Birds and cat

Ummm... no birds.  Normally Black chinned hummingbirds and Bullocks Orioles.

Bird Alert!

Of the many things that keep me busy, this is one of them:

A bit of thrashing around, and that (now) well-known flap of feathers followed quickly by a howl means, "Look, Ma! Look what I brought for you!"
Even though I heard the ruckus, and they were within 6 feet of me (and my knitting), it took me several minutes to locate this beautiful bird.
Question... how many feathers does a bird have?  Do they all have roughly the same amount?  Bigger birds=bigger feathers?  They must have plenty of extras!
From the above perch, it took off as I approached and ran straight into a window, dropping behind the sofa.  I grabbed the cat and put her outside.  I opened said window, moved the sofa and darn if it didn't get UNDER it.  That's a new one to me.  Most of the birds in the house fly up;  shelves, windows... and unlike the many hummingbirds that I rescued over the summer, this one flies silently. Only when the cat made her way inside (somehow) did I notice that she was now interested in this:

I closed the cat into a room this time, and let little birdie rest.  I waved a red shirt at it, determined to catch it but little birdie is SO smart to land on things that I don't want to break.  It finally landed in my giant ficus tree right next to the door, and eventually headed straight out the door.  Happy ending!  Vacuuming lots (but not all) of the feathers.

Cat and Bird Drama

Birds enjoy with caution.  

Under the flash reflection is the neighbor kitty, sitting tight for the right moment for a stupid bird.

Meanwhile.... from inside.

No hunting today!  My kitties are staying warm and dry.

Birding

Since I've been around for 60+ years, it shouldn't be surprising to say:  "I've done that!" But others are surprised... and I'm surprised at their reaction. It's called living and curiosity.  


I find that now I've returned to many things. It's not like learning something entirely new, but more like picking up where I left off.  

One of those things is "birding". I've never been an expert or hardly an amateur; I enjoy looking at birds, identifying them, and most of all, listening to them.  I don't enjoy catching them in the house after a cat has brought them in for show and tell.  I especially don't like to return home to find my closet full of feathers, even when there's no tell-tale body.


Yesterday was the perfect day:  I sat inside as long as I could, with the sun shining, and air calm, the birds tweeting, and so much to do outside, yet... knitting was calling.  Or more accurately, my hub was calling.  He doesn't often ask for help, but there's this 1/4 ton bird bath that needed to be moved and assembled. And it takes two.  I was happy to have an excuse.  I had already soaked my last piece of the lace tunic and blocked it.  I had already given attention to a pattern that had me running scared, yet I cast on in spite of the danger ahead.  Outside I went, and what a glorious day.  The birds rewarded my venture by showing up whenever the cats took a break, and I realized I haven't sat and admired them in a long time.


Here's what I saw:

The most common of birds around here: House Finch.  This is a great photo that I must say I didn't take nor anyone I know.  I found it at this website, and rather than risk copyright fines, I refer you to these beautiful images.  At this site, you'll see the following birds that I have seen in the past few hours. (Of course, I had to look up most of them in my bird book.)
Brewer's Blackbird, House Finch, Mourning Dove, American Robin, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Black-Headed Grosbeak, House Sparrow, and Mountain Chickadee.
In addition, today I saw an Indigo Bunting which was quite surprising, 

and a pair of orioles.  I heard a Meadow Lark, but never caught a glimpse (they are so very loud, and make you think they are nearby).
Yesterday, we tried to rescue a Western Tanager from lovely kitty (Bonnie).  Hub put it over the fence in the field while I corralled the cats in the house for a few minutes.  It wasn't there later in the day, so we are optimistic.

Such is the way of the backyard.  We are very lucky to have ponies, cattle, pheasants and alfalfa in our extended backyard. 


Gratulere med Dagen, Norge!