The First Snow

 The first snow fell the other day here in town.

"I like snow."

"Thanks to the backyard owner, I can 

find food even on a snowy day."

"I don't like snow.   I am happy to see it gone!"

Eclipse Day

This morning we observed the solar eclipse in Oregon.  Many people travelled to central Oregon to see the total eclipse; we stayed home to see the partial eclipse.

For safety, I made a hole on a biscuit and let the solar rays come through onto a white paper (shown upside down).

It took about an hour from the start till the finish.  Because of the partial one in my area, it did not get very dark.  It did, however, became  halfway hazed just like with smog.  Also it became cold with the sun's energy being obstructed.  

What happened to birds around here?  First of all not many birds visited my backyard as if they knew something weird was happening and they rather stayed home.  Per the Science Dept  report from the University of Washington, crows communicate:  their parents tell their off springs what to watch out, which continues thru generations.  So were they careful today?   Have they told other birds to watch out also?  Close to the end of the solar show, a Northern Flicker was squawking loud at the top of a neighbor's tall tree.

"The sun is back now, everyone."

"A young Scrub Jay came down to let me know he was doing fine."

Brothers and/or Sisters

A dragonfly sometimes flies in and, for a long time,  stays perched on a wooden pole on the veggie patch here.

Then I saw a family of Scrub-jays with the mom busily feeding the three young ones.

In a few weeks the little ones learned to hunt for bugs and visit the seed feeders themselves.   Can you tell where the three jays are?

They act like grown ups, but I can tell by the yellowish edge of their beak.

"I am grown up like my mom, so I can scare away all the little birds with my shriek."

A Couple Everywhere

Spring is almost here.  My purple crocuses are in bloom.

I see birds in twosomes everywhere.  They have found their mate.  Here is Scrub-jay #1.

"The suet is a good winter food for me."

Here is Scrub-jay #2.  This must be a male with the darker blue feathers.

"Every morning, I have to compete with squirrels 

in grabbing yummy roasted peanuts,"  

Loyal Residents #2

School just started.  Parents are happy to see their kids back at school after the long summer break. The morning breeze is now a bit cool to chilly sometimes.


A pretty Western Scrub-Jay is always around here.  Early in the morning sun, his/her blue coat is shining metallic blue.

"Take a good picture of me."

A Red-breasted Nuthatch is also around here.  This morning he/she came right next to me, tooting a horn.

"I have pretty bluish grey feathers."

A hyperactive Black-capped Chickadee is seen here all the year around.  But very difficult to take a good photo due to his incessant movement.

"I'll let you take a picture just this instant!"

A High Sky and a Scrub Jay

Whenever I see a high blue sky in the fall, I think of this saying:

                   天高く馬肥ゆる秋。

                               The autumn sky so high,
                                A harvest time
                                For a horse to grow strong.

                                                       - a Chinese proverb -
                                       
This saying was used to warn people of the Mongols on a horseback coming down to raid the fall harvest in China.    Later the Imperial China began to build the great walls to deter the atttacks.

 The beautiful autumn sky complements a Scrub Jay's looks.

 

The next moment it jumped to fly down to me.

 

 

Looking like a bullet, a Superbird...

It's my friend.

 

 

A Busy Day - Feeling Good

 

The summer vacation is now over.  Schools have just started.  Today everyone seems to be quite busy.

 

 

So with the bees working on the last sunflower in my backyard.

So with the young Scrub Jay scratching the neck on the apple tree branch in the morning sun.  

So with the young Anna's Hummingbird also scratching the neck on a clothesline. 


They are all feeling good in the left-over summer sunshine.  



I will be busy with other errands for a couple of weeks, but I will be back to the bird watching/blog writing soon.  Enjoy your fall weather.

A Playgound for Young Birds

During summer, I see many young birds in my backyard.  It is a playground for them.  Let's see how they are doing lately.

Young House Sparrow trio in the early morning sun

A young female House Finch drinking at the bird bath

Right when the sun's rays hit the backyard, I can see the reflection of fuchsias on the birdbath.  How pretty!

"This water is so sweet!", says a Blackcapped-Chickadee.

"This flower nectar is sweeter," says a young Anna's Hummingbird. 

 

 

"Sweetest is my backyard owner, 'cause she gives me peanuts every morning," shouted back the young Scrub Jay.

Before - During - After: Scrub Jay

In summer many birds like to take a bath.  I have several bird baths in my backyard.  Changing water everyday and brush-cleaning once in a few days are required.

Scrub Jay enjoys taking a bath in the morning sun.

BEFORE

A young Jay ready for a bath

DURING

"Splash, spatter, sprinkle..."

"Done!"

AFTER

"I am the cleanest bird in town."

A Super Vision

Out in my veggie patch, I have many zucchinis like many other gardeners.  Zucchinis are one of the easiest veggies to grow around here with only a lot of sun and water. 

A zucchini flower

Also, I started digging and found a few large potatoes. Using those fresh organic potatoes, I made a delicious potato salad.    


Birds like to visit my veggie garden to eat a bit of this or that such as soft leaves of Chinese peas, leaves of Sunflower, and so on.  One day, my Chinese painting teacher told me birds can tell the shape differences of leaves very easily to guide their flight. 

Today  I found a very interesting short article on a National Wildlife Federation's magazine regarding the birds' vision.

The summary of the article is as below:

1)  Bird's eyes have one more receptor for color vision, whereas human's only have three for red, green and blue.    This extra receptor enables birds to see the UV light.

2)  Birds have a tiny drop of colored oil in each receptor, whereas humans have none of it.   This enables birds to see the differences between two similar colors when humans can not.

Because of these above differences, scenes may appear more detailed and brighter for the birds.

Wow!!  No wonder they are always ahead of me when I am trying to find them.  They know exactly where and what I am doing.

A Scrub Jay was looking far beyond from the tree top with that super vision.

Then, seeing me down on the ground, it decided to come right down to get more peanuts.  

Spreading the wings

On the way, it is now like a bullet.

"I can see you very clear up on the tree top."

Even on the ground, he/she can find a bug hidden in the lawn.

" Look at this I just got."

Now I'm convinced that birds have a super vision.

The Friendliest Bird in Town - Who?

The sunflower, a flower representing the summer, began to bloom.  The bee is buzzing, collecting the sunflower nectar.

The dragonfly appeared, inspecting my veggie garden with those rolling eyeballs.

Who is the friendliest bird around here?

House Sparrow:  "Can be me?  I'm here everyday."

 

House Sparrow, Female, "It has to be me!  I'm friendly and can say hello to the backyard owner."

 

Scrub Jay:  "I'm the one who's been hanging around this backyard for the longest.  I'm the boss of this place."

Black-capped Chickadee:  "I chirp around here all the time and fly over the head of the backyard owner."

American Robin:  I'm the friendliest for sure because I fly in and use the birdbath all the time during the summer."

Who could it be?

The backyard owner:  "So hard to decide who's the friendliest around here.  But when it comes to not fearing much, I can say the Red-breasted Nuthatch is.  He/she comes to the feeder even when I am near and keeps eating, saying "chi, chi, chi" to me. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch:  "I was talking and eating right next to the backyard owner the other day.  Can anyone else do that?  I AM THE FRIENDLIEST BIRD."

Birdbath Basics

A birdbath is almost as important as bird food.  Why?  The water is first for drinking, and, second, for bathing.  Especially when you don't have any creek or river nearby. 

When placing a birdbath in your backyard, please follow these guidelines:

1) Keep nothing within 2 feet around on all sides since the birds are vulnerable with wet and heavy feathers.  No preditors are allowed nearby.
2) Have a small tree within a few yards for an emergency refuge. 
3) Change the water daily, and scrub the algae and droppings as needed.

Now your birds are ready to enjoy the birdbath just like my backyard friends:

Black-capped Chickadee:  "On a hot day, it's nice and cool."

Oregon Junco:  "When it gets very hot, I'll escape to the mountains.  But until then, I can take a bath here to cool down."

Evening Grosbeak:  "Daily glassful of water is good for health - I heard it on the bird news."

House Finch:  "The fresh morning water can't be underlined enough.  Do I look sound and well?  Certainly I am."

Scrub Jay:  "Ummm, good.  I just saw the backyard owner changed the water.  A taste of fresh water!!"

American Goldfinch:  "I'll send you a kiss to the conscientious backyard owner.  Hurray!!"

I hope your bird friends will love the fresh water this summer to stay clean and healthy.