Some of you might think I mean this site; and indeed, my quietude has again continued for longer than I wanted. I continue to be busy offline and mostly happy with all that’s going on; and I am frustrated by my efforts to try to organize and express some thoughts on substantive matters for sharing here.
But no, what I mean is our current home is going to the birds. We’ve enjoyed lots of bird life in this area, but with the change of seasons an influx of migratory birds has added to that. Swans now occasionally grace our lake with their elegance. Lots of cute, nearly-black ducks are fun to watch as they paddle about energetically, then dive ... trying to spot them when and where they resurface is an enjoyable pastime for us all. Cormorants abound; and on Thanksgiving Day, several of them put on a parade of sorts for those watching the water. A floating piling or tree trunk provided a safe place for them to sit and dry their feathers; about seven of them were on it as it slowly floated down the lake.
Yesterday, I awoke to the sound of some bird chattering and screaming nearby. It wasn’t until late afternoon that I twigged the likely culprit: a bald eagle has apparently claimed a treetop two houses away as its broadcast center. It was there in the afternoon, calling; and I heard it again this morning. Its noise sounded rather disturbing at first, but now that I know what it is, I like it.
I think the lakeside life is starting to seduce me at last, as it already has everyone else here.
This Place Is Going to the Birds
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Birds
Funny how much pleasure those little feather-puffs can bring, isn't it. A few years ago there was a great-horned owl who would sit in the cottonwood right outside my upstairs bedroom window and hoot all night. As loud as it was, I enjoyed when his rounds would bring him back to my tree for a few nights.
An owl ...
... would make this place practically perfect, ornithologically speaking. You’re right, Kent—the feather-puffs are very nice to have around; and I’ve been partial to owls for many years. On occasion, when I slept in my trailer at the other house, I’d hear a great horned owl calling, but always from rather far away.
Oh, and the bald eagle sends its morning salutations.
What a wingspan!
Wait until he decides to hangout in your yard! We have one that lives about 20 acres away from our land and every now and then Ill head out to the pasture and see the horses acting funny, glancing over towards the trees. At first I can never tell what they are looking at but once you see it perched on a low branch or stump, you wonder how you missed it, they are really massive and beautiful birds! If you have dogs or cats they'll probably let you know its there to.
Red, white & blue
Myself, I'm wishing you a Great Blue Heron, posing elegantly against the horizon, to keep one of its eyes on you. -SRS
Miss them
Herons are amazing birds—I never tire of watching them. I miss them; and I’ve missed you, too! Thanks for piping up.
You almost got your wish
The other day, as Snolf I and I were doing some yard cleanup, our noise apparently bothered a heron lurking a few houses down. We heard its eerie call before we saw it flying off to the other side of the lake.
They're just rebranded dinosaurs
I imagine this conversation 65 million years ago...
"OMG, OMG, OMG, it's TEOTWAWKI, the asteroid has destroyed everything, there's only a pitiful few survivors left, what will we doooooooo????"
"Hey, I know! Let's evolve into fluffy colorful little things with pretty voices!"
"Wow, what a great idea!"
Tweet, tweet tweet, tweet tweet...
:-)
Successful rebrand, too
Mr. Bill, do you have a YouTube vid bookmarked to go with just about any subject? You are amazing.
Missing my birds
One of the really unexpected things about moving to Wyoming was finding so few birds here!
Of all the places I've lived in the world, I have the fewest birds around here. I'm always glad to see the occasional hawk or eagle, and the geese overhead spring and fall are inspiring, but they seldom come close enough for me to see much.
In the California desert I had hummingbirds all year, as well as countless small birds of all kinds in the orchard and garden. I once had a flock of incredible Orioles land in my orchard. Unfortunately, they proceeded to strip the grapevines totally. sigh
Other places, we always had birds to watch and enjoy. A family of Blue Jays once took over an orchard for a few seasons, and a massive flock of Scarlet Tanagers once saved our shade trees from caterpillars! The mocking birds could always be counted on to torment the barn cats. And crows were a serious threat to any garden there. My sons learned their marksmanship shooting them.
I suspect that the major problem here is the lack of trees. I've planted lots of them, and hope that someday they will be home to many wild creatures. That is, of course, if the deer and the rabbits leave anything to grow tall enough to attract the birds. Oh me...