A Visitor for Breakfast

Yesterday morning while I was washing dishes, all of the birds that were feeding in the backyard suddenly disappeared. I was wondering what could have caused them to scatter so quickly so, when I looked out the window, I saw this guy, most likely a Sharp Shinned Hawk, sitting on the fence...


Yeah, if I were a bird, I would have scattered too.

Ninja Squirrel

You know it's about time to add food to the feeder when...



What does it take to get a little service around here...


There have been times when I would go outside and not think there was a squirrel in sight, until....one jumps out of the feeder. I've also seen starlings poke their beaks inside the squirrel feeder to get some seeds. One of these days, I'll be quick enough and get a picture of them doing it.

A Mother's Work is Never Done

I heard a lot noise outside the other morning and when I went to look, I caught these guys on our back patio ...



I threw out some stale bread for the birds and this mom decided that it would be a great meal for her babies. They followed her all over the yard trying to get their fair share. They even ended up on our barbeque AND on the handle of our power edger (Yes, lined up in a nice row with mommy in the middle)! Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera, they had moved to the patio.

The Early Duck Gets the Feed

My wife and daughter were outside the other night refilling the bird feeders, when all of a sudden four objects came flying down from our roof. Heedless to the fact that there were people only a few feet away, they were determined to satisfy their hunger. Since I didn't want walk out and scare them away, here's a photo taken (sorry for the fuzziness) from our kitchen window of 2 of the ducks (with a gratuitous butt shot of a third) :-)...



These guys stuck around the entire time that my wife and daughter were outside. When the ducks were finished eating, they kinda just walked around... getting the "lay of the land."

Birds of a Feather-Part: Deux

Well, my wife went and did it and now we have to pay the consequences! We have been having a multitude of Goldfinch coming and eating their thistle seed which, by the way, is pretty darn expensive. It had gotten so busy at the feeders, that they were actually eating off of the ground, which Goldfinch usually do not do. So, one her way back from work last Saturday, my wife picked-up another Shepherd's Hook and some thistle socks to add some feeding stations for the Goldfinch.

Well, it didn't take more than two minutes before they swarmed the feeders. Although they are still feeding off of the ground, there are now three more feeding socks to attach themselves to.


Here's a photo taken through our kitchen window. By the time we got the camera, a lot of them had already flown off, but here are the ones that stayed. I know, the screen is a mess and those rips in it are courtesy of Yum Yum...



Not as many birds, but a better view of them...



Finally, a much better view. As you can see, my wife used electrical ties to secure the Shepherd's Hook to the post, which the birds use as perches...