The line-up

Every morning I'm wakened by the gentle but insistent woof of my blonde Labrador - Bliss. As soon as I stir, Eleia the calico cat comes bouncing in for a cuddle before I go downstairs to be greeted by the big boys.

It's usually between 6 and 6:30 a.m. this happens. Often I struggle to wake if I've been up reading or writing late the night before. Eleia makes sure that I respond to the call though if she's inside. Often she's slipped out through the screen that she has cleverly torn off the window ledge to give her freedom.

This morning was one of those mornings. But Christopher was on the bed and licking my fingers was his cue that I really should get moving, he was hungry.

But first things first. Dog Invisible Fence collars had to go on, then birds had to be fed. I don't leave the feeders out over night any longer since raccoons seem to know and raid them, often breaking them in the process of lifting them off the hook or limb and dropping them on the ground.

So this morning I sat outside on the deck with my coffee, dogs having been fed and watched the lineup at the one feeder closest to the wee church. There were two male purple finches - scarlet in the morning sun rather than rosy. A female purple finch waiting her turn, several redwings flew over to the larger feeder on the other side of the yard along the treeline. That gang includes grackles and most often mourning doves.

Not this morning. A mourning dove landed on top of the little arch leading out to the lower west garden much to my surprise and as you can see a couple of house sparrows took over where the finches had left off. An American goldfinch arrived and then one of the four male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks that hang around. He began eating greedily.

Then I heard a soft cry. Looking around I saw a smaller female grosbeak fluttering her wings and tail feathers, a sure sign that she was a baby and needed feeding. Or else it's mating season and Mrs. Grosbeak wants some courting. She retreated to the nearby blue spruce. (I'll have to take field glasses and see if there is a nest.) Mr. quickly followed her.

It was a busy morning at the diner. I don't often take time to go and watch the line-up but I think I will for the next while. As I was enjoying coffee, bird song, and the show, I was dive-bombed by a series of tree and barn swallows.

Later heading out into the pasture for the first doggy walk of the day - 15 tree swallows were on the hydro wire that crosses the road. I ran back for my camera - what a site - all fledglings I assume since three of the next boxes in the past couple of days have been suddenly silent as I walk past. The barn swallows too have fledged - there are two nests inside the drive shed and the adults become very irate if I walk in to get some garden tools or put something away.

So the dogs and I followed the neatly mown pathways (not my work but a neighbour's son who kindly helped out recently) and then of course they became silly.

Most often they roll at least once or twice in the tall grass of the pasture, (in winter its the snow that they love to roll in and Spirit will snorkle along for the longest time). This time they couldn't resist the dewy grass of the path. If I could have gotten closer you would have seen the grins on their faces. 

And so it was a great start to the day.

Hopefully it will end well - though they (the forecasters that is) are calling for thunderstorms - wherein both dogs will got outside and bark like fury.

But last night we were treated to a brilliant apricot sky and bit of flame as the sun set. Perhaps your day will end like this tonight

Cooler weather and the birds are back

I took this video because all these little birds are just a few of those that flew off my deck railings where I've strewn more seed on this chilly spring day. Unlike the previous two or three weeks, our "summer" heat has disappeared and we have traditional March temperatures - well perhaps a bit above normal, but not summer like.

Today there are showers and the grass is emerald, almost glowing against the grey skies, and the little American goldfinches are just beginning to turn colour - those males that are going to breed or hopefully breed this spring. Robins have been calling their cheerful rain song and hoping for a mate, one is even carrying nesting material into the huge blue spruce that hangs over the driveshed. At least one pair of house finches and a flycatcher appear to have decided this tree is perfect for them as well. It's like a condo complex - multi-storied with many different kinds of birds making homes in its branches at the upper levels. Some go deep into the inner branches and the hummers when they return will find spots to make nests as well.

It's a cool day, but reassuring that we won't be completely dried out by the time June arrives. Hope you enjoy your day wherever you are.

Spring beauty

Early mornings in the Valley

The sun's rays just begin to caress the tops of the hills and set the skies aflame. Snow glued to the branches will drip away slowly as the day progresses, but our mornings start long before that.

We've already been out  -when the sky was just beginning to lighten - putting the bird feeders in place for the day. Raccoon marauders love the black oiled sun flower seeds as much as the birds do, and prowl the perimeter of the property when it gets dark, then darting in to cadge a meal. It drives the dogs insane and their barking makes me similarly crazy. So into the back of the car with the feeders at night and out in the morning.

As we get ready for a walk, instead of carousing as they usually do, the dogs sit nicely for me while I try to get a picture. Spirit, ever attentive being a black lab, and worried or wondering why I want him to sit and not play the way I usually do, stares into the camera lens with his nearly black eyes. Bliss, bored and somewhat resentful that he's not playing glances at the birds nearby on the ground. I'm sure he's wondering if he can catch one, or thinking how good the game is going to be when I release them from their sit.

One of the games that Bliss plays is with the birds. There are several very smart little chickadees that come to the feeders, grab a seed and then make for a nearby bush or tree. The game is that Bliss runs to the foot of a tree, looks up into the branches until he sees one, then begins to prance and bark. The chickadees make for another tree. He chases after, spots them or it, and begins to bark again. This game of tag or hide and seek is a favourite when Bliss is waiting for me to fill the little toboggan with wood for the fire, or fill the feeders, sweep the walk, shovel snow, clean snow off the car, any one of a number of little outdoor chores before a walk or a ride in the car.

And the little birds wait too - high in the branches of one of the elms that line the edge of the property. They gather in a huge flock which seems to be growing. In this photo I count about 60. It seems, as they swirl and float from tree to deck to feeder to tree to bush and back, that there are hundreds.

There are feeders on all sides of the house. Filled mostly with suet and black oil sunflower seeds, but also niger seed not particularly a favourite in winter because they are so small, but they empty all too quickly and need daily replenishing.

And finally the bigger birds take their turn. The mourning doves, one of the many that dwell in the spruce tree on the west side of the church, was brazen enough this day to continue its search for seed on the deck. More often they leave and flee for the safety of the trees across the road at the tiniest movement in the house or nearby. The blue jays - the gang of thieves I call them - boisterous, raucous and full of joie de vivre, tackle all the feeders, jay-size and finch size, it matters not. If there's seed, they're sure to be nearby.

All in all the bird family that frequents this property is a pretty large number, and they show up early in the morning, returning every two or three hours for another nosh. There are American tree sparrows, white-breasted nuthatches (sadly no rosy breasted ones that I've seen this year), chickadees, house sparrows, American goldfinches, house finches, purple finches, at least half a dozen blue jays and maybe more, pairs of downie, hairy and red-belly woodpeckers, many soft cooing mourning doves, dark-eyed juncoes and once in a while hawks come to call. My neighbour says there is a goshawk hanging around. The sharp-shinned is a regular visitor and grabbed one of a pair of starlings the other day - in breeding plumage already and with red legs - that was all that was left - a pair of wings still attached to the collar bone and two red legs, claws curled in the snow amidst a lot of feathers. Sad but part of nature.

The pair of ravens that dwell in the small valley across the road behind a neighbour's home, call to me regularly in the morning as they head out across the fields. Their distinctive throaty call lets me know all is right with the world this day.

And today since the sun is shining, and it's calm and full of the sound of wings and occasional bird calls, I know all's right with the world this morning as well. Hope it is in your neck of the woods.
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And my apologies for not posting every day as I have in the past. These last few months have been busier and often it's more difficult to get access to the internet to write. Bear with me. I think of it every day as it's such a delight, and the people who comment are always so kind and have the most interesting blogs for me to follow as well. I'm sure I'll get back to regular posting soon. Enjoy your day everyone.

The Lunch Bunch

Most of the visitors to my feeders are pretty shy. The woodpeckers - downy and hairy, blue jays, finches, all disappear if I open the deck door.

Not so these cheeky House sparrows. There are perhaps 12 to 14 members of this family. It grows of course during spring and summer, but the youngsters are encouraged to move on as soon as they are able to fend for themselves.

But year round, this group lives in one of the mugo pines, the spruce, or the hedge of juniper on one side of the church. They provide endless chatter as well as constant amusement for the dogs who when bored, will rush at the tree or shrub they inhabit and then give chase. It's a game. They all know it's a game. Seldom is a bird caught by Bliss, the big hunter of the two Labradors.

But the fun of the flutter of wings as they rush away from the bouncing, barking fiends who determinedly interrupt good conversation or a meal of sunflower seeds, is way too much for the dogs not to grab each opportunity. It appears to be part of the balance of nature on this wee property.

The Lunch Bunch (as I call the many birds that arrive here to dine) meets between 11:30 and 1 p.m. on the railing of my deck and squabble over who gets first place on the feeder. That there are two other feeders also filled with seeds doesn't seem to make a difference unless the wind is high and affects the deck.

They meet earlier as well - for breakfast, but they're not serious about food, having just wakened at 8 and only hang about briefly after a few nibbles.

They are joined in succession by blue jays, who usually are the largest of the birds at the feeders throughout the winter, and definitely the most aggressive. Finches - gold, house and purple, chickadees, white-crowned sparrows, American Tree sparrows, juncos, nuthatches, woodpeckers and sometimes pine siskins and redpolls all join in at all the feeders mostly over the lunch hour, but often later in the afternoon as well.

Loitering hopefully underneath are the mourning doves. Sometimes a cardinal and its mate will show up - always a treat to see that flash of red on the male and the soft orange crest of the female. There will be some starlings and perhaps a grackle or two that will hang about over the winter if it remains mild. Such a diverse group of birds.

But they all seem able to take their turn.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if people were able to mimic nature and work together to find a common rhythm for getting food and working together?

I'm thinking of the"Occupy" movement which started so hopefully and has certainly made a statement about the vast difference between have and have not. It's sad that it is now being invaded by less savoury elements than the earnest protesters who conceived and initiated it.

It's so important to stand up for what we believe in, for what we feel is important. For me it's about protecting this earth, working towards reducing pollution, finding sensible alternatives to fossil fuels, protecting our water and wild places.

What's important in your world? Are you among the lunch bunch in your community - getting along and cooperating on mutual goals?