Look! A bird!

[apl68]

No particularly noteworthy sightings, but I've been enjoying the great variety of birdsong on nice mornings.  I heard geese a couple of mornings ago, which surprised me.  Must be that pair that seems to be hanging around the region instead of going farther north.

[Langue_doc]

On Sunday's bird walk, we first encountered four turkey vultures (rare at this time of year) circling overhead, one of them rather low, and then landing on a structure, all of them presumably looking for a dead animal. We were tolk that they could smell carrion from a distance. On a more cheerful note, we encountered a baby blue jay that had fallen from its nest and was quite determined to explore the sidewalk and the cars parked alongside. Baby was escorted up the grassy slope, twice by us, and once by someone else earlier in the morning. Parents were squawking nearby, so we kept our fingers crossed for baby being able to survive a couple more days until he could fly. Other nests were those of a warbling vireo, an eastern kingbird, and one of a red-bellied woodpecker flying in and out of a hole on a dead tree that also housed a house wren's nest. The highlight was seeing a red-tailed hawk chick in its nest almost at the very top of the tree. Chick kept moving, so we had a good view. Parent was hovering nearby. Didn't see the goose family, but sadly the five goslings that I saw on Wednesday were down to four on Thursday, according to the person leading the walk. The egret was still there, partolling the lakeshore, looking for fish.

[apl68]

Whenever I talk to my brother, he gives me his observations about the tame poultry that he and his wife keep.  The other day he was kneeling on the ground working on something, when he heard these chirps behind him.  He turned to see all five of their young turkeys clustered together, looking over his shoulder.  Apparently turkeys can be quite curious.

[AmLitHist]

I saw the ring-necked pheasant again when visiting oldest's farm home this morning. Sometimes when I leave her lane he will walk, then run, then fly along above the corn field, about 20 feet away and parallel to my car. Gorgeous bird.

[Puget]

There are currently a bunch of fledgling sparrows wobbling around my back yard and making a mess of the bird feeder (there seems to be more seed ending up on the ground than they are eating - sort of like toddlers I guess)-- they are fun for both me and the cats to watch, for different reasons.

[Langue_doc]

At the car dealer's where I'd taken the car for service--two large bird cages in the waiting area, a white parakeet in one, and a fairly large cockcatoo in the other. The cockatoo's cage was rather large and fancy. Not sure why they were there--maybe the owner's on vacation and wanted the employees to take care of the birds? I hear a couple of employees whose offices were across from the birds complain about the noise. This is not a mom-and-pop place, but part of a national dealership.

[apl68]

At least they don't keep geese in the office....

Speaking of which, the geese at the city park this morning managed to get in my path twice this morning during my round of the pond at the park.  I feel like they're yelling threats and insults at me when I'm trying to pass by.

[FishProf]

With a class ...
1) Osprey hovering then diving (unsuccessful)
2) Cormorants (Great and Double Breasted)
3) Harlequin Duck
4) Dark-eyed junco juvies in a foraging flock
5) Ring-necked pheasant
6) An assortment of gulls
7) Mockingbird
8) Kestrel
9) Eared Grebe

Lots of other more common and less interesting songbirds.

[apl68]

To kill a mockingbird would be a terrible thing.  And is illegal in our state, since it's the official state bird.  But that doesn't mean that you don't occasionally feel like it....  They can be annoying.

[AmLitHist]

To kill a mockingbird would be a terrible thing.  And is illegal in our state, since it's the official state bird.  But that doesn't mean that you don't occasionally feel like it....  They can be annoying.

We always had at least a pair of mockingbirds around our place when I was growing up, even after we moved into town.  I'd love to have a pair again, even if they do start up at 3 a.m. some mornings!

[Langue_doc]

We have a resident mockingbird on our street who just has to know who's coming and going. He hops on the fence when I leave to make sure that I'm not up to any mischief. He's one of several that have taken up residence in the neighbor's yard.

In other bird news, I was early for an appointment, so went to a nearby park with several ponds where you get to see interesting birds and bird drama. On a branch hanging over the water on the other side of the pond, sat a black-headed night heron. A couple of grackles kept flying at him, most likely because he must have been sitting near their nest. The heron kept moving from branch to branch, up and down, and then sideways. Grackles won the day as the heron disappeared soon after.

[cathwen]

At our favorite pond yesterday, we saw a pair of wood ducks (male and female), plus a female with 14 ducklings in tow. We also observed a phoebe catch an insect in flight.

[apl68]

You don't mess around with grackles.

Or mockingbirds.  I don't know whether I've ever told the story here about how as a child I made the mistake of trying to capture a baby mockingbird I spotted sitting on my father's motorcycle beside the house.  I didn't know that it was a baby mockingbird.  I just had some idea of temporarily capturing a bird, showing it to my parents, and then letting it go.  My brother and I had done it before.

The little bird startled me by squawking and thrashing.  Then I looked up and saw a beak with wings diving at my face.  I fled inside, my eyes wide with astonishment.  Dad stepped outside to see what was going on, and one of the birds nearly got him.  The neighborhood's birds were all in an uproar.

That's how I learned that mockingbirds are fearless in the defense of their young.

[AmLitHist]

The local birds have been feasting for weeks on the cicadas. It's funny to watch a tiny little wren chase and then wrestle and eat one of the bugs, which is very large for such a little bird.

[AmLitHist]

We have another? the same? mother robin back on the nest by our window AC, as of this morning. Youngest daughter said yesterday that she heard something fiddling around her AC; ALHS looked this morning, and there are beginnings of TWO nests (one on each side) of hers!

We need to charge rent. . .