Hello in there...

Hello?

Is anybody home?

 "are you talking to me?"

 Yeah, you, little one.

Whatcha doin'?

 "just waiting for my lunch"

 Oh yeah? What's for lunch?

 "oh, probably a few flies, mosquito's, maybe a big fat bee if I'm lucky"

 "me and my sister are hungry, I think my mom should be here any second"

 "Look! There she is now!"

 (crunch, crunch, crunch)

 "mmm, nothing like fresh bugs on a summer day!"

 "Thanks mom! You're the best!"

"You always know how to put a smile on my face!"

 

P.S

(These are the violet green swallows that nest at my folks house every year.

They are literally a few feet from the house and as always,

they are a treat to observe.

I photographed them from a distance with my zoom lens as not to disturb them

even though they are quite use to the 'humans' now.)



Wordless Wednesday...young, white crowned sparrow in hemlock



Lucky!

On Sunday I was lucky to have a close encounter with a Great Horned owl

and then on Monday when I was walking in the woods,

I saw another one fly through the trees.

Next I heard a strange bird call that I didn't recognize and upon

further investigation, I realized there was a baby Great Horned

owl and this must have been it's mom looking for food

for the young one.

I didn't have my camera so Griff and I just sat by the creek below

the tree where the baby was perched and watched each other.

Wednesday I went for a morning walk with Norene and we spotted the

mom fly out from between the trees.

I knew her baby must be close and then...there it was!

Only about 10 feet above the path we were on

and THIS time I had my camera!!!

So here to share with you, this fuzzy

ball of feathers, just beginning to get it's 'horned' ear tufts...

How lucky is that?!

To glimpse this magnificant bird and it's young is truely a gift.



Morning visit...

Sunday morning...up early...a gorgeous sun filled morning!

After an early walk with Griffin, I sat down on the porch with my mug of tea and camera.

There's a sound that you hear in the woods especially this time of year.

Robin's yelling.

They're mad and afraid for their babies.

As the fledgelings are leaving the nest, they're perfect fodder for bigger birds of prey.

Up behind the barn that sound was loud and clear today.

As always, I knew who they were yelling at...

 A magnificent Great Horned owl...

 He watched us, we watched him...

 Even the hummingbirds were diving at him, but there he sat...

 Quietly going about his business...

His day ending and ours just beginning.



All's well...

Remember this post ?

Seems the house hunters were successful in raising a little family.

Yesterday I heard peeping from the nest box

and spotted this fat little one...

Calling for mom and dad to come and feed him...

I watched for about 20 minutes and then had to go to work but

seems like the chicks are just about ready to fly off.

Good luck in the big wide world!!!

pelicano's

In the mornings on the beach outside our hotel,

the local fishermen would take their boats out early...

...coming back with their catch for the day...

There were the usual birds on the beach...

But there are a few 'special' ones hanging around...

...two young pelicans, not yet fledged, quite comfortable around people.

It's because their poor mom has a broken wing and has the smarts to know

that this is a safe place where these youngsters will get some food...

She hobbles about with her damaged wing, waiting for the morning scraps from

the cleaning of the fish...

These birds are magnificent to watch as they glide inches above the waves

and even more impressive to see them go from high above the water,

folding themselves into a perfect dart and diving in for fish.

But on the ground they are slightly gawky and awkward...

 ...not yet knowing the finer points of closing their wings back up again

and preening their new pinfeathers by the minute...

Sometimes if you were walking on the beach with flip flops in hand

the young pelicans would mistake your footwear for fish and give chase!

Lucky for these young ones, that their mother knows a place where

people will feed her babies until they are old enough to find their way.

I'm hoping somehow they'll learn to fish and as for mom...I don't

know what will become of her.

A pelican that can't fly, can't fish but maybe once the babies are gone

the locals will keep feeding her or get her some help for her wing.



Camoflauge...

Nature, in her brilliancy, has developed a way of keeping secrets.

Female birds who blend in with the moss and the twigs.

Eggs, speckled, with the colour of sand and soil.

Nests, that fit into crevices and nooks and crannies.

During the spring and summer, we walk by them numerous times,

blind to the fact of a whole new generation being brought up.

In the winter, there sit the brown balls of roots, lichens and grass,

staring at us at eye level...taunting us as if to say...

"ha! fooled you!"

So it was on Sunday, when my nephew said he had spotted a robin on a nest...

he took me to have a quiet look and after a minute or so of searching,

there she was.

Quietly going about her motherly duties.

Right outside the door to the house.

Isn't Mother Nature grand?!

What the snow brought...

When the snow flies, the birds become brave.

Looking for something that can't be seen beneath the snow.

I put out seed and suet during these times to make survival a bit easier.

I have learned that I have to be careful in feeding the birds, because of  my cat Reuben.

Cats will be cats, and he is a hunter.

When I feed the birds, I keep him on house arrest and he has restricted 'outside time'.

Yes, just like prison.

He has to earn his good behaviour.

In the meantime, the birds stock up on some energy to beat the cold temperatures.