Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Birds in the Garden

 


This week we filled the bird feeder and were instantly rewarded by lots of visitors. The feeder is clearly visible from our breakfast table, but on weekdays we eat earlier than the birds. It's on weekends that we eat together with the varied crowd that gathers round the feeder. 

We notice which birds get along and share the feeder, like the Sparrow and Chestnut-Backed Chickadee above. Others scrap and fight and won't tolerate others on adjoining perches.




Dark-eyed juncos come in great numbers, flying in and landing on the feeder singly or in pairs, while others perch on the trellis or railing to wait their turn. Their soft colours are so pretty. 


The Sharp-shinned Hawk doesn't approach the feeder, but we know when he's around for all of the other birds disappear into the hedge in a flash. 


The Spotted Towhee is another favourite. He's hard to capture on the camera because he tends to feed on the ground under the feeder and isn't so visible from the house. Here he perches on a leafless lilac bush, surveying the garden. 

"Every day, birds that are identified as common are overlooked. However, as you immerse yourself in the world of birdwatching, you come to appreciate the beauty in the common species as well as the scarcer ones." 
Joe Harkness, Bird Therapy

I am not a bird-watcher, per se, but I do enjoy watching them and observing their habits. 

This week I've made Christmas cake - out of love, because I cannot abide the taste. My husband eats it, and some of our children. I've been sewing pajamas and nightgowns and have nearly finished. It's very cozy to sit at my machines and stitch away while the rain falls outside. Inside, the fire glows, cups of tea are sipped, and Advent preparations begin. 

I wish all my American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

21 comments:

  1. Sweet birds and that hawk is a beauty! I should have filled the bird feeder especially since we now have at least 4-5 inches of snow. The nightgown/pajama tradition is sweet and special. Thank you for the Thanksgiving greeting. Blessings.

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  2. I love all your very different birds to ours. I can imagine you busily sewing with the rain outside. With me it’s knitting for Christmas. B x

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  3. Bird feeders bring joy both to birds as well as the bird watchers. Great photos!

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  4. I belong to Project Feederwatch. It is fun. They are looking for bird-to-bird interactions, as well a species ID.

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  5. We use to always have a birdfeeder out in winter time. I loved watching the birds. At our last home in NC a bear broke our very expensive squirrel proof feeder so we quit putting them up.

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  6. Darling birds. You got great shots of them!

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  7. There is great beauty in even the common birds at the feeder, as your pictures show. Just look at that junco, taken from behind him, how handsome he is! I'd love a jacket of that color. We've found that the chickadees love feeding at the finch feeder but I don't think the finches appreciate it very much. The hawk, something about him, right? I always hope our hawks choose mice instead of our birds or rabbits. I'm wondering if your Christmas Cake is some type of fruitcake? RH and I both love homemade fruitcakes but none of our children do. Those grands of yours will be darling in their new Christmas pajamas and gowns!

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  8. Great photos! You get lots of interesting feathered friend there!

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  9. Hardly anyone I know can afford to feed the birds anymore...praying for the birds, too.

    Maybe I don't know what Christmas cake is, but you have me wondering since you are not a fan.

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  10. That spotted towhee is beautiful! He's very different from the brown towhee I see around here. You've reminded me that it's time to put out the suet feeders!

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  11. We have a Sparrow Hawk who visits us on a regular basis, and rather like your Sharp-shinned Hawk, the small garden birds vanish in the blink of an eye.

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  12. Watching the birds at the feeders is so enjoyable. It's amazing how quickly they all disappear when a hawk is nearby.
    Both my dh and myself love Christmas cake as do our daughters. Not 1 of the boys will eat it though.

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  13. It all looks so lovely, Lorrie. You have some sweet birds visiting your feeders, and it is so good to watch them. We do it too, but have fewer different species. Our birds generally do not like to share - which is a pity, because there are two feeders and they could work out their differences! Well done on the Christmas cake, one of those things we do. My husband loves his mother's boiled Christmas plum pudding (which I could do without). It takes hours to boil and you have to stay home all day to do it. Happy sewing, always such a pleasure.

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving. We have had Erntedankfest weeks ago. I love the sparrows ... they are funny birds.

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  15. Lovely birds in your garden.
    Well done on the Christmas cake, I'm sure those who like it will appreciate you making it :)

    All the best Jan

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  16. I love watching birds outside my windows even if I don't get such a wide variety. Mostly Eurasian collared doves, sparrows and sometimes bulbuls. The loveliest scenes are when the fledglings are making their practice runs ... learning to fly and forage. So sweet. Wishing you and yours a bundle of blessings always.

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  17. Hi Lorrie: You probably already know this but the the sparrows in your first picture are House Sparrows, and in the second picture a handsome Golden-crowned Sparrow. It is quite common where you live but when a stray showed up here earlier this year it caused great excitement in the birding community! Happy Sunday !

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  18. I know I have commented on this post ...
    I think my comment may be in spam folder!

    Lovely photographs.

    All the best Jan

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  19. Anonymous2:21 PM

    I know I have commented on this post ...
    I think my comment may be in spam folder!

    Lovely photographs.

    All the best Jan
    https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Smiling here about your labour of love in baking fruitcake for your hubby. I have done the same every year for the past five decades...not because I love fruitcake but because he does! You got some great bird pic's. We are also enjoying all the birds at our feeder these days...though I can't name the species.

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  21. What wonderful birds in your garden. I am not fond of hawks in the garden, but they sure are beautiful.

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