Look! There is a thing!

 
... I know they are.

Last year, the birds stopped eating my grape jelly sometime in the middle of October. The last 1/3rd bowl dried up because they just weren't coming to snack. That's why I made a note of my first sighting this year, so I'd know when to start hanging it out again. Then, as I posted later, I hung out extra bowls, and was soon going through two jars of jelly -- 48 ounces total -- every three days.

Anyway, this year I kept waiting for the birds -- house finches; the orioles disappeared sometime around the end of August -- to quit eating. Eventually they were only eating two bowls a day, so I quit putting out the third. That led to a couple of amusing sightings of finches hopping around on the feeder-frame, poking their heads into the hole where the bowl sits; they were sure the jelly should be there somewhere! I thought sure they'd recognize a bowl-absence and aim for the present bowls, but it kept happening, so I finally brought the third feeder-frame into the house.

But the finches have kept coming, eating two bowls (12 ounces) of jelly a day, a jar every two days. Except for the past few days of below-freezing weather; I've filled both bowls twice a day, a full jar every day. <shrug> For an outdoor animal, food is warmth. I remember Nancy laughed at me once when I had to be out of town, and I told her to give the horses extra hay because it would be so cold. She asked if I felt guilty, and that's what I told her -- "Food is warmth."

Anyway, now that it's a little warmer, they're eating less. I usually fill the bowls just at dusk, so they'll have full bowls in the morning before I get out of bed. But yesterday, each bowl was about 1/3rd full at dusk, so I figured that would last until I got up. And it did -- but the bowls were completely empty when I checked on them, picked as clean as possible. (Beaks aren't really made for grabbing slippery jelly from a flat surface, but they do a pretty good job.) So I grabbed the jelly-jar and a spoon and went out to fill the bowls. Back in the house, I crossed the living room to leave the jelly and spoon in the kitchen, then crossed the living room to toss my jacket over the back of the easy chair; total time, about 30 seconds. Looked out the door and saw two finches eating at each bowl, with three more sitting on the planter crossbars, waiting their turns. I don't know if they connect my presence with the bowls being filled, but they're definitely keeping watch to notice when an empty bowl gets filled.

<g> I'm such a soft touch that, when I'm heading to Cindy's after lunch, I check out the window before I open the door. If a couple of finches are eating, I wait till they leave before I open the door to step out. As Nancy says, we both have "SUCKER" stenciled across our foreheads, but she's not quite as bad about it as I am.
 

 

I've had this bird around for about 3 years. She sometimes nests in the cholla cactus in front of my house, although last year she nested somewhere on the west side of my property. Among other things, she eats cat food -- I've seen her take it from the cat-feeder in the garage, and from the open shed in the back yard. She's also rather placid -- she's alert, but I can be 15-12 feet from her and she stays put.

You gotta understand -- I don't see well when I'm outside. [a] My lasik surgery is long past my renew date, but I couldn't get the 2nd procedure. (Boring story; I may post it someday.) [b] The sun is bright, and often makes my vision hazy. So I never saw this bird clearly. I did note the long bill, and tentatively ID'd it as some kind of thrush. I've been calling it 'my thrush' for years, pretty sure I have a single pair nesting here.

A couple of days ago, I twigged that the cholla is right behind where I sit on the couch. If I stand up on the couch, I can see the nest. I tried getting some pictures a few days ago. She's pretty well tucked in there, and the window is very hazy. The pics weren't great, but this is the best (cleaned up with photoshop) --

Then this morning I went out to take some pics of all the wildflowers I have blooming after all my rain. (Flower post another day.) I took pics on the front acre, standing in the bed of my pickup truck to get a more elevated view. When I drove the truck back to the house, I remembered another thing I wanted, so headed up my ramp. As I got to the top, there was the bird, sitting on a branch of the cholla. I froze, looked at her as she looked at me, and said, "Dammit, I left the camera in the truck." Well, since she hadn't flown yet, it was worth trying to get my camera. I inched backwards down the ramp, grabbed my camera, and headed back up. But maybe a second approach would scare her, so I took some pics from the bottom of the ramp, some from the middle, and some from the top. It didn't faze her one bit.

I took 12 or 15 pics, decided that was enough, and went inside to get the fish food for the tadpoles. Opening the door (it's no more than 15 feet from the cholla) didn't faze her, and when I came out and stood by the door, it was a better angle for picture-taking, so I got a bunch more.

With a visual reference to consult, I learned this bird is a curve-billed thrasher. (Well, I was kinda close.) It "lives in Sonoran desert (with its varied vegetation) or in dry brushy country, mainly in lowlands. Avoids extreme desert situations with sparse plant life. Often in suburban neighborhoods, especially where cholla cactus grows. In southern Texas, lives in chaparral with prickly-pear cactus. Sometimes on open grassland around stands of cholla."

Well, I have only the one cholla cactus -- but plenty of prickly pear cactus and mesquite. (And the cat food!) And I'm not in the Sonoran desert (Nancy hates that so many New Mexico souvenirs show saguaro cactus; it doesn't grow in New Mexico!, as she will remind anyone around.) But the bird's range includes 3/4th of NM, as well as parts of TX, AZ, and Mexico.

Wikipedia says, "Its diet includes invertebrates such as beetles, moths, butterflies, arachnids, and snails. It also eats vegetable matter, and fruits from cacti, prickly pear, hackberries, and anacua, among other plants. The curve-billed has also been spotted eating dog food, and will feed it to their chicks." (emphasis mine) I guess cat is a suitable substitute; I know it has more protein than dog food.

I'm all grinning, here; firm ID of another of my denizens. The orioles are still eating grape jelly, as well as sparrows and house finches (long-term residents), and some of the taddies are already turning into froggies. Everything is green, and I have bunches of wildflowers. Of course, some of the weeds are literally head-high to me, and the rest are hip-high; when I go to the pond, I have to wear boots to protect my legs. But I don't care; this too shall pass. Meanwhile I'm wallowing in Nature, and it's beautiful and entrancing. Whee!

 

 

So, I have a covered porch that I can usually just pound a nail into the underside. (My stud-finder didn't work, so I just chose some spots to drive in nails to hang the bird-feeders. Then I decided I didn't want them 'here', I wanted them 'there'. I have six nails scattered around up there, all solidly sunk; I assumed there was a layer of plywood behind the soffit facing. But this evening I tried a new place and hit no solid wood three times. Hmm... wish I'd seen the bones before they covered it, so I'd know what was under the facing.)

When I hung the oriole feeders, I had to calculate -- far enough in from the edge of the overhang to not get rained into, not so far that drippings will land on my porch swing (someday, when I get it put up).

I originally put up the jelly feeder and the nectar feeder too close together; sometimes when a bird lands on the jelly feeder it spins, and their tail bends against the wall of the nectar feeder. So today when I needed to clean and fill the nectar feeder, I took the opportunity to drive new nails and move both. I did it late this evening, when it was cooling off; I finished and came in when there was about 15 minutes of light left. As soon as I came in and closed the door, a couple of orioles -- male and female -- landed on one of the honeysuckle trellises. I watched and waited; too dark for pics, but this was a chance to evaluate the new positions.

Neither of them ate. They hopped / flew from one trellis to the other, and between higher or lower bars of the trellis as they evaluated the changes to the feeders, eying them suspiciously. Seriously, if two things were 6 inches apart, and now they're 20 inches apart, it must be some evil bird-trap, right? One eventually flew to the top of the nectar feeder, and one to the support bars of the jelly feeder, but each only stayed for 2 or 3 seconds before they flew away.

I'm sure they'll get used to the changes sometime tomorrow morning. That sweet, sweet jelly and nectar are just calling to them; they'll answer the call before too long. But then in a few days they'll go through it again.

I hung my original hummingbird feeder with wire, which is a pain in the backside if I want to make changes. I used baling twine for these new feeders -- much easier to cut and tie. BUT! Hanging on the string, they sway a lot in the wind, and sometimes spin like a top. The birds don't seem to mind, but I could take pictures easier if they weren't spinning around. And... I'd feel a little less uneasy (for no good reason, I admit) if they were more stable. So I think I'll hang them again with wire. They'll still sway a little -- the feeders hang from a metal clip, which I'll thread on the wire -- but they won't be able to go round and round, or bounce up and down on the string.

Or maybe I'll hang a dowel rod, with a feeder at each end. I'm going to have so many nails dotting the underside of the overhang...

LOL, talk about minor problems! But when it comes down to it, I'd much rather fiddle with animal stuff than do the laundry or vacuuming.

 

 

After I made my post about the oriole, I wondered if there was a way to keep him or them around. Some research and an online question pointed me to an oriole feeder -- like a hummingbird feeder, but with holes big enough for their beaks to fit into. So I ordered it and another thingy, with a cup in the middle for grape jelly and two spikes for impaling half an orange, both of which orioles (and other birds) apparently like. But the order won't be delivered 'til Friday or Saturday. How to keep them around until then?

Put on my thinking cap. They can't get to the nectar in the hummingbird feeder, but how about a... bowl or a cup? But that would tip over unless... I anchored it with mounting tape! (Thick strips that are sticky on both sides.)

Dad made my honeysuckle planters very large with a trellis on two sides. I measured the distance from corner to corner, then went to my 'leftover wood' in the barn and found a 2x6 board the right length. I placed it on the trellis slats and tied it down with string so the wind couldn't blow it over. I have a number of sturdy, yellow plastic cups from a local BBQ place. I don't eat there, but Nancy does, and she 'donated' a dozen or so to me a while back. She asked first -- they were taking up space -- and I said yes. Didn't know what I'd do with them, but when you're into 'fixing things', you never know what will be useful.

Turns out, one of the smaller cups (there are two sizes), cut down so it's only 2 inches (5 cm) deep, and affixed to the 2x6 with mounting tape, makes a perfect nectar-holder. (And there's room for a 2nd cup when I get to town to buy jelly.) I put everything together Monday evening, filled the cup half full of nectar. Got up Tuesday morning and looked out the window just in time to see Mr. Oriole finish a snack. He lifted his head, I saw his beak glistening with wetness, and he flew away; no time to grab the camera. But he/they must have visited several times, by Tuesday evening, the nectar was 80% gone. So I added more nectar for Wednesday (today).

Last night, we had a wicked storm -- heavy downpour with hail. It actually woke me up -- and I've been known to sleep through a fire alarm. (In college, and we had so many fake bomb scares in the middle of the night that I started sleeping through them; my roomie had to wake me.) This morning there was 1.1 inches in the rain gauge -- I thought it would be 3 inches, at least -- and the (small) pea-sized hail was lying in drifts like snow. As I suspected, the nectar-cup was full of pink-tinged water; I suppose the falling hail bounced the nectar right out. So I unstuck it from the board, brought it in to clean it, put on another piece of mounting tape, stuck it back on the board, and filled it half full with nectar.

Then I looked around and... whoa! The area in front of my porch -- about 50 feet out to some bushes I have planted -- looks bare! I leave the bottle of nectar on the little side table I have next to the front door (very handy for holding packages as I unlock the door) and went to examine the situation.

We had good growth last spring, but then a long, very hot summer with no rain, so of course everything dried up and turned brown. But those brown stems-and-leaves were still sticking up, creating a fuzzy layer over the dirt and softening the outlines. No more. I guess the hail broke all the dead stuff and pounded it into bits; now there's an expanse of bare wet dirt leading to the bushes, that looks so much bigger. It's kind of weird; I almost don't recognize the area.

As I'm walking back to the house, I see movement on the porch -- a bird, but I'm too far away to tell if it's the oriole. I s-l-o-w-l-y ease forward -- don't want to scare it -- until I can see clearly. Yes, it's Mr. Oriole -- and he's on my side-table, hopping around the nectar bottle, trying to figure out a way to get a drink. After quite a long time -- at least a full minute or a little more -- he gave that up as a bad job and flew to the hummingbird feeder. That still didn't work, so he didn't stay long; he finally flew to the nectar-cup, hopped onto the edge (good thing I used the mounting tape; I thought they'd stand on the board), and took a drink. Six sips (yes, I counted), then he flew away.

And as I said -- I didn't have my camera! ARGH!!!

Well, there'll be other chances -- I hope. I did clean my front door windows, so I won't have to focus through the spots.

In other news, there's a big brown duck swimming in my pond. I don't know if it's a wild animal, blown here during the storm, or belongs to the neighbor. They used to have one white and one brown duck, but I haven't seen the brown one in some time, and this one seems bigger... Logically, I'd expect that if one duck got out from the neighbor's pen, the other would follow, but animals don't need to follow human logic. <shrug> It'll stay or go without my input, but it's fun to see it.

ETA: An hour later, the duck is still there, ducking its head underwater to look for food. Poor thing -- nothing there except for some underwater bugs; no fish, no plants. I'll toss out some milo seed later; I don't have any cracked corn. I suppose I could get a bag when I go to town tomorrow... but the duck will have to compete with the chickens to get any.

 

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...at least, that's how I feel.

I've mentioned my pond several times (and one of these days I really will post about its development through the years), and talked about how I sometimes get glimpses of the wildlife that probably lives around me.

Mostly, the pond is visited only by wild birds, the neighbor's chickens, feral cats, and the neighbor's dogs. But finally -- after two years of the pond being a permanent feature -- it seems that some of the more "exotic" wildlife is beginning to discover it. Last week, it was visited by a Harris's hawk, and this morning by a coyote. Pictures (click for larger view) and details behind the cut.

( Read more... )

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Whee! I got pics of a roadrunner today. Not great ones, but by golly, I did it!

( Story and pics inside. )