Bird Watching - the House Finch

 

House Finch
Carpodacus mexicanus

I stopped to watch a flock of bird feeding on the white berries of the snowberry bushes that are in our backyard garden. The birds stayed together in a flock perching on on the shrubs there. 

The red-streaked plumage on the breast and heads of the mature males is what caught my eye, bright flashes of colour on the rust branches that swayed a bit as the birds lit on them.  At first I only saw one -- then three, seven, nine -- so well camouflaged.

During Covid-19 I am learning to be mindful of what is around me.  I suspect I will try to gather more names of the birds who pause in our backyard, my nod to increased sociability with the birds.

Arta

Three Hours of Writing a Day

Two Humming Birds
Painted by Wyona Bates

Rebecca told me she is trying to do 3 hours of writing a day and that she will report back to me at the end of the week.

I am curious about where one finds three hours to write.

In my day book, I can pencil in writing, and book off from 8 to 11 am.

By the time I get up, dressed, eat and do 6 simple exercises for my new hip,

I look at the clock and the whole morning is essentially gone.

Now that is not to say I am unhappy having a skill level where I can do all of these things on my own. It is just that the work of daily living gets in the way of this task I have given myself of writing for 3 hours a day.

Does cleaning off email messages count as writing? Ones like, “you are receiving this message because you are signed up to ACADEMIA and have read the following articles so we think you might also be interested in this one?” And then the new article does seem interesting and I do want to read it.

Or how about the alert “Your Capital One bill must be paid". Nope. I can’t really count taking care of my bills as writing though it does keep me out of interest collecting on those debts if I don’t pay them.

I want to respond to notes from old friends. As the months go by, either they or I loose our power to write as I would like to. But I guess when I say I want to spend 3 hours writing it is three hours above and beyond what I do when I get into my email.

I must go after those 3 hours and find them in the day. Right now, they are doing a disappearing act for me.

And what about the odd pieces of paper on which I have put random notes for me to remember for when I do sit at the computer. A collection of those erratic thoughts are be stapled together, in some haphazard condition and then taken to the computer and there goes another couple of hours goes by as I putter with them. Satisfying to complete that task. But it doesn’t fit into that category that I am now seeing is pretty finite: write on a certain topic and don’t let any interruptions happen – as one writer said, “focus on your task, even if there is a dead body in the sink”.

I know I have been working very hard. “Very” is a word I try hard not to use. But I am asking myself, am I really doing anything productive during the time I spend at the compter, and will I wish some day that I had kept my eye on my own agenda. Anyway, I do have the excuse that I have barely gained clarity of mind from the operation. Those high level drugs are good for healing, but not that good when it comes to writing and being full of them.

And I also know my job it to let the tiny muscles heal, but to move enough that I don't get a blood clot. Still... I wonder if I could write 3 hours a day. It is possible. The children next door can't come over for they are too rambunctious for me yet. So I am truly alone.

I ought to be able to find 3 hours a day for writing.

Arta

Rufous Humming Bird

rufous humming bird

I was telling Moiya that I am seeing the most amazing bird show from my bedroom window during the day. And just as I was telling her, a rufous humming bird hovered at my window.

I sit and type.  Bird after bird lands on a cedar branch or swoops past my deck: this time on orange humming bird, the sun glinting off of its back, the orange colours iridescent hovers at my window. The bird doesn’t pause long enough for me to watch it as long as I would wish, but I can get enough particulars about it to find it described somewhere on the web.

 I didn’t know what rufous meant, so I had to take a side trip to learn about colours, how there is a rust colour when orange goes to brown, or brown goes to orange, and in that moment the colour on this hummingbird is born: rufous.

Arta

The Bald Eagles

... inching my way closer ...

I like going on day trips.

Wyona called and said that Moiya and Dave were returning from the U.S.A., and that we could drive over to Kamloops and meet them there -- preferably at Costco.

That seemed like a lot of gas to use to get to a store where we didn't want to shop, or even to a store where we would shop and buy commodities we don't really need.

Wyona said she needed to go somewhere.

She had been watching bald eagles all morning and since they wouldn't move, she thought that at least she might move.

... looking at them face on ...

Going down to the lake to see the bald eagles seemed like a better day trip to me, than going to Kamloops.

She picked me up.  I had my binoculars in one hand and my camera in the others.

Sure enough, they were still sitting there and they didn't seem to be bothered either by our car, or by the next train that whistled on by.

"Get out of the car and take your pictures," she said.  "The rain on the windshield is going to show up and ruin the images you are getting.

It is stunning to be right there under the tree, looking up and seeing the birds.

There is still a lot of deadfall on the road past the track and it is hard not to get distracted and start cleaning up the beach so that it is easier to walk.

... the bald eagles take flight ...

Whatever I did, the birds stay there -- even when I went under them and tried to look at them from every angle.

When they took leave of us, they were too quick for me to get a good shot.

Still I tried to capture them as they flew away.

Arta

Western Tanagers

Western Tananger

I am seeing so many of Western Tanagers this morning, that I put my bincoculars beside my printer so that I can grab them and look at the birds every time one lights on the trees just outside of my window.  The next thing I knew I was out on my deck so I could get a little closer.

I saw my first one yesterday and was so surprised by the red colour on his head that I shook my head in disbelief.

The books say that this is a "stocky, mostly bright-yellow songbird, with scarlet red on its face and two bright wing-bars on jet black wings. The book should underline the song in songbird.

Between the flocks of western tanagers and the little hummingbirds that are darting around, I am not getting much work done.

Just beautiful!

Arta

Beauty

From Moiya:

Three days ago I saw a hummingbird come up to our back patio, so quickly found my feeders and filled them with food.

Now we get to see them regularly.

Beautiful!

The sweet peas on the west end of our front steps; the ones I soaked came up 3 days ago and are growing fast.

I must secure the netting for them to grasp on to.

The sweet peas that I froze overnight to aid in cracking open the skin on the seed so that they will germinate faster, are now poping out of the ground too.

The gardener lady at Walmart told me it was an alternate way instead of soaking them.

Both ways work equally well

Freezing them however, makes it easier to plant them.  No wet seeds sticking to your gloves or the earth.

The wild ferns stems are rolling up towards the sky and are getting about knee height. There will be lots of fern ground cover on Pillings Road this year.

The fishermen’s boats are making their way out on to the lake.

 I don’t know if the fish are biting yet though.

Hopefully we will get our vegetable garden planted this week sometime.

We live in a beautiful place and we are happy to be here.

Love,

Moiya

Morning Sounds

...louder than the back hoe, louder than 60 elementary childen ...

From Bonnie Wyora

Heading in to work there were a lot of competing noises.

There was a backhoe working on a trail and 60 elementary school children being lead down the sidewalk by three teachers. All of the children were trying to get cars to wave at them by whooping and hollering.

The shrill sound of a bird on top of a light pole caught my attention.

"Reeght, reetght, reeght."  It was pecking at the pole like woodpecker might but woodpeckers are supposed to have a red stripe on them.

I can’t identify this bird. I say if it pecks like woodpecker, is it a woodpecker. But all I got to help identify it was its silhouette.

Bonnie

Snowy Egret

​

While we were on the Tampa riverwalk we came upon the Snowy Egret, fishing out of the river. 

He was so fast and brought up a small beak sized fish overtime he grabbed down into the water. 

He would fluff up his wings to keep his balance but we did not get that on film.

Black-capped chickadee

... back-capped chickadee ...

On a telephone conversation with Glen he told me heard the first black-capped chickadee of the 2015 season.

He sent me this link so that I could get familiar with its sound.

To learn more go to
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/sounds

I see this fat-headed curious-about-humans little bird all summer.

Now I have to go out and find a picture of the solitary vireo and see if I can differentiate between the two birds.

As you can tell, I am looking forward to the return of the bird sounds in the early morning which I did hear this morning when I stepped outside to get the newspaper.

Ah, the sound of spring.

Arta

Shuswap Birds

David Pilling asked me if I knew the name of the bird that sings in the mornings at the Shuswap,  the one who sings 2 long notes, the second note dropping a semi-tone from the first.  I have heard that bird, imitated that bird song, watched that bird, but I couldn't remember the name of that bird.

I began to run through my list of birds I see when I am in B.C.: the sandhill crane in the spring, the geese in the fall and the tundra and trumpeter swans in the winter.  How many times have I looked up and seen a bald eagle circling above or an osprey flying back to its nest, a bird still wiggling in its talons.  I have walked through the woods and see the impressive pileated woodpecker.

I have even seen a Great Blue Heron flying through the air.  But I can't remember the name of that little thing that sings in the mornings.  Where is my birding book that is full of yellow stickies when I need it?

Arta