“Once upon a time, when women were birds,
there was the simple understanding that
to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk
was to heal the world through joy.
The birds still remember
what we have forgotten,
that the world is meant to be
celebrated.”
~Terry Tempest Williams
Baby birds are starting to appear. A Curve-billed Thrasher feeds a juvenile. Others are looking for mates:
Bathing European Starlings
Verdins
I think my sweet little Orange-crowned Warbler has departed for her summer home. I hope she returns yet again next fall. Safe travels, Tink.
What is spring without bunnies romping around with eggs and making everyone wonder what that connection is…including this Curve-billed Thrasher…
It also seemed to puzzle our cat, Ferguson…
Ebony didn’t even want to get involved with it all…
And who is this? Baby Bouche just showed up a few months ago and is now a neutered, ear-tipped member of the family. More to come…we’ve had an influx of cats that apparently were dumped or whatever, poor little things…but everyone is being fed…
Strangely, amidst birds, cats, bunnies, and eggs, I haven’t seen many butterflies at all this year and I have photographic proof from past years that they were here in abundance by now…worrisome…but the hummingbirds are out in full-force, very busy, not stopping to pose for many photos.
Three hosers: Abert’s Towhee, Northern Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow.
I was surprised to see 8 quail in our yard the other day! That is only the second time I’ve seen them in our yard, which is not the typical place to find them. They hung around off and on that day, nibbling on various things, and I haven’t seen them since.
Here are a few more from my pandemic-driven “Anthropomorphizing Birds” series. They feature one of the 2 Curve-billed Thrashers, one of the 2 Abert’s Towhees, or one of the 2 Northern Mockingbirds that hang out in our yard and will work for peanuts. The whole album, to date, can be seen here on Flickr.
And here’s a little Inca Dove. The’ve been very plentiful lately, which is good, as they had been scarce in the Phoenix area for awhile but they’re back!
I was listening to NPR today and they were talking about a book called Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You). Remember when almost everybody had a blog? I guess that’s sort of “out,” now but, since I don’t want to have a podcast, I guess I’ll stick with blogging now and then. How about you?
Anna’s Hummingbirds, male
Well, 2021 has been both bad and good. Let’s hope Good prevails. If everyone was as happy as these Rosy-faced Lovebirds, I guess we would be in good shape. They are feral in the greater Phoenix, AZ area. Cheery and loud little critters.
I guess the quarantine has gotten to me. I can’t seem to stop putting my backyard birds into little tableaus. The ones I have done so far are all in an album on Flickr. But here are a few more since my last post. The Curve-billed Thrashers are the ones that are the most common stars of the show but the Abert’s Towhees and Northern Mockingbirds get brave sometimes, too.
I feel certain there will be more anthropomorphizing to come…but here are a few other of the yard birds who do not participate in this birdplay.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, wintering
“My” wintering Orange-crowned Warbler, “Tink”
Lesser Goldfinches, male and females
Pine Siskins recently became the 54th species of yardbirds I have. There is an irruption of them all over the country right now, which means there are a bunch of them in places you don’t normally see them. They love thistle (nyjer) and share the sock with my goldfinches. So you might see some, too, if you’re looking.
Sometimes there are 50 or more birds in our yard at one time, eating, hanging out…and the cacophony of bird sounds is pretty intense. Other times there are gentle chirps and buzzes…
Abert’s Towhees
Curve-billed Thrashers
House Finches (click to enlarge)
The Anna’s Hummingbirds are sipping from the plants I recently bought.
And perching and fighting and showing their colors…(click to enlarge)
And my little Orange-crowned Warbler happily winters here…
But they all need to watch out for this guy:
