Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

By way of spreading joy

29 Comments

A week ago today I took three people to Kensington to feed the birds. They had never done that before but they’d heard about it and wanted to have the experience.

Hey, toss that peanut over here!

They had to drive almost 2 hours but they thought it was worth it. I do too. Though we arrived early in the morning, when the birds are most likely to be hungry, we weren’t inundated with begging feathered ones. But we had our fair share.

It rained all night and I’m not looking my best, but I sure am hungry!

Mostly it was the woodpeckers, in different varieties that were interested in us. Though an occasional red-winged blackbird stopped by.

I’m really interested in that peanut you have, could you toss it here?

And the bluejays were always nearby.

I’m faster than any darn woodpecker, just watch me!

In fact this visit turned into a ‘toss a peanut’ experience. The red-bellied and the red-headed woodpeckers and of course the bluejays are all very talented at plucking a tossed peanut out of the sky.

We spent much of our walk through the woods tossing peanuts into the air where they were eagerly snatched by a winged one.

Got it!

And of course we walked out onto the boardwalk to check on the blue heron rookery.

Ms. Red-winged was startled as we walked by.

The heron babies are now teenagers, testing their wings and making a great deal of noise whenever an adult ventures by. Just in case there might be breakfast arriving.

I can flap my wings faster than you. Oh will you two just settle down? I’m trying to nap here.

All in all, though we weren’t swarmed by birds I think everybody had a great time and I hope they come back for another adventure!

Thanks for the peanut! See ya next time!

Author: dawnkinster

I'm a long time banker having worked in banks since the age of 17. I took a break when I turned 50 and went back to school. I graduated right when the economy took a turn for the worst and after a year of library work found myself unemployed. I was lucky that my previous bank employer wanted me back. So here I am again, a long time banker. Change is hard.

29 thoughts on “By way of spreading joy

  1. I want to visit!!!!!! So beautiful!!!

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  2. What a wonderful thing to share. I have brought my beau and my mother to a couple of places where they got to feed the birds… mostly chickadees and nuthatches – but they are always thrilled when a bird lands on their hand.

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    • We usually have mostly titmice, chickadees and downy woodpeckers. But this day it was almost bluejays and red-bellied woodpeckers competing for peanuts. I don’t know where all the little birds were unless we were there too early after an all night rain and they were sleeping in.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Looks as though it was an excellent adventure! I have never seen a red-headed woodpecker, although I have heard reports of them in southern Maine.

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  4. You take the best bird pictures!

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  5. What fun to see the snag in mid-flight! 👏🏼

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    • It’s very fun. I never knew they did that until last fall when a friend and I ran into another photographer and while standing around discussing camera equipment the red headed woodpecker flew up demanding something to eat. The other photographer asked if we had a peanut in a shell. We did. He told me to get ready, to focus on this spot above his head and he tossed that peanut and the bird came out of the tree and snatched it in mid air. Of course I was so startled I missed the shot…but after that I knew there were mid-air possibilities.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. This is so cool! I always am amazed when you share visits to this park to feed the birds. 😊

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  7. I know your friends loved seeing the birds interact with them. The Jays in our area aren’t that talented to catch the peanuts in the air. 🙂 I do like to see the woodpeckers swoop down to snag a peanut. I guess the birds are feeding on grubs too, so they’re not as hungry these days. And maybe they’re eating fishflies … there were lots of them today at Lake Erie Metropark. I know the birds like them (although it doesn’t seem like there is much to eat as they are all wings).

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    • I have not seen fishflies here yet…but I did see them somewhere recently and darned if I can remember where I was.

      I’ve tried tossing peanuts to my band of 5 terrorist bluejays but they just skitter away, wondering why I’m throwing things at them. They do come from all over when I go out to fill the feeders, so they’re not generally afraid of me, and I think they could learn this trick if I were to consistently try.

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      • Maybe you saw the fishflies when you went for the jaunt with your friend to take sky photos recently?

        The bluejays at Kensington probably figure treats are waning due to the warmer weather, so they provide some entertainment along the way to keep ’em coming.

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  8. Great pics, Dawn! Happy you could share your bird feeding adventure.

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    • I’m always happy to share…though part of me knows that eventually there will be too many people out there and the park will shut this kind of activity down. And I’ll be one to say “we used to be able to…”

      Liked by 1 person

  9. FUN!!!!!!!! Love the juvenile herons – so cool. Perfect day at Kensington!

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  10. What a great time this looks like! I love the action shots of the birds grabbing the peanuts in the air!

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    • I couldn’t tell while shooting if I was getting any birds in the image. Not till I was processing did I find a few. Sometimes there were two jays going after the same peanut…mostly not in focus, but fun to look at.

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  11. How wonderful to walk with a friend and see the fantastic bird show, Dawn!

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  12. It’s a wonderful experience.

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