Fishermen in the Creek

 Song - Fish and Whistle by John Prine

 

While gardening today I happened to look down at the creek and saw this Green Heron.  She noticed me up on the bank but she was very interested in fishing right now. 

She spotted something nearby.....

...and quick as you please she had a minnow in her beak....gobble, gobble and it was gone!

 

Not 10 minutes later I looked for her again but instead saw this Great White Egret fishing in a deeper part of the creek.

 

He noticed me as well but was hungry for lunch.  Unfortunately he was so quick the photo is somewhat blurry but you can see his head underwater and the bubbles from the splash. And up he came....

 

 ...with a crawdad! He held it for awhile but then I think he decided it was too big to swallow so...plop back into the water it went.

Yesterday I was watering the veggie garden and I had an encounter with a Hummingbird.  It was incredible how playful she was.  As I was watering she came by to suck some nectar from the bright orange nasturtiums bordering the garden.  She sat on the wire fence and watched me closely.  Then observing the stream of water from my hose, she darted in & out of it.  She stuck her long tongue out to drink the water and then landed on a Dahlia leaf as I sprayed near her.  A dip in the Dahlia leaf collected a pool of water and she drank from that as well.  Then she flew off only to come back several more times to play.  I called her Betty....she liked that!

“If people concentrated on the really important things in life,

 there'd be a shortage of fishing poles.”

 – Doug Larson.

Friends in High Places

Song - Winter by The Rolling Stones

This morning I woke to some very happy birdsong.  Our Oak tree was full of Robins and Starlings and a bird that sounds like a rusty hinge, Flickers and Hawks!

But if you look closely at the photo above, you will notice someone else in the berry bushes......in the upper left corner is part of a Cedar Waxwing.  They left our garden last week when a Hawk flew at them and haven't been back until today!!

The Privet tree was full of them and they let me set my tripod up quite close.

As I walked around our garden, I noticed some other delights of Winter.....above is a patch of Hellebores which is blooming in our shade garden.

And a nest up in the Wisteria arbor - I never noticed it until all the leaves dropped off......

And a little hummer enjoying some sunshine.

 And not one but two different Flicker's enjoyed the Privet berries too!

The bird above doesn't have the typical red patch on his cheek.

 But in the late afternoon light I caught sight of a Northern Flicker in all his beauty.

 He wanted to make sure I photographed his "good side"!

"And from Humming-Bird to Eagle, 
the daily existence of every bird 
is a remote and bewitching mystery. "

~Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 
"The Life of Birds," Out-door Papers, 1868

You Know What They Say?

Song - Smokestack Lightening by The Yardbirds

They say that lightening doesn't strike twice in the same spot........but that's just a myth.

Because it does!

At least Hummingbirds flying into my house does happen....

....twice!!

On Christmas morning this little sweetie above flew into my office.

And this morning this little peanut flew into our bathroom.

Boy was I shocked when I opened the door!

I handed him to Mr. B and off he flew so happy to join his buds.

"Spread you wings

and let you spirit soar." 

--unknown

A Hummer of a Christmas

 Song - Dueling Jingle Bells by the US Navy Band

'Twas the night before Christmas.......and Santa came to visit to the delight of all the children and even some of the adults! The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.......

....and on Christmas morning our three boys and Ashley, Monica, Jacque and Chewy arrived with a twinkle in their eyes............

............and some of them dressed festively for the occasion with outfits from previous years.

We had just settled down to open some presents when out in my office there arose such a clatter.....I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.......Away to the office window I flew like a flash, closed all the shutters and threw up the sash. When what to my wondering eyes should appear.....

.....but a miniature hummingbird so lively and quick....

Trapped and frightened and we all had different ideas on how to help him back outside.....we opened the windows & took off the screens, opened the doors, gently trying to herd him to the openings, perhaps with a net suggested Mr. B?  As the poor little creature flew near me I gently reached out and caught him in my hand.

His eyes how the twinkled, his nose - what nose - his head and neck like a cherry and I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself! A wink of my eye and a twist of my head......told the little creature he had nothing to dread.

We all walked outside while I released him and away he flew, like the down of a thistle.  But I heard him exclaim, as he flew out of sight....Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

"A hummingbird is just like a regular bird......

except it doesn't know the lyrics."

--John Brown

An Invasion

Song - Bird on a Wire by Willie Nelson


Saturday at noon we were invaded.....

...by a little Chickadee....

And a Cedar Waxwing.

Then two.....

They came to pick the ripe berries off of our Privet tree.

They hung upside down to find the perfect berry

And they came by the hundreds.....

No wonder why we have Privet seedlings coming up all over our garden!

Yes.....I'm talking about you Mister!

Two Waxwings each with a mouthful !!!

A Robin tried to join the berry picking but left shortly after he arrived...

...as these guys had taken over!

This guy has hair like Woody Woodpecker.

Can you tell that I was trying to avoid work and chose to be entertained by these flying beauties?

Because Friday was so calm in the trees..... 

Did you spot him?

"The early bird gets a choice which, to me, 

is more important than the worm itself."

--Stacey Alcorn

H is for Hawk

Song - Bird On A Wire by KD Lang

Ever since we returned from Tahoe, I have been waking up with the morning sun.  To my delight it is a beautiful time to enjoy the birds.

The little Black Capped Chickadee.....

.....and the Oak Titmouse waiting his turn at the feeder......

.....several American Goldfinch's nibbling at my Salvia........

.....a grumpy looking Black Headed Grosbeak - that plops onto the feeder and chases all the other songbirds away......

And almost every morning I wake to a hawk calling but he seems too close to the house so I go out on the deck and spot a bird about the size of a Robin that is making this hawk-like noise.  But he is too small and does not have a raptor type beak. As he flies away, I notice the red feathers under his wings and realize that he is actually a Northern Flicker!

The next morning, I am ready for him with my camera.

 

Isn't he a beauty?

Love that morning light on him!

 (If you click HERE, you will open a new tab from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Then click on the top call - The Kyeer Call to play - doesn't it sound like a Hawk?) 

I also caught this little Hummer sitting patiently waiting for the sun to warm him up.

And yesterday afternoon, I spotted this Red Shouldered Hawk in front of our house.  A big guy with beautiful wings that I saw when he got tired of his "photo shoot" and flew away.

"Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings."  --  Victor Hugo

 

In Flight

Song - Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band

Titmouse

Right after I took the photo in my last post (of Baby Huey - the extra large baby Mourning Dove) my beloved camera died.  Just stopped working - suddenly.  I had two full batteries and I tried them both but she was a goner. 

Female House Finch

I was devastated and felt lost.  It's like going somewhere without a purse or cell phone.  You know you will survive but it's a little unsettling.

Crow

So last week I knew I would have to take it to our local camera store to be repaired - it took me three days to adjust to the idea of being without a camera for awhile.  The man at the store was very helpful and quoted me repair prices and length of time I would be "camera less". 


SIX WEEKS! 

Chickadee

But right now I can hear you saying "But Jeanette, how did you get all of these photo's that you are inserting in your blog?" Well......

American Goldfinch

......the helpful camera man told me that for just a few dollars more than the cost of the repair, I could get a whole new camera body that all of my old lenses would fit on. 

Yes!  They were having a SALE!

Green Hummingbird that is imitating an Oak leaf

Be still my heart!  You mean I could walk out of this store with a new working camera? 


What a concept! 



A store that sells cameras!!!

A Hawk that was chased up into this tree by that little Hummingbird!

Now I have to tell you that part of me felt guilty, as my old camera was only four and a half years old.  And it feels very un-ecological of me to not repair my ailing camera but then I would of had an outdated camera that still had a lot of worn parts.  Kind of like putting a new engine in a 1967 Volkswagen - there are still other parts of the car to be considered. 

Titmouse & House Finch

Weighing all of this information while holding a bright shiny new camera was a little like holding a new puppy.  Hard to put down (maybe just one more sniff of puppy breath).


I was a goner......

Forgive me world - I purchased the new camera!

You WHAT?

Yup, I did. 

I could hardly wait the three hours to charge the new batteries before I could start rapid firing my new partner in crime.


And I have to say, I am loving her!

THE END