Feeders and Sunlight

One of the few things I did today (after recuperating from a night of battling a bug?), was to fill up the tray feeder. It seems the birds prefer that feeder and there's not as much waste. So...should I get another one?

Anyway, while I was out there, I heard a significant fluttering in the trees behind the garage. At first, I thought Tinkerbell was hunting; but she was only a few feet away from me. Then I saw lots of birds flying out of the trees in that area and a second later....a beautiful hawk or falcon! ! ! It took my breath away! I don't know how it got in and out from behind the garage, but the take-off was spectacular! I'm sorry to say - no camera and no identification - it all happened so fast. :(

Meanwhile, I have a flock of juncos right now, plenty of house finches still, a few gold finches and the rare sparrow - so I'm filling the feeders regularly. It's fun to see all the activity out there again.

I am thinking about moving the feeders across the driveway. If you look at past photos, you will see, that especially in the winter, the sun rarely hits the feeders. They are only 6 feet from the house on the north side. Across the drive, the sunlight is there almost all day. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? Initially, they were positioned to be part of a sanctuary I was planning - but my plans have changed and the dream won't be coming true - at least for now.

What IS that Masked Bandit???

Sorry for the poor quality photo - but I didn't want to scare it before getting a shot - and my hunch was right. I took the photo from in my kitchen - zoomed in with the Panasonic Lumix - not fancy. As soon as I got the first shot, he took off.
I've looked in two bird books and can't find it! I even looked under "racoon bird" --- you're laughing now, I know ;)
Can anyone identify this bird?
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Raindrops...

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow
May the soft winds freshen your spirit
May the sunshine brighten your heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you
and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love
(an Irish Blessing)

(iPhone photos - 10/20/09)

You Should Have Seen the Sunrise!

Sunrise - Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 8:10am
This song says it all - enjoy!
(iPhone photos)



If you can't be with me next time, go out anyway, and take someone with you ;)

Cornell Lab site

I'm sure this site has been around a l-o-o-o-n-g time, and I seem to have a very vague recollection of it being mentioned in a blog or conversation in the past year; but, I just discovered this fabulous site last night! Whoo-hoo!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology -
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1200

Last night I finally figured out the differences between the house sparrow vs. Harris' sparrow and the house finch vs. the purple finch. The finches, in particular, have confused me - they look so much alike --- that is, until you see them side by side!
Here's an example: Go to the home page. Type purple finch in the search bar. When the page comes up, (Warning! You could get lost in all the interesting information on that page, believe me!) scroll down to "Field Marks" and "Similar Species". There are lots of photos to scroll through there, but the great feature is, you can click on "Similar Species" and two large windows will pop up on the page - like this:

From here, you can scroll through the photos of either window and compare! There are photos of the birds in different seasons, male and female, and a description on each photo. By the time you go through these photos, you should have a much better idea of how to distinquish between those tricky little look-alikes!
Regarding the finches, I learned that the house finch, though its reddish color may be brilliant, is red only on the head, down the front, and sometimes a fleck of red between the wings just above the tail; whereas, the purple finch is practically red/purple all over! Its wings are tinted red - the house finch's wings are just browns and cream.
This is only one feature on the site! There are lots of photos, maps and information regarding habitat, life history, and behavior. There are sound bites of songs and helpful videos for successful birding.
If you've never been to The Cornell Lab site - Go! Now! ;) and have lots of fun!
(Disclaimer: If in my excitement I am in error about what I think I've discovered, please let me know?) thanks ;)

Artisitc Expression

Artistic expression fascinates me! I think I'm more amazed and curious as to how the artist came up with the idea, than I am with the piece of art itself!
Take, for instance, this first photo. It was taken in a coffee shop (with iPhone) - a simple white painting of a feather. It looks like the wind is blowing it apart, but, if you look closely, you will see that the bits of feathers are birds!

I took this second photo (again with iPhone) in the SeaTac Airport. It is made with thousands of tiny piece of metal; each hanging from a string (or wire?). Every one of the pieces that forms the eagle, is a little bird; and every piece that forms the fish in the eagle's talons, is in the shape of a fish! Unbelievable!

And yet, nothing that man makes compares with the awesome creation of life by the hand of God. I haven't seen many birds at my feeders in a long time, so yesterday, I took down all my feeders, cleaned and filled them. Today, there were so many bird visitors again! There were finches, chickadees and juncos flying around the yard, swooping in to land at the feeders and slipping into the hedges. THEY are a work of art that keep my heart in constant wonder as to how God came up with the idea that resulted in His artistic expression - of little birds! ;)

Hello Everybody!

It seems like forever since I've posted! Life is full!
I want to welcome those who are new followers ;) I will be visiting your blogs soon. Blogging is such a wonderful idea! I've met great people who are so generous with their experience in birding - I've learned so much in the last 11 months and have enjoyed admiring the photography displayed by the writers.

It's been foggy and rainy today and there has been much on my mind. I was going about my business - you know, daily stuff like cleaning the kitchen and taking out the garbage - easy things to do with your mind on auto-pilot. When I stepped out onto the porch with the garbage bag, I found this incredible surprise!

I called Wild Birds Unlimited to see if they had delivered it - did they deliver it to the wrong address? The lady laughed and told me that it was a gift for me from a lady who'd bought the bag of seed and asked for it to be delivered to ME! Needless to say, I was amazed!
So, I want to thank you - whoever you are - for being so thoughtful and generous. I hope you are blessed in return!