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

The hummingbird was feisty.  Despite at least an half a dozen bees who were hovering over the feeder, it was determined to sip nectar.  Its rear feathers expanded fan-like in an aggressive motion in response to the “invaders” to its personal space.  It was determined to get its share of sugar water.  I watched this scene from my large living room window with a bit of fascination.  The hummingbird would not be deterred by the swarming bees.  It was going to get its drink anyway.

Tags: bees, bird feeder, bird feeding, birds, feathers, hummingbird, hummingbird was feisty, large window, nectar, sugar water, swarming bees, watched from my window
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I keep looking at the hummingbird feeder viewed from my living room window.  I never know when one is going to come.  Last week I saw three at one time jostling for position to sip the nectar.  The same weekend my wife saw five at one time.  That means at least five hummingbirds know where the feeder is.  I love watching them hover over the feeder.  They are amazing.  Sometimes you might see two feeding at one time.  They are very protective of their space.  All I do is make sure they have nectar and they keep coming.  I am really privileged I can watch them from my living room window.  All you have to do is recognize the diverse variety of birds and thank the Maker for the display.  And that is just birds.  A very small part of His kingdom.  It is as if He had nothing better to do but create birds.  For His enjoyment and ours.

Tags: bird feeder, bird-watching, birds, create birds, enjoyment, for His enjoyment, for our enjoyment, God, His kingdom, hummingbird feeder, hummingbirds, living room window, my wife, nectar, thank the Maker
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The spring has arrived.  Everything has become green.  Most of the deciduous trees the leaves have come out although there are some late bloomers.  Some trees are only budding.  Spring is almost at the halfway mark.  And there are occasional days where it has skipped the season and went straight into summer but then it becomes cooler again and we know it is still spring.  I inspect my garden every day to see the next bloom of the year.  And then share the discovery with my Other.  Spring is the season of discoveries.  And I always like sharing the latest.  The hummingbird arrived on Easter only last week.  This time my wife spotted the bird first.  I love watching them sip nectar from our feeder.  And fend off other hummingbirds who invade their territory.

Tags: bird feeder, bird-watching, birds, bloom, budding, deciduous trees, Easter, everything green, garden, God, hummingbird, leaves, my wife, nectar, season of discoveries, seasons, spring, spring has arrived, summer, trees
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Every time I glance out the front window I await the entrance of the first hummingbird.  I just put out nectar the other day for it.  In the past, the first one of the season came by the end of April so I know it could come any day now.

Yesterday (or the day before) I saw three cottontails munching on the grass viewed from the back window.  I never saw three at one time so I was thrilled.  Now every time I look out into the backyard I am looking for those three bunnies.

Nature has a way of surprising you:  when you least expect it, there it is another surprise.  It may be a northern mockingbird (you have never seen before in the yard) or some totally other different sight like the large orange salamander that we spotted twice.  Somewhere in back near the creek lives a large box turtle.  You never know and all you can do is live and view life with an expectant attitude.

Tags: April, bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, box turtle, bunnies, cottontails, creek, expectant attitude, front window, grass, hummingbird, life, nature, nectar, northern mockingbird, orange salamander, rabbits, seasons, spring, surprise
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Another rite of spring:  I put up fresh nectar I prepared for the hummingbirds.  In past springs the first usually appears in the end of April so let us see exactly when the first one comes to the feeder.  I did not want to put up nectar too soon.  It would just mold.  This year I decided my birthday would be a good time to do it.  Now my wife and I will wait for the first one to come to our feeder.

Tags: April, bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, birthday, hummingbirds, my wife, nectar, rite of Spring, spring
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There is a slight chill in the air.  I checked the weather forecast for the next six days and the temperature has dropped a few degrees.  Labor Day is less than two weeks away.  I know now that summer is on its way out.

There are other signs:  the hummingbirds who regularly visit my feeder have dwindled.  I think there is only one who regularly feeds on my nectar.  I can tell this only by noticing how quickly my nectar for them is going down.  The others must have started their long journey down south.

All of a sudden we no longer have to run the air conditioner in our office.  Last night for the first time for months covering myself with a sheet was not enough.  I had to get my blanket.

School is about to start.  I may have bought my last watermelon for the season.  The local peaches are almost gone.  Fall is coming.  And before I know it Thanksgiving will be here.  After Halloween.

Tags: air conditioner, autumn, bird feeder, bird-watching, birds, chill in the air, Fall, God, Halloween, hummingbird, Labor Day, migration, nectar, peaches, school, seasons, summer, summer is on its way out, thanksgiving, watermelon
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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 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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