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

There were certain birds I never saw before I started feeding them.  A red bellied woodpecker was one.  I never saw a Carolina wren before.  Those are two birds that quickly come to mind.

There are others like a white breasted nuthatch who likes feeding on the suet I put out for the woodpeckers.  I never had a large living room window facing the yard before from where I can watch the birds come to and fro several bird feeders.

Our window faces a large white pine and there are bushes on the edge of the porch.  When the frost is ended I will put out sugar water and watch the daily parade and antics of the ruby throated hummingbirds feeding on them.

I consider myself lucky to have this situation.  I have always loved birds and I get a lot of pleasure of watching the steady stream of them.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-feeders, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, hummingbirds, living room window, nature, red bellied woodpecker, ruby-throated hummingbird, spring, suet, sugar water for birds, white pine tree, white-breasted nuthatch, winter, woodpeckers
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There were lots of birds feeding in my yard in this storm.  I sprinkled some birdseed two and an half hours ago on the snow.  I counted about a dozen slate cover juncos feeding on the ground (my friend calls them appropriately snow birds).

I saw as many as three downy woodpeckers on the trunk of my large white pine tree at one time.  They do take turns feeding on the suet.  And of course there were the squirrels.  I did see “stumpy” a squirrel who is missing part of his tail.

A female cardinal made its appearance briefly.  And there was the occasional Carolina wren.  A little later I will toss a little more bird seed on the ground.  I do not want to waste any.

There still is some sunflower seeds on our porch not covered by snow.  The birds keep coming.  And I have my eyes open for any unusual visitors.

Tags: bird feeding, bird seed, bird-watching, birds, cardinal, Carolina wren, downy woodpecker, my yard, nature, slate covered junco, snow, snow birds, snow storm, squirrels, stumpy, suet, sunflower seeds, white pine tree
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I watched and listened to the Carolina wren, which alighted on a branch just outside my kitchen window.  I stood there for what seemed an eternity and was serenaded by its song.  I had never seen one from that spot or that close up or even heard one.  It was a small gift I was given today.  Thank you.  I hope you can find some food in this snowstorm.

Tags: bird feeding, bird food, bird song, bird-watching, birds, Carolina wren, feed the birds, gift, kitchen window, nature, serenade, snow, snowstorm, thank-you, winter
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A Carolina wren had made its nest in a pansy pot hanging from the garage door.  The nest faced the inside of the garage.  I spied the birds repeatedly getting and bringing pieces of suet to their young.  I stood below the nest and still could not hear the young.  A while back I had shined a flashlight into the nest and spotted three eggs in it.

Today when I opened the garage door I flushed two young wrens out of the nest and they half flew, half ran into my very disordered, cluttered garage.  Their parents were squawking very excitedly nearby.  I left the door open so eventually the two birds would find their way out.

I did see one bird against the far wall, then flapping near the entrance of the garage door.  I assumed it got out.

Then I had another encounter with another local denizen later on.  I could not understand why all of a sudden six cats were congregating near the computer.  Suddenly I spied a small mouse trying to evade their grasp.  I quickly trapped it with two sneakers and released it outside near the woods.  It must have been terrified for I checked the sneaker an hour later and it still was in there.  I encouraged it to run into the woods.  These were my two encounters with the creatures around my house.

Tags: baby birds, bird's nest, birds, birds eggs, Carolina wren, cats, computer, creatures in my house, flower pot, garage, mouse, pansies, pets, six cats, small creatures, sneaker, suet, woods, wrens
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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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