A FEW BIRDS, A FEW FLOWERS, A SQUIRREL

These are birds taken from the deck at the back of the house.  All are daily visitors.  The Cardinal was the first to show itself.  

I have seen more American Robins up in the trees than ever before.  I only ever used to see them hopping around on the ground in the springtime, but the last couple of years they have stayed longer and pick a branch to sit on.  I'll often look up to see one staring down at me.

The Blue Jay call to their families, and a few minutes later they arrive.

This one looks young.  I saw another trying to get its parent to feed it earlier, but was being encouraged to feed itself.  The lessons of life had begun. 

A crow always visits during the day, to see what seed we have to offer.

On this particular day there were no others. Some of these photos were taken through glass and screen.  They give an interesting effect.

The female Cardinal turned up soon after the male.

She really is a pretty one, a lot of beauty in her  more muted colors.

Another American Robin on my neighbor's fence post.

My last bird is a Mourning Dove.  Their soft cooing first thing in the morning is my favorite alarm clock.

Lastly, a squirrel was once again chattering and urging us to go inside. The weather was perfect, warm but without humidity, and we had been sitting outside on the deck longer than usual. After we left three others joined him at the birdfeeder.

There has been a bear sighting not too far away. There were photos of it hanging over someone’s fence, stretching to reach their bird feeder.  We are in a heavily populated area, so this is unusual. I saw the photos on our neighborhood app. I think it may be time to stop filling the feeders for a while.  I suppose with staying at home longer than usual, I have been delaying it.  When the warmer weather arrives, I know they have enough food in nature, so our friendly neighborhood bear 🐻 is a good reminder. 

My neighbor's peonies always look stunning.   There are lots of our roses in bloom also. This was one of the better photos I was able to get below.

May you all have an enjoyable day, and thanks for visiting.

  

BIRDS ON THE BACK DECK BUT FIRST...

This is an illustration I found at Pixabay.  You may remember me mentioning the site before.  Sandra at Madsnapper told us about it in one of her blog posts quite a while ago.  I go to it frequently as I enjoy not only browsing through their wonderful photos, but several of my signature graphics come from there. I put them together in a program I have called Paint Shop Pro, adding my name and a few other details if needed, tweaking the design if I need to tailor it to see if it will look better to my eye, generally playing on the program until I have something satisfactory.  I get so focused an hour or two have gone by without me realizing. The picture above appealed to my love of wildlife, and I thought I would share it today.

I have been enjoying my own wildlife this week.   The Robin stayed up in the tree for a long while and I took photos.

I was able to get a bag of bird seed.  Not too long after I had replenished their supply, the second bird to show up was the Goldfinch.  He seems to be getting the beginnings of his bright yellow summer plumage.  Added note: Anni from Hootin' Anni's Day Trippin' said she thought my Goldfinch might be a female with more muted colors.  Thanks Anni! 

A male and female House Finch was sitting up in the tree waiting.

Quite a look you have there Mr. Finch!

A White-throated Sparrow paid a quick visit...

as did the male Red-headed Woodpecker.  You can just about make out his claws hanging onto the edge of the deck rail.  Another collage with a few other poses...

and another male House Finch flew down for his lunch.

The next photo is the last one of the birds, this time a male Cardinal and a female House Finch.  They seem to be quite comfortable in each other's presence.

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, and a squirrel was busy gathering leaf material.

Their home is in a tree in our front yard.  She is on the branch of a tree in the back garden in this photo, which gives her easy access to the roof of our house.  She scurries over the roof which leads to another overhanging branch on the other side, belonging to the tree in front, which she uses to scurry up to her nest.  We're going to have to get the trees trimmed this year, at least so that these little darlings don't have access to the roof anymore, and can't dig a hole into our attic to take up residence next winter! 

Added note: 4-18-20

I had an invite to join Anni's link at I'd Rather B Birding'.  If you have any bird experiences and would like to join in, you can add yours at this link here.

AMERICAN ROBIN AT MEADOWLARK GARDENS, VIENNA, VIRGINIA

What Robin Told

~George Cooper~

How do the robins build their nests? 

Robin Redbreast told me.

First a wisp of yellow hay

In a pretty round they lay;

Then some shreds of downy moss,

Feathers too and bits of moss.

Woven with a sweet, sweet song,

This way, that way, and across,

That's what Robin told me.

Where do the robins hide their nests?

Robin Redbreast told me.

Up among the leaves so deep,

Where the sunbeams rarely creep,

Long before the winds are cold,

Long before the leaves are gold,

Bright-eyed stars will peep, and see

Baby robins, one, two, three;

That's what Robin told me.

The weather begged me to get outside yesterday, and go over to the gardens.  I could not say no.  Housework can always wait when the sun shines.

I wanted to go birding this time, but always keep my expectations low as the only time I have been here lately is when the sun has been high in the sky.  Not conducive to seeing the birds or taking photographs.  Still hopeful I went more to enjoy a good walk than anything else, and as I walked along the path I came across the robin foraging among dead leaves. Robin was telling me that spring was on the way and that I should commemorate the occasion by taking its photo.  Thank you Dear Robin, you were a joy to see.  The nest wasn't too far away, an old one from last year, ready and waiting.  

Red from Haiwatha House in his comment said that many are unaware that even though our bird is well known as the American Robin, it is incorrectly named and is actually a thrush.  Thanks Red, good to know and I enjoy learning these things.  Later I read that when people saw the bird when the country was first settled, it was named Robin because of its red breast, which reminded them of the European Robin. 

I believe this poem was referring to the European Robin, but I liked the words and decided to use it.

Thank you for looking 

and enjoy your day.

A ROBIN AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

On our visit last Sunday there were a lot of birds flying around.  Gregg took this photo of an American Robin.

MORE BIRDS AT MEADOWLARK GARDENS

Many of my photographs are taken at Meadowlark Gardens lately.  At this time of the year it is a great place to get some exercise that doesn't feel like exercise.  Surrounded by so many wonderful visuals, it is very relaxing and soothing.

The American Robin and Catbird were spotted perched on two of the many benches at the garden.  I also saw a Baltimore Oriole but way too fast for a photograph.  I was thankful that at least I saw him, and the sight made a lovely splash of color as he flew by.  If you are not familiar with them you can see what they look like here.

The catbird stayed around long enough for me to get several photos.  These two were my favorites.

A photo of a Canada Goose near the lake and the children's garden.

Two heads popped up as I approached.  

There was something very tasty in the raised bed of plants.

They also seemed a little calmer today.  I saw very young geese but no nests, and no goslings.  If you missed my experience of two very protective parents, you can read the story here.


I am sharing with the following as they become available, with my thanks to our hosts Eileen, Misty, Anni and Stewart for these great memes. To visit other participants you can click on their names.

Saturday's Critters

Camera Critters

Bird D'Pot

Wild Bird Wednesday