Scavenger Hunt - Bird Happiness

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song."
Maya Angelou

1. Hey wait a minute ... that's no bird!

I hung a new feeder right outside my kitchen so I could enjoy the birds as they feast. I think it must be too close to the window, because except for a very brave - or hungry- nuthatch the feeder has been totally ignored. Until yesterday when the squirrels discovered it. I say squirrels, as in more than one, but I may be wrong. It may be just this acrobatic rodent that keeps coming back for more. You can't really tell because the I'm shooting from inside the house, through the window glass and screen, but this guy is holding on with his back feet as he gobbles up what he considers his fair share.






2. As you can tell by this picture I am not much of a wildlife photographer. I've found that in order to get a good picture, even with my zoom lens, I have to be almost right on top of my subject. Trouble is birds have a tendency to fly away before I can even get them centered in the view finder.



The canary and finches are what you might consider a "captured" audience. They can't fly away when I get up close with my camera, but you still can't see them real clearly because of the bars of the
cage. This is the best I can get of what must be bird bliss.

Every morning I refresh the birds' water. I think this is probably the best part of Ernst's day (Ernst is a champion German Roller canary, so we've changed our family's traditional canary name from Tennessee Ernie Ford Bird, to something more German sounding.) As soon as I turn my back, he hops down to the perch nearest the water dish, dips his beak in as if to test the temperature, then does a bird version of a cannon ball into the middle of the water. It is pretty funny to watch.




At first the finches in the cage next to Ernst gave him a look like he was a bird brain! (I couldn't resist!) But they have begun fighting over who gets to bathe first. Even as small as they are, only one will fit in the bowl at a time. I feel quite delighted to provide a bit of happiness to these creatures who fill our kitchen with such pretty music and color. [Photo L: Hoppin' John getting ready to dive in.]


I'll keep trying for some better bird shots, but I think I'm going to have to rely on my fellow picture takers to do this item on the list justice.

Loving Spring,
Merry ME

Comments

Fire Byrd said…
It's early in the morning here, the hour has changed, and i've just been out for a walk in the spring sunshine with Miss Trix. The birds were definately singing their hearts out over here.
xx
March 29, 2009 at 4:04 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Every Little Bit Helps

Image
UPDATE:  I'll be picking a winner on Thanksgiving Day. So make a donation and leave your name in the comment section below.  ME UPDATE:  I see a tiny problem but it should be easy to fix. Commenting anonymously doesn't get your name in the drawing. And there's no way to tell Anonymous A from Anonymous B. Are you different or the same? I need to be able to get back in touch with you somehow. We can exchange email addy's later. But please at least leave your name. If you still comment as Anonymous, just say your name in the comment.  You can use first name and last initial. Or last name alone. Or an Alias. Just so I can get your name in the hat. And really, thank you. Thank you again and again. Merry ME _____ I always breathe a sigh of relief when a storm veers away from Jacksonville.  At the same time it's hard not to feel guilty that it went somewhere else.  I was in no way prepared for Hurricane Sandy. Like a lot of others, I felt like the...
Read more

An Easter Miracle

Image
How is it that after someone you love dies, time moves on even when it feel like its standing still? Philosophers, poets and writers have tried to answer that question since time began. I don't have the answer. I just know that, by what I can only imagine is the Grace of God, it does. When you heart is broken into something resembling a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle and there are no directions on how to put it together, somehow it mends. When some else dies and it cracks again, God stitches the old wound and the new wound together into a patchwork of healed scars. Fifteen years ago, when I watched my mother draw a breath then counted the seconds before she took another but none came, I sat by her bed and tried to imagine being a motherless child. Then I did what any kid would do, ran down the long hospital corridor sounding the alarm. "My mother isn't breathing." "My mother isn't breathing."  Want to see doctors, nurses, CNAs, and cleaning ladies tur...
Read more

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY BLOG PARTY

Image
In honor of women everywhere ... Welcome to the International Women's Day Blog Party (Turn up the sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuB3_HLcFfk ) International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To this end, this party is a way to honor those special ladies who have inspired us and made us better than we ever thought we could be. It is with gratitude and pride I welcome you to my blog. I'm anxious to hear your stories and celebrate your choices. All you have to do is go down to the bottom of this post and click on the comment section. That will take you to another page where you can write your tribute in the space provided. You can use your Google/Blogger user name or remain anonymous. There is nothing to join. If you choose to post anonymously please leave your name in the comment section so we'll all know who you are. When you're through hit publish and voila your lady is o...
Read more