Birds O' The Morning

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Willow'd

Here is a pic of the privacy screens I've made to hide the concrete and some of the big house built in front of us. It will at least be a great backdrop for photos now!

The cattle panel on sawhorses as I weave the willow in.

Closer look. I will fill in the bottom and finish the left side. This is a 50" wide panel.

Maggie got creative with all the willow stashed in the garage. She made arrows, a bow and sewed a quiver.

Here is my willow pile in the garage. I went out and doubled the small pile on the right the next day. I've got plenty to keep me busy for a bit. The roads at the ranch just can't be driven on when wet, so I like to get a good supply.

Here is a picture of a little table I made a couple of years ago. My then 8 year old daughter, Maggie painted the top.

Here is a close up of one of the willow screens.

Another view. A side note - the birds love them!

I made this addition to our old fence last summer.

Here is an old table I built about 6 years ago.

The gate to the backyard.

And a very special treat. A Gray Catbird seen in our yard Saturday. A yard first!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Wow! What A Lovely Bird!

After watching the posts on our state Listserve Cobirds about White-winged Crossbills, I finally made time to visit the Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins to see if I could find them. I've seen them before, but not in my county.
I gave myself plenty of time before work started at 10, arriving at the location at 8:15 a.m.
I stepped out of my car, grabbed my camera and binocs as I heard an interesting twitter and chatter. I looked over into this ash tree and there he was, see'im?

I could not find the female that was supposed to be with him. He flew down to the canal almost at my feet.

What a beautiful, inquisitive bird!

He seemed to be picking up grit. Then he ventured out on to the ice. Possibly for winter bugs, definitely for a bit of a drink.

He turned he head sideways to get a drink.

He stayed out there for quite sometime.

Lovely view of his back.

He then flew and just about landed on my head before veering sharply away to land in a spruce quite close. I know my hair is a bit.. well.. of it's own mind, but never thought it'd be mistaken for a spruce tree. Green jacket too.. hmm.

It stayed in the spruce before being flushed by a robin to another spruce tree, where it landed high, only to be flushed by a crow. It flew to another tree and was out on the branches eating for quite sometime when I left. What a great way to start the day!

Monday, November 30, 2009

The Eurasian Collared - Dove's Mistake

CAUTION: Graphic photos below!
Sharp-shinned Hawks visit my yard irregularly in the winter. I happened to be standing at the back door the other day when one stooped, darted into one of my big juniper trees, missed it's tiny bird, flushed a Eurasian Collared-Dove who flew straight at me standing in the door. The dove hit the glass, fell to the patio and was pounced upon by this juvenile sharpie.

What followed was not pretty. The dove kept trying to escape and in fact did twice, but not fast enough to avert recapture.

The hawk held on and moved the bird - in low, labored flight to the neighbors yard.

Can I just say death by hawk is not a quick, painless way to die?

The sharpie did not finish it's meal and left it on one of our Russian Olive tree branches. I tossed it over the fence so it would not fall to my dogs. The next day, the hawk came back and was actively searching for the rest of it's dinner. I don't know if it found it over the fence. Has anyone heard of hawks coming back the next day to finish a meal? It was quite fascinating to watch.