the critters are looking up at the same angle. But you know, maybe they were all gazing at a UFO or something. Birds do that, y'know?

I don't know if that title will encourage folk to visit or scare them away. I think I'm quite safe in guessing that it's not the kind of title that will entice nature lovers. I guess that was a mistake on my part. 'Cause the pecker in question is a Woodpecker! I know. It's not much of a surprise now since you've got that big picture up there of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. This is the first one I've seen visit my bird feeder. They're a little more oriented to wooded areas and I live in the middle of a huge unwooded area that used to be a cow pasture. The only woods around are trees that we homeowners have planted. Mostly Bradford pears. Isn't that a lovely pecker? I took something like 30 pictures of it but the damn thing kept moving around so much that only 5 of them turned out okay. She hung around that bird feeder in the top picture the most but she kept trying to insert her beak into the center section. My guess is that there were insects of some ...

In a world of limited, sometimes scarce, resources, is it any wonder that on occasion we fight a little bit? Take these two birds, for example. I put out plenty of bird seed knowing that they could find little food with all the freshly fallen snow. I placed the seed in numerous locations on and about my deck and bird feeder. But often the birds would leave the seed they were eating so as to scare other birds away from the seed they were eating in their own locations. And in that, excuse the phrase, round-robin process they'd be leaving their seed behind which would quickly be worked on by other birds. This social mayhem is one of the things that makes watching birds fun however it also arouses within us a feeling that fair play isn't being followed. We get annoyed at the "bully birds"which is funny 'cause the behavior is quite common up and down the food chain. Certainly we humans follow similar strategies, but so do many other species. In any case, the birds on m...

I discovered a new species of Kiwi yesterday. And on the railing of my deck, no less. The picture above shows what the kiwis already known look like. According to the webpage where I found that photo , all three kiwi species are restricted to New Zealand, with the great and little spotted species found only on South Island. They prefer a forested habitat with high rainfall. Below you'll find two pictures of my new kiwi. His beak is a wee bit small but I figure that he's young and it'll grow in eventually. Given the terrain near here, I'd say this species doesn't need New Zealand or forests and especially not high rainfall. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things. :-) I've not decided on what I'll name the species---any suggestions? BTW, dissenters are not welcome. And that means YOU! The people across the street from me seem to have moved out---I've not seen them in over 3 weeks---but they left their cat. So, I suspect that soon...

Just when you think you've seen everything---actually I don't think that but it's what everyone says at times like this---something new just appears in front of you. In this case it's a pregnant bird. Yeah, I know. Eggs and all that. But look at the belly on this chippie. If it's not preggers, what in bloody 'ell is going on? By the way, that's not rhetorical. I really do want to know what's going on. I feel quite confused this weekend and some clarity--even if coming from left field--would be nice. So feel free to contribute whatever witticisms you can. And is it true that you don't need a good arm if you're in left field? Speaking of left field, Barry Bonds has been rather quiet of late. You'd think someone would pick him up even if just to use as a DH. I can't really believe he's being austracized (and what does steroids have to do with Austria anyway? Oh! Arnold. Duh--I should have known that one).

This seems to be the time of year for staring contests. Witness the grackles above having a meaningful moment before enjoying their dinner. The one on the right really has a "hairy eyeball" thing going on. This mockingbird is usually in charge around here. He rarely eats any seed but often guards the area and keeps other birds away. Unfortunately for him, larger birds have been hanging around recently and he's not able to bully them away from the food. That might be why he looks a mite sad in this picture. Usually size is the main factor in bird face-offs. But this song sparrow doesn't seem to realize this as she gives the mourning dove a serious glare. It didn't work for long, but she did get a few more seeds before the dove finally asserted herself.

Sometime between when I last loaded my bird feeders on Saturday afternoon and today at 4:30pm the bird below got into some serious trouble in one of my bird feeders . I was just putting out some seed before watching the Patriots / Colts game and I noticed an odd movement at the end of the feeder. Somehow this bird had gotten into the end feeder--which I don't stock with anything-- upside down. Maybe it was escaping from a hawk and dove in there. In any case, trying to escape from the metal grid the poor bird had hurt one leg and dug up it's belly a bit. It took a while but I was able to pull the grid off the bird feeder without further injuring the bird and then I slowly snipped apart the wires that were impinging on the birds wings and neck. Before I released it, I gave a cursory exam and one leg wasn't looking good but the bird was otherwise fine. One wing might have been wrenched a bit but seemed to be moving okay. Upon release the bird rapidly, but not very gracefully,...