Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

Every time I view that empty nest in the lilac bush I wonder how a bird could have made it and raised little ones in plain sight and I never noticed it last year.  The nest was smaller than a robin would have made.  It had to have been a small bird and I wonder the identity of that bird.  Every time I see the empty nest I wonder what else am I missing right in front of my nose.  All I can do is keep my eyes and hears (!! ears !!) open and await my next discovery.

Tags: baby birds, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, lilac bush, my next discovery, robin, small bird
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I did not see the Carolina wren for about a week.  I had discovered a nest the bird was making then.  Today I spotted two right outside my large living room window.

That was the only time I saw two at once.  I checked my bird book:  both the male and female are identical.

One of them hopped on the chair right in front of me on the porch with several pieces of straw in its mouth and then disappeared into the large white pine branch still leaning against the house, torn off our tree during an ice storm.

The nest was on the ledge behind the branch.  I was hesitant to view it again for I did not want to disturb the bird especially if it was already sitting on its eggs.

Now I was keeping my eyes open for the bird thrilled they had not abandoned the nest.  It was a only a small moment in my day but it made me happy.

Tags: bird book, bird eggs, bird making a nest, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, ice storm, made me happy, porch, straw, white pine, window
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The Carolina wren was all I cared about today.  I viewed it again hopping back and forth searching for material on the ground suitable for its nest.  I usually do not get that close to one.

Yesterday I spotted the nest it was building for the first time.  It hidden by a large branch of our pine tree which was leaning again our house.  The last snow/ice storm had torn it down.

The nest was on a ledge.  Now I am going to keep an (???) it and the bird.  I was feeling really frustrated with the disorder of our house.  Watching for the wren was all I cared about today.

And this bird was out of my control.  The wren did not even know I existed.  And certainly was not interested in straightening up my house.  I just liked keeping an eye open for it.

Tags: bird nest, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, pine tree, wren
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I became aware I never saw the bird nest in the lilac bush on the border of our driveway.  I looked at the nest and realized it came from a smaller bird than a robin.

Fifteen feet away a scarlet tanager nested in a box for the second year in a row although I only saw it once or twice but I never noticed the other nest.

And wondered what kind of bird was it and why did I miss it only mere steps from our front door?  Why was I that preoccupied that I did not spot the nest?

That seems to happen every year:  deciduous trees reveal their nests after they are stripped of leaves.  I always wonder why I did not spot the nests even when they are nearby.

Tags: bird box, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, deciduous trees, lilac bush, robin, scarlet tanager
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I was thrilled when one of my neighbors said two bald eagles have a nest only three miles away on the mountain across the River.  He said that a man with a telescope keeps an eye on them and also sometimes they can be seen soaring over the valley.  Now I am going to see if I can spot them with my binoculars.  I can’t wait to see if I have any luck.  I have only seen bald eagles a few times in this area.  Now I will have my eyes open viewing the sky every time I go in that area.

Tags: bald eagle, binoculars, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, mountain, river, telescope, two bald eagles, valley, view the sky
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I made several discoveries around the house.  The first one was a toad was living in a crack in front of the door.  He was no small toad–at least two inches wide.  I only saw him once in front of my door but I saw him disappear into the crack on the bottom.

It was magical:  he just tucked himself into the crack and was immediately gone from my view.  Since then I have kept my eyes open for him but did not see him again.

In back of my house, which was allowed this year to grow wild, was a patch of flowers I have often seen.  I knew it was a common weed:  a little white flower that looked like a tiny daisy.  I was amazed:  There must have been hundreds of those flowers in that big patch.

For months every time I stepped out the front door I would occasionally glance look at that tiny bird nest two inches in diameter resting on the nearby ledge.  I would be awed that a hummingbird could build such an perfectly round edifice.

I found the nest in the middle of the road nearby.  It must have fallen from an overhanging branch.  Every time I looked at that nest my breath would be taken away momentarily.

Another plant I never paid much attention was goldenrod.  For a long time I would mistakenly call another yellow flower goldenrod although goldenrod comes out later in the season.  My wife finally told me the proper name of that spring flower.

When I was walking my dog around my block, which is almost a mile around, I discovered there were acres of goldenrod in the gigantic meadow I passed.  I also found several patches of it around our property.  It was as if I was seeing goldenrod for the first time this year.  These were just a few discoveries I made.

Tags: around the house, awed, bird nest, birds, common weed, discoveries, dog walk, dogs, flowers, God, goldenrod, hummingbird, meadow, my wife, patch of flowers, pets, spring, take my breath away, tiny daisy, toad, yellow flower
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I keep looking at that two inch diameter bird nest laying on the ledge just outside my front door.  I am awed at how perfectly round the inside of it was.  It had to be a hummingbird nest.  I found it lying on the middle of the road, having fallen from an overhanging tree.

Two or three hummingbirds frequent my feeder outside my living room window.  And they, too, awe me as they come to and fro my feeder.  There are so many birds that I love watching.  The hummingbird is one particular one.

The hummingbirds come regularly to sip on the nectar I have prepared for them.  Every two or three days I have to refill the feeder.  I never get tired watching their antics.  Sometimes one will come too close to another and one will chase the other away.

When I view that little nest every day, I no longer take the hummingbird for granted.  The nest I keep on the ledge is a daily reminder of their wonderous creation.

Tags: bird feeder, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, God, hummingbirds, nectar, wonderous creation
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The best discoveries are always when you least expect them.  Today I was walking my dog and I picked something off the middle of the road.  It was a two inch diameter bird nest.  It had to have been built by a ruby-throat hummingbird:  it was so small.  Somehow it fell off the tree.  I had never seen such a small nest before.

Later on in the day, I was driving home after making my daily trek to the post office and a turkey hen and her nine babies passed in front of me to my amazement.  I stopped my car, mouth open, and let the baby turkeys pass.

I do not even know what turkey babies are called.  What was even more interesting to me was at least half of the babies were a different size:  she must have hatched half of her brood at a different time.  I had never seen baby wild turkeys before in my life.  You never know when the next discovery will come.  It is all serendipity.

Tags: baby wild turkey, beauty, bird nest, birds, discovery, dogs, God, pets, post office, ruby-throated hummingbird, serendipity, turkey hen, turkey hen and nine babies, walking my dog
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Familiarity breeds discontent.  Sometimes paradise is in your own backyard.  For example I had no idea a large patch of raspberries lay in the furthermost right corner of my yard.  I discovered that accidentally when a surveyor came in because we had to know the exact boundary of our property.

I considered driving twenty minutes to go to a state park to go fishing.  I looked around and realized I only had to drive a few minutes to be at the shore of the River, which usually was deserted.  Paradise is always somewhere else.

I decided to stay put.  I plan on watching the sun go down on the mountains of the nearby Susquehanna River.  I simply will bring my Coleman lantern for light.  I may even build a fire to enjoy the darkness which will descend on the River.

I also considered camping there.  There is even a closer area for me to camp only mere minutes from me–Lake Heron.  Sometimes you have to take a closer look at your surroundings to determine you do not have to go far to find paradise.

Toads of all sizes keep appearing in front of our garage attracted by the night light.  You never know when a box turtle will turn up at our footsteps.  We discovered that another bird built a nest only steps away from our door.  Today I saw a bird alight on it but was not able to identify it for it flew away too quickly.

There is so much beauty in our own backyard.  I simply have to open my eyes to see what is actually in front of me.  I really do not have to go far to land in paradise.  It is here.  Right in front of me all along.  I just have to pay attention.

Tags: backyard, beauty, bird nest, bird-watching, birds, box turtle, camping, Coleman lantern, familiarity breeds discontent, fishing, God, Lake Heron, open my eyes, paradise is in your own backyard, pay attention, raspberries, see what is in front of me, state park, surveyor, Susquehanna River, toads
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The sky is dimly lit just before the dawn.  The birds are in song in full crescendo.  I am wondering when I will see the first chickadees, tufted titmouse and downy woodpeckers come to my feeders.

I am thinking about that Carolina wren that built a nest in the large pansy pot hanging from my garage door.  Yesterday before it became light I shined a flashlight into the nest–flushing the poor frightened bird who high tailed it for parts unknown–and peered into the nest spotting three tiny speckled eggs.  My wife reprimanded me for scaring the bird.  I will leave her alone now.  I want the mother to successfully raise its young and I do not want to scare it out of its wits further, possibly abandoning her eggs.

Two years in a row (the last two) an eastern phoebe built a nest just outside our front door on top of the right lamp but I guess there was too much traffic in and out the house so it abandoned the nest and raised its young somewhere else.

This year a pair of robins have built a nest in the right corner in the gigantic bush.  At least twice I looked inside it but I could not spot the nest.  A few times when I walked nearby I flushed one of them.  Two robins keep feeding under our large pine tree which is somewhat unusual.  Several time I saw a robin extract a worm from the earth, toss it above its head, then gobble it down.

I love to observe the natural world around me especially the birds that come to our four feeders.  I am expectantly waiting for the first hummingbirds to come to our two feeders I have set up for them.  One is hanging from the pine tree mentioned and the other is hanging close to the window.

According to my bird journal I have kept for over five years the first one usually appears the end of April.  It is the twenty-second of April so my eyes have been continually sweeping the area outside our large living room window.  It was over a month ago the local nature columnist reported someone spotted one passing the Mason Dixon line and they would be here any day.  I put out nectar immediately after that announcement.  Well I am still waiting to spot one and already had to replace the nectar I set up and clean the feeder immediately after I noticed black mold in the feeder.  I guess they must have turned around or taken an extended stay along the way.

Watching birds give me such pleasure.  The money I spend on feed for them is worth every cent.  I love observing their antics:  they are all different.  This has been a lifetime hobby.

Tags: April, bird eggs, bird journal, bird migration, bird nest, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, chickadee, dawn, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, flower pot, God, hummingbirds, lifetime hobby, Mason Dixon line, my wife, nectar, pansy, pine tree, robins, sun comes up, tuftet titmouse, watching birds gives me pleasure
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I make sure my two large bird house totems face outward, one on each side of my front door.  I want the birds in my neighborhood to feel welcome.  There are a multitude of birds that come to our five feeders, which I keep well supplied with anything from sunflower seed to thistle to suet and when the warm weather arrives I put out nectar I make especially for the hummingbirds.  That does not even include the birdseed I scatter on the ground for the birds who prefer to feed there.

Last year there were three birds nesting in our vicinity.  An eastern phoebe built a nest above the right front door light although there might have been too much traffic there for her to be successful in raising her young.  A nest was built there two years in a row.

A scarlet tanager raised a family in a bird box stationed at a large white pine a foot higher feet than my head less than an hundred feet away from our entrance although I never spotted the brightly colored male.  I had never seen one before.

A catbird made a nest in the thicket of one gigantic bush in the corner of our yard.  One of our cats found the nest and flushed the young catbird out of the bush and we shooed the cat away immediately.  The frightened baby bird hopped into the open garage chirping in fright.  My son who happened to be at my house first had to move a table and a filing cabinet out of the garage to reach the scared little bird who had hopped deep into the cluttered garage.  He trapped the baby bird carefully scooped up into a little box without touching it and safely released it back into the overgrown bush where its nest lay.

I want all the birds in our neighborhood to know they are welcome to visit our premises and raise their young.  Every day I watch them come to and fro our feeders.  Soon I will put out nectar for our hummingbird feeders and watch the miniature “helicopters” come back and forth and jostle for position at their feeders.  We will have one feeder at the window just so we can watch them closeup.

There is such a variety of birds that come to our feeders.  The magnificent ten inch long red bellied woodpecker with its gorgeously marked red head occasionally feeds on our suet feeder (which I have placed right next to the trunk of the large white pine tree) and there is his companion–the smaller downy woodpecker which stands at attention as it climbs up and down the trunk of the same tree also feeding on the suet.  Then there is the diminutive brown creeper who is aptly named who also feeds on the suet and my favorite–the fearless chickadee whose antics I always love watching.

This is, of course, an incomplete list.  I want them all to feel welcome and the birds continue to come here in a constant stream.  I joyously greet them each morning and watch them all day and never know when an odd bird makes its appearance like the indigo buntings that seem to come through here once or twice a year in flocks.  I never know for sure what I will see outside my window.  I want the birds to always feel welcome.

Tags: baby bird, bird house totems, bird migration, bird nest, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, birds are welcome, birdseed, brown creeper, catbird, cats, chickadee, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, hummingbird feeders, hummingbirds, indigo bunting, my son, nectar, pets, red bellied woodpecker, scarlet tanager, suet, sunflower seed, thistle, white pine tree, woodpecker
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