I never really was interested in birds before. But recently just love watching them in my yard. I'm just learning what each bird likes and trying to accommodate them all. My husband thinks I've gone overbaord with them, but I know he enjoys them just as much.
So far the the birds that regularly come by are: All around me, spring has arrived this morning. I awoke to the sound of a tui’s beautiful song. One lone voice , which is quickly joined by others. Later, I watch a tui as he performs his aerial acrobatics - turning himself upside down to drink the nectar from the emerging kowhai blossoms. I hear the swish of a wood pigeon on the wing as he flies past my window looking for a place to land. He chooses, I think unwisely, a tiny frail twiglet of a branch on the skeleton of the old oak tree. He defies gravity, by remaining there, swaying, watching, until his partner too comes to join him. Together they fly off again, only to be replaced quickly by another roving pair. And yet another pair arrives. All around, tiny fantails are gathering, swirling and dipping as they practice their emerging flight skills. They have not yet learned to be afraid of me, and come quickly down to feast on the scraps of bread that I have scattered on the ground. A soft, mysterious swishing of wings heralds the arrival of yet another gloriously elegant wood pigeon, the sun by now catches the magnificent colours of his beautiful plumage. A tiny fantail perches beside him - not yet afraid of the big boys either. I smell the freshness of the dew. Later the clamour of human beings and their machines will drown out these smells and sounds of nature, but that intrusion into the sensational beauty of this early morning will soon be followed by the delightful smell of freshly mown grass wafting on the gentle breeze. As night becomes morning , and morning becomes afternoon, I am more and more aware of all the signs of springtime that are gradually emerging. The sounds of the birds, the blossoms on the leaf bare plum tree and on the kowhai. The soft spring rain changes the colours of my winter garden into those of springtime. The springtime changes the colours of my mind after the long dark winter. Jeanne September 2000 SPRINGTIME IN MY GARDEN
Kelstev, you are hooked m'dear! Don't be discouraged by the non appearance of the orioles, they are very shy and don't like being watched. They don't usually nest close to where they eat either, preferring dense, shrubby growth to weave their nest and raise their young. This time of year, they like a little protein too, especially if they are raising babies, so if your local feed and seed has meal worms, you can buy them, keep them in your freezer and put some in your flat feed tray each morning. The other birds will love this too! The gold finches love niger seed and if you buy the feeder made for this type of seed, you'll get as much of a treat as they do! We only have them here in winter and by March, they have all gone north. Happy watching!
..instead of being the crazy cat lady, I'll be known as the crazy bird lady.
Thanks for the info on the orioles..they really are shy birds aren't they. I'll see if I can find some meal worms...I'm excited to try something new. So far the female oriole is going for the nectar...still not touching the oranges or grape jelly, but I'm going to have my husband change the feeder and the location (plus add the meal worm) of it and see if that works. The hummingbird is coming by everyday and doesn't seem to be afraid of us...he/she was about 4 inches away from me today. I went to youtube and watched a few videos of ppl hand feeding birds. I'd love to try that sometime.
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