Gossip travels fast!

Ha ha! You've heard "a little bird told me?" Apparently, gossip travels at lightning speeds even in the avian world! Yesterday's post included a fictitious script about a chickadee who will have to rebuild his nest or move to a new location, "Honeysuckle Downs," which is based on an actual rosebush and honeysuckle bramble in my backyard. (yesterday's post here: http://ankhirasfirstblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/bird-gossip.html)

Today, as I escorted my dog around the backyard, "Honeysuckle Downs" was all a flutter with activity! More than two dozen sparrows were crowded into the brush, and immediately began chirping and tweeting upon my arrival! So, I acknowledged them (because I talk to animals), and their tweeting became even MORE animated and they were all chirping at once!

I have no idea what they were saying! I said I talk to them, I did not claim I to understand them. I can only surmise the sparrows were upset about the rumor that a chickadee was planning to build his nest among theirs. What else could it be? I filled the feeder this morning and the flat pans, and even put a few peanuts on the table.   Nothing out of the ordinary... so, what else got the sparrows all stirred up?

In other news, I need to buy more peanuts and black sunflower seeds. I read that I can entice even more species with pieces of fruit. My friend gave me larger pine cones to make feeders.  That's my weekend project for this week...the weather here is scheduled as rainy and nasty all weekend.

Bird Gossip?

Do birds gossip? I'll bet they do! Here are just a few pics I took this week at the feed station. I like to think of it as the avian counterpart to the human watercooler.
Sparrow  (to Chickadee): "Hey, Charlie! How's it going?"


Chickadee (Charlie): " Not too bad. Wife's having a tough time. The wind blew the nest down again yesterday."

Sparrow: "Oh, that's too bad. Y'all should come live in our neighborhood."

Chickadee: "Honeysuckle Downs? Gee, I don't know...."

Sparrow: "It's a great place. Those big cats hardly come around anymore! Besides, it's low-lying and good cover against hawk attacks."

Chickadee: "I'll think about it. I gotta go. Good seeing you."   
                                                     Sparrow: "Okay, Charlie! See you around! Tell the Misses I said 'hello'!"

Tufted Titmouse: "Honeysuckle Downs, eh? Hmph! It's right next to that dump pile!"
That's true. My compost pile is less than ten feet (3 meters) from the honeysuckle mess.

Cardinal (to White-throated Sparrow): "Did you hear, Willie? Charlie is moving to Honeysuckle Downs!"

Willie: "Are you kidding me? There's been no one but sparrows in that neighborhood for years! That's really gonna shake up some folks!"

Cardinal: "Yep. Yep. It's true! A little bird told me!"

"...Hey, don't worry about it! Every couple has some rough times. Especially during the winter when you're at the nest more often! When Spring comes, she'll be singing your tune again! Just wait and see!"

"... What does he know?... Nah, maybe he's right. I just need to loosen up and not take everything so personally. She needs to get out more and stretch her wings... maybe we can go look at a new nest site. Charlie's moving to Honeysuckle Downs..."

How to attract birds to your birdfeeder...

I found out how to attract birds to my feeder.... I have to sit outside about 50 feet away with a camera. Most birds are shy and will stay hidden in the brush or visit a different feeder area. After half an hour (or when I get cold), I should go back indoors and look out the window. Dozens of birds who were patiently waiting for me to abandon my stalking will be flocking to the feeder! Many photos today were taken through the window screen or storm door. My apologies if they don't do the birds justice.

Carolina Wren keeps a watchful eye on me while he inspects the buffet table!

I did have a little house sparrow come to inquire why I was up in the treehouse, and posed for a photo-shoot. The treehouse turned out to be a disappointing viewing platform due to the wiry limbs blocking clear views. Here are a few pics I did get from the treehouse yesterday:

A mourning dove pretends she is camouflaged ... keep believing, little bird!

Uh-oh! I think I've been spotted! Blue Jays aren't as common in my yard as I expected them to be.

I believe this little bird is hoping to be "discovered!" Perhaps my photos will end up on the cover of a birding magazine! LOL

 Hello, little Sparrow! Nice to see you! May I take some photos of you? Nice smile! Wonderful! ........................ How about a right profile?....  great!




And now the left profile?... can you show me a sideview? Awesome! And one more before you move on, how about a nice shot of your wing markings? Terrific! Thank you so much! We're done here!  

Cold and Blustery Day at the Birdfeeder!

"What? No more sunflower seeds?"

Hello, all! I hope you are enjoying my happy chatter about my birdfeeder. It ain't much to look at, but the birds seem to be happy. My father has taken a slight interest in our daily visitors, and he has loaned me a better camera for stalking them. It's a Canon Rebel XT (EOS) with a six-inch zoom lens. A little different than my Canon Powershot A720 IS, but I think I can figure it out.

Last night we had a lot of wind come through. I had to reset the pan under the pine tree! Good thing the hanging feeder didn't blow down! The cold wind persisted through the day today, but I did sneak a few pictures this afternoon. Northern cardinal, Carolina chickadee, and an American robin. I hope to meet the "Breakfast Club" in the morning. :)

American Robin

Cardinal watches a little bird rummage under a seed-filled log 

It wasn't a chickadee!

Aha! That little bird I saw head-on yesterday with the black and gray throat and chest was not a chickadee! It was a common House Sparrow! The little fat chick that studied me on the porch was the female of the pair. So, How about that?!

I had an early class this morning so I didn't get to see the "Breakfast Club" at the feeder today. However, an Eastern Towhee came by this afternoon for an early dinner and hung out with the cardinals. Lots of Carolina Chickadees and Northern Cardinals around today! Didn't see the little Tufted Titmouse that's been coming up, but maybe it's a morning bird. The Carolina Wren came by for a few minutes but didn't stay long.

It appears that some sparrows are trying to restore an old dilapidated nest in the honeysuckle-rosebush bramble. The day I brought the feeder in to clean it and refill it (right before my bird blogs start) we had a blustery day. I found a bird's nest in the yard downwind of the rose/honeysuckle mess. I wonder if it is the main part of the one the sparrows are working on? I made some notes on that dilapidated one for NestWatch, but I don't remember it being partially intact? There is (was?) another nest in a sapling just behind the one in question. The part that blew down into the yard could be from that nesting spot.

Tomorrow I will have a little leisure time to watch the "Breakfast Club." Perhaps there will be another purple finch I can get a picture of!

Tufted Titmouse

House Sparrow (male, winter)

Here are a couple of frequent visitors. The purple finch comes by before 9am, so I have to be ready with the camera....

My New Job

Okay, forgive me for being behind the times.... what exactly should a person blog about? Mundane details of the day? Maybe political rants (I have seen those!)? Am I writing to myself, or to please the reader? See, that makes a difference as to what I would actually include. Hmmm... let's start from the top:

I am no longer 30-something. I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up (any day now!). I want to be a planetary geologist. I believe that title has been reconstructed to "astrogeologist," for reasons unknown except now the title is one word instead of two. Longer titles make lower salaries? So, to get to that dream career, I learned I need at least a Masters in Geology. Wow. My Bachelor's degree isn't propelling me toward any great-paying jobs, but I CAN use it to fuel my graduate studies. Darn it! Graduate school costs an arm AND a leg! I also need to take the GRE (general requirements/graduate readiness exam different people refer to it by different names). To top it off, my undergrad did not include some of the core courses required for my new academic path. That's okay. The local universities (plural!) offer those courses, so I am safely enrolled for now. .... except I have a hard time working a 9-5 or 7-7 or 8-5 or whatever rat-race hours are out there. I need to work when I can work, and be off on the days I need to study, or go on a field trip, or visit my grandmother, or travel to visit with far away friends and family.

That's when I found PartyLite! I was a guest at a party back in the spring, with no money to actually buy anything. The consultant gave me a free "tealight" candle with her contact information and asked me to check out her website. We stayed in contact through the summer, and when I quit my second job since the party, I asked her to tell me more about this home party business. No startup costs!! I just needed to have a show at my house (or a friend's house) with $350+ in sales, and sign the paperwork! Okay, I also had to call up my friends to get 6 shows in the first month (or two months). I had 3 for the first month, and two for the second month at first, but then I discovered I can easily meet new people and get leads for new parties either at the parties or while I am out and about! If I have at least one show a week, I get a check every week from PartyLite! I control my hours and my income, and I learned quickly that (e)x EFFORT  = (e)xRESULTS!! So, if I put in only a little effort in seeking new prospects, I get small returns on my effort. Contact 3 people, maybe get one party scheduled. Contact 10 people, maybe get 4. Contact 20 people, maybe get 12!! It's not a perfect relationship, but rewarding! I earn from EVERY party, and my host earns a pile of free stuff, too! It's WIN-WIN for me, because PartyLite sends me MORE FREE PRODUCTS every time I meet a sales challenge! The challenges are ALWAYS attainable! I LOVE IT!

Oh, my!! I guess I enjoy my new job?! Ha Ha.. That's a first!
www.partylite.com/sweepstakes code: X77W9T