Lorikeets

Poor Teen1 hasn't been out of the house for weeks whilst recovering from surgery, so yesterday we thought she was ready for an outing. Our local zoo presently has a lorikeet exhibit that allows you to go inside the aviary and feed them. We've been wanting to do that for ages so yesterday was the day! Those noisy birds didn't disappoint us.

They check you and your little cup of sugary water out a while, then usually hop down onto your hand to lick it up. It's very entertaining to have them so close.

There are several varieties; rainbow, red banded, green naped, scaly breasted, and the Stella, an all black one. They all belong to someone in Florida who loaned them to our zoo for several months.

Pretty, friendly, entertaining... they seem like the perfect pet, right? But there are a couple of drawbacks; they bite as you can see above, and when they poo, it squirts out about 3', hot, wet and icky. Yuck.

Blog Muggle?

Blog Muggle n: a person who is totally unaware of blogs and blogging

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Ok, TravelBug, I get the message. I have been a total Blog Muggle lately and I'm sorry. Things seem to be back to normal in my little corner of the world. Well as normal as my corner gets anyway. So I should be able to resume normal blogging now. Let's start with what's been happening here Amongst The Oaks.

The wistaria is starting to bloom right on schedule. We are hosting Easter and I'm hoping it still looks good for the party. You can see more wistaria photos here and here. I have inhaled the intoxicating scent many times in the past few days and it is wonderful. I usually stick my nose into the first flower that opens and I am always amazed at the power of one tiny flower. I wish I could share it with all of you.

The yellow rumped warblers are making their annual visit here Amongst The Oaks. They descend upon the oaks in large numbers, chirping and flitting nervously, and then in about a month, they are gone. This morning I happened to see several in the bird bath and managed to get a few photos.

And the Black Phoebes are back too, building their nest on our front porch. It's over halfway done so we should see some eggs in about a week. They always build it on that electrical box that we use for the Christmas lights. We remove it every fall and they rebuild it every spring. They are again pulling fibers out of my flower baskets to use in their nest, but I don't mind.

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And the lilac is starting to bloom too. Isn't this gorgeous? I just love love love lilac. I'll make a huge bouquet of it later and bring it inside. I think one reason I love lilac so much is because tit only blooms once a year and that makes the flowers more precious.

Teen1 recently bought this window box for her window. She planted parsley, coleus, lemon thyme, stock, marguerite, and cineraria in it. Isn't she cute?

So that's what's been happening here Amongst The Oaks. Sorry I've been gone so long. Hope to visit you all again soon.

Birds Amongst The Oaks

I spend a lot of time looking up here Amongst The Oaks because of all the birds. This morning after dead-heading the roses out front, I sat on the porch with a cup of tea. My tea break quickly became a bird watching session. First a hummingbird hovered 4' from my nose as if to say, "Why are you in my territory?" Then it flitted to the salvia for breakfast.

Next I noticed some hawks circling overhead which reminded me of the one I'd seen yesterday whilst surveying some signs.

I was at an apartment complex, trying to pull into a space in the carpark. But the space was occupied by this guy. Yes, he was sitting on the ground refusing to budge. So I chose another spot, got out with my camera, and then he flew up to a nearby redwood tree. I got a good photo of him showing his long striped tail, speckled breast, and dark back. I think he is a Cooper's Hawk. They can be confused with the smaller Sharp Shinned Hawks, but he was larger than a crow, so I'm pretty confident that he was a Cooper's Hawk. Isn't it amazing that he was so comfortable living amongst hundreds of humans at that apartment complex?

Most times we look up to see birds, but sometimes we look down. Like last Tuesday when this baby robin hopped up the driveway. His mother was softly chirping and encouraging from the trees. I hope he found a safe place to hide until he learns to fly.

Along with these birds we enjoy watching Doves, Scrub Jays, Mocking Birds, Starlings, Woodpeckers, Phoebes and Sparrows. I'd love to hear what sort of birds visit your yard.

Avian Empty Nest Syndrome

For two years now Black Phoebes have been nesting on our front porch. They make a nest of mud up close to the ceiling and usually lay five eggs. In three weeks or so the naked little babies hatch out and beg for bugs, grow and grow, and poop ALL over the porch for another three weeks. Then the day arrives when they suddenly all fly away. We witnessed it last year and again this year on Mother's Day morning as we returned from our walk. The last one was fluttering around inside the porch as we stepped in, but it finally figured it out and took off with the others.
So now you might think the Mommy bird can rest a bit, maybe sit on this bench under the roses relaxing, maybe start a new hobby, volunteer at the hospital, finally learn how to play golf, or go back to school and get a degree.....but you'd be wrong.

Instead, she and the Daddy bird try to keep the kids together and safe and they continue to feed them. Yesterday at lunch the babies were in this Pittosporum bush and the parents were nearby, swooping down for bugs and feeding them to the kids. The parents' actions, and the soft cheep-cheep-cheeping from the bush alerted us to their presence. There are five babies in the bush. Can you see them? Hard to spot, aren't they?

I lightened the background so they'd stand out against the foliage. Now you can see them better.

So maybe Human and Avian Empty Nest Syndrome are more alike than we thought. Even though they've left the nest, you still provide for them, try to teach them how the world works, try to keep them safe from danger, and worry about them forever.

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This is a Three or More Tuesday post. Please visit Tam at the Gypsy's Corner to see the other participants.

Bird Whisperer

Black Phoebe gathereing mud for its nest

We had quite a busy weekend here Amongst The Oaks, birdwise. It started Saturday morning with the Lord of the Manor calling me into the cottage to help get a bird out. It was a Black Phoebe, like the ones I showed you before. How it got into the cottage is a mystery, but it was perched on a widow frame confused by the magic of glass. LOM approached it to open the window and it flew to another window. Then it flew towards me and another window, so when it perched there I carefully caught it in my hands! Holding a tiny terrified wild bird in your bare hands is humbling. Just a few steps and we were outside where I slowly opened my hands and off it went. I was sending it love the whole time even though they are building their nest on my front porch again and slinging mud everywhere.

Anna's hummingbird on its nest

Sunday morning I went for my usual walk. I've showed you that route, haven't I? My timing apparently was perfect, because I saw lots of birds. The first bird that caught my attention was a hummingbird. It was acting protective, so I stopped and stood still whilst it calmed down. Then it finally zoomed to its tiny nest and settled down. Two years ago we had a hummingbird nesting in a shrub in our backyard and we were able to get some really good photos. But back to my walk. In that same tree I also found two Bushtit nests, but I couldn't get a photo of the birds. They are so nervous and quick. Their nest is like a sock hanging from the branches with a hole at the top for access. This nest has lots of moss in it giving it a pretty green color.

Bushtit nest in pine tree

Oak Titmouse

Yesterday afternoon I was out in the back garden enjoying the sunshine when an Oak Titmouse fluttered to the grass. It seemed to be in distress; absolutely still, on the ground, beak open almost panting. So I crept over to it and got some great photos, all the while doing my bird whisperer thing, you know, talking soothingly and sending it love. It let me get within two feet! After about five minutes it gathered its wits and flew to a chair, then to the cottage roof, and finally back to the oak tree. I wonder what happened but I'm glad I was there to share the moment.

So that was my weekend birdwise. You tell me; am I a Bird Whisperer or just a birdbrain?

Backyard Bird Count

We had a lovely weekend Amongst The Oaks; the weather was warm and clear with lots of bird sightings. I guess you could say we had an unofficial Backyard Bird Count here. Click on photos to enlarge.

I've talked about these Red Shouldered Hawks before, but over the weekend I walked to their nest and took these photos. They were collecting sticks and strips of palm frond and adding them to it. This nest isn't exactly in my backyard, but it's less than a block away.

I don't really know what this is. I use Cornell's site but I just can't figure this one out.

This is a mocking bird near a nest in a deciduous magnolia tree. I love their joyful song.

I was lucky to notice a hummingbird building a nest in a redwood tree. We also saw one taking a bath at our fountain. It hovered splashing in the stream of water several times while we all watched and laughed.

Here is a cedar waxwing. Sometimes a group will sleep in our magnolia tree. In the morning they all take off together, gather into larger groups and feed at fruit trees all day long.

Here is a Western Bluebird I saw at the golf course on my Saturday walk.

And here is a European Starling I saw near the Bluebird.

We also saw Scrub Jays, Robins, Varied Thrush, Woodpeckers, and Flickers in our yard. If we walk to the school/park/golf course, we see Seagulls, Geese, Mallards, and Coots. Over in the Target parking lot we see Pigeons and Blackbirds. I think next year I'm actually going to participate in the Great American Backyard Bird Count.

New Neighbors

Remember this tree limb that broke off? Well apparently a squirrel family has found the resulting hole to be habitable, so they are moving in. I saw them yesterday scurrying around the tree, selecting dry leaves, and stowing them in the hole. I love squirrels, they are just so cute. I hope they make nice neighbors and don't have wild parties or play loud music. And I hope they have some kids. I like to see kids in the neighborhood.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Here they are selecting and carrying leaves back to the hole.

And here's one of them sitting still because it just heard the hawks!

Yes, the hawks are back too. They sit silent and still in the trees waiting for an unsuspecting bird or squirrel to get too close, then {WHAM!} dinner's ready. I saw that happen recently on my morning walk. It wasn't pretty; efficient, but not pretty. Below is a photo of one of the Red Shouldered Hawks that I took last year. I think they nest in a palm tree near the elementary school, so maybe our squirrels are far enough away to be safe. I hope so.

Fauna of Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is teeming with wildlife and we saw lots of animals. The one animal we didn't see was a bear. Thank goodness. Humans have created quite a problem around Lake Tahoe because they leave their rubbish out, the bears smell it and try to get it, frequently causing damage to homes, vehicles, and campers. We heard that a bear walked right through the yard in broad daylight the week before we arrived. Glad we missed that!

Here's a nice visitor. This robin came to our patio early one morning searching for bugs.

The kids enjoyed feeding these golden manteled squirrels at the beach. They were so tame, they took the chips right out of your hand. Look how big its cheeks are - full of crisps!

Teen2 caught this grasshopper on a hike.

These Canada geese are quite common all around the lake.

We also saw this evening grosbeak on our hike. I'd never seen one before, and it took me a while to figure out what it was. I used my favorite bird site: Cornell's All About Birds.

Teen2 also found this wounded dragonfly in the water and carried it out.

And I found this bug on Queen Anne's Lace but I don't know what it is. Maybe one of you know?

That's it for animals, Sunday I'll share the Flora of Lake Tahoe.

Baby Birds Must Fly

Do you remember the Black Phoebes I told you about in May? How they made a nest and raised three babies on our front porch? Well in June the Mommy laid five more eggs and on June 22nd, they hatched. I stuck a little mirror on the ceiling of the porch so I could watch them.

The parents dutifully fed them delicious bugs for three weeks and they grew and grew and soon were barely hanging onto the nest. I took this photo on Monday July 7th when it was really hot. I was worried that maybe they would die from the heat, but the next day they were fine.

I took this photo last Thursday; they were almost as big as their parents. Then yesterday morning the Lord of the Manor went out the front door and exclaimed, "Quick, come look, the babies are flying away!" So we all ran to catch a glimpse of them scattering into the trees. Wasn't it amazing that they instinctively knew how and when to fly away?

And speaking of flying away, that's Teen1 flying away to Auxiliary practice all by herself. Apparently Saturday was a good day for baby birds to test their wings.

P.S. I didn't walk but I wore my pedometer and worked in the garden for hours; 8511 steps, lots of sore muscles.