Thursday, January 11, 2007

Another "Stinker" for Susan


Most of my day was uneventful. I took my little walk at work and it was eerie not to hear anything rustling in the woods. Two crows overhead got my attention but were gone from my view in a flash. There were only two small, very quick chirps high up in the tallest pines and I thought it sounded like a tiny bird calling, “Hey, I’m way up here and I'm home alone!” On my lunch hour I made a little trip to the grocery store and I saw bird seed on sale at Harris Teeter. I bought a ten-pound bag to keep in my office, and you know what? I don’t care if people think I’m nuts! Where I’ve seen birds congregate, I spread the seed. If I can afford an inexpensive feeder, I’ll plant one for them in a convenient place for me to keep an eye on them.

Without an idea for a post all day, I decided on my way home from work to take a little break from blogging and to just do some blog “lurking” tonight. At the same time I made that decision, I entered my community on the narrow road and looked to my right as I always do and quickly pulled over!



Here’s another Stinker for ya, Susan! You’re getting two birthday gifts this month. The sun was hidden behind heavy clouds and the GBH is showing more color in this photo than the previous one. I had to apologize to a very sweet school bus driver as I moved my car more inside the easement to allow her to drive by. Her route was held up for thirty seconds because of me but she was all smiles, realizing my mission. After a few photos, I drove around for a little while, trying to find a better way to get closer to this swampy pond but it looks like I’d need to tip-toe through a private residence and cross the 10th fairway to get closer. There must be a better way and I am determined to find it!

When the sun was beginning to set and the clouds made the evening even darker, I noticed a newcomer at the feeder. Welcome the White Throated Sparrow (White Morph) to Mary’s house. It’s a ground feeder that escapes under brush and very quickly! I hope you can see a better view if you click on the photos. Blogger is bad tonight.


If I had time to pose motionless for while, I could have gotten a closer shot but the dogs were running wild and giving the birds the jitters, as usual. I like this photo of a female Cardinal observing the Sparrow.




The long day without a thrill ended very nicely, indeed.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ohhh, great bird photos! I love the cardinal watching the sparrow! Great photo of the blue heron, too! It looks like it has a beard. It's amazing just when you think you don't have a thing to blog about something shows up!

Mary said...

Thanks, Pam, but Blogger always rears its ugly head with me and I can't seem to get a full view on the heron when I click on the photo. Damn! It (Blogger) limited me on a re-post, too.

amarkonmywall said...

Wonderful GBH photo. Such a handsome fellow, he makes a nice gift. I have to say, I've always thought female cardinals are beautifully eloquent in an understated way. My feeders will be up here in Florida by this time next week so hopefully more feeder birds then.

Walking more is a good thing. I didn't think I would adapt all that well to having to walk everywhere the way I do in Chicago but I quickly came to love it and now I do it here in Florida, too. Throw in a pilates or yoga class and you're good to go. At least I'm hoping so.

Anonymous said...

So you jammed all of your bird sightings in at the end of the day! Hooray! Love your pictures!

LauraHinNJ said...

Nice pics Mary!

Your heron pic isn't *clickable* because you probably moved it around one too many times within the post and somehow the link to the pic gets lost. Happens to me all the time.

If you're brave you can paste the link back in by clicking on the EDIT HTML tab, rather than the COMPOSE tab - look for the code that ... oh never mind. Too complicated, probably. Do you know any HTML? If you don't then this all sounds like Greek, I'm sure. If you want to know, email me and I'll tell you how to fix it.

Mary said...

Laura, it's way too complicated for me at this late hour! If I had time, I'd work with HTML since I know a little about it. I'll e-mail the photo to Susan, you and others. It's the simpler route. I'm heading for bed. I really appreciate your thoughtful help!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures Mary, thanks for sharing them.

Susan Gets Native said...

Whoot!

Thanks for the GBH, Mary dear. I just love 'em, even though you call them STINKERS.
I'm glad that GBH are so ubiquitous. My heart would be saddened if I could never see them.
Like that word, ubiquitous? Fancy vocabulary I got, huh? I'll say it again...
UBIQUITOUS.

Mary said...

Susan, I needed Merriam Webster to help me on that one!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new bird! Very sweet!

Nice shot of the "Stinker!" Not a good name, I must say, for such a majestic bird (no matter how many koi he's eaten!)

Anonymous said...

Just love Great Blue Heron shot! They never will let me get close enough for a great shot! Bravo! BTW: Great seeing the White Throated Sparrows !