Friday, March 11, 2016

Wild Bird Wednesday

The tiny Red Breasted Nuthatch.

I love these little guys ...and, little they are too.  Not much bigger than some hummingbirds really.  But, feisty.. just like a hummer.  They don't take any flack from the bigger birds and dart in and out and get their fair share of the seeds. Sometimes they even try to hog the feeder all to themselves...

They hang upside down from the mesh to get a seed, (which I'm sure is the proper way for a nuthatch) ... but, they also perch on the little wire perches..or...they don't mind taking seeds from the board near the water..or on the ground ... as a matter of fact... they are everywhere ..all at the same time it seems.















I have at least two different ones coming and going on a regular basis.. I only know this because sometimes there are two here at the same time.  Also these same ones or ..maybe others... enjoy my suet feeder at the back of the house.  Their favourite... peanut butter and bugs suet... which the Downy woodpecker and the Flicker ...and a damned Magpie also enjoy.  I do shoo away the Magpie when notice it there.  It can get plenty of other "food" anywhere...













If they don't take the seed and fly directly to their "stash" ...  which they save for rainy or cold days.. they will often beat the heck out of it on the patio wall.   Unlike the sparrows...they are dainty eaters and like to nibble tiny morsels ..much like the chickadees do when they take a seed and fly into the lilac and nibble it for quite some time before returning for a second.





























Here is one just for Dave ...    http://burdzbuttz.blogspot.ca  ... a perfect butt shot... which I get plenty of ...I just wasn't quite as clever as he was in naming a blog after the fact.  I love your fun blog Dave .. and all of your perfect butt shots.. as well as all of your other beautiful bird photos.













Look...sometimes he shares.... let me see what is that other bird? .... mmm.... perhaps ... it was a Pine Siskin that day.













We all know this look...... "Hey woman....it's empty...... more seed!!@"      Worse than a pirate... "oi .. ....where's me grog wench ?!..."

Sheeesh.....  birds are cheeky.

And look how easily he does that major stretch.... wow.... .. I wonder if their legs are situated differently in their anatomy than other birds or if they just have stronger groin muscles ... I must search for a straight on shot or two to see if it is noticeable...














Check out many other beautiful and interesting birds on Wild Bird Wednesday (even if it is Friday today) .....


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Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Look who came to dinner

at........... the birdie feeder.














The only sparrow that didn't fly off was this Clay Coloured Sparrow...okay it is actually a clay sparrow ... but,  there is a sparrow called a Clay Coloured .. and, it looks pretty real doesn't it?  There are 3 on this little fountain.














The real ones quickly dived into the nearby juniper shrub and stayed there, quivering, 'til long after Curious George left the vicinity.

I got some photos of the cat and sent them to my neighbour to see if she recognized it.  We don't see many loose animals in our neighbourhood.  We live beside a golf course and do have coyotes and owls and hawks about all the time.  This guy would make a pretty good sized snack for somebody higher on the food chain..well, maybe not higher, but bigger.

He didn't get lucky ..   but, he was definitely checking out the menu.

Then, down he jumped and sauntered off in the direction of the next crescent ..where we think he lives.

Apparently, his name is actually George.  And I have no idea why he is out and about pretty far from home.  I would have thought people might be a bit more concerned for a lovely cat like this.  Looks like a Himalayan to me.  They aren't cheap.  Neither are vet bills.

So,  ....no actual birdies today on Wild Bird Wednesday...but, he is a visitor to the bird feeding station in my patio.
As usual, click on the photos to see them bigger ...what a beauty he is.
















Bad George!  Bad CAT !!@

hahahah... yeh, as if I said that.  I just grabbed my camera and took his photo.

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