birds | Change Is Hard

October 10, 2015
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Another shot missed

Sunshine, crisp golden light, maple leaves turning red and gold…how could I resist grabbing the camera and the dog and heading out over the frost covered lawn to the pond across the street. The trees in my neighbor’s yard were stunning in the sunshine.

Morning glow

And those across their pond were beautiful as well. Katie and I moved along the road looking for a spot to capture them.

Morning calm.

I was focused on catching the light and the water while standing on the dog’s leash and listening for cars when I heard a soft, short grunt off to my right. I didn’t look right then, didn’t look until there was a rush of wings and a loud squawk.

A blue heron was lifting off of a submerged tree limb about 10 yards away. He’d probably been sitting there as Katie and I got closer and closer. He gave me a warning grunt and I didn’t listen.

So this is all I got:

Flying away.

I’ve been trying to get a great shot of a blue heron for years. Years. And there he was standing there next to me and I never even noticed. If I had glanced over at the first grunt I think there would have been an amazing shot. But I’ll never know.

Back at home moments after Katie and I came in four young deer crossed the road we had just been standing on. I don’t have a picture of them in the morning glow either. I was too busy trying to keep Katie from flinging herself against the windows to grab the camera.

Silly us.

Missed another one Mama!

August 25, 2015
by dawnkinster 6 Comments

Reflection

Morning quiet

Early in the morning I sit on the deck overlooking the still lake. It is cool, surprisingly cool, as I prop my feet up on the railing and open my book. Neighborhood dogs are barking at something up the shoreline, but here on the deck it is quiet except for the fluttering of wings. So many birds flitting around the trees, I only catch a glimpse of some; a house finch, a cardinal glowing in the dappled morning light. I think the birds are startled to see me there, being used to the emptiness of this house. A hummingbird suddenly appears. It stares at the red t-shirt I slept in last night and am still wearing. Then he zooms away and I feel sad that there is no food for him, that there hasn’t been a feeder here for the past 11 years.

Mom always kept the feeder full.

August 10, 2015
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Busy day at the bath

I was doing dishes and noticed a flash of dark grey wing in a shrub beside the deck. I immediately felt alarm. The wing color looked like a junco, and those are only around here in the winter. Surely they were not already descending on my summer! I stopped doing dishes and watched intently.

Turns out this is what I saw:

Visit from a catbird

I saw catbirds when Katie and I were camping a few weeks ago. I know they are also in our yard, but they stay out by the road in the jungle of grapevine covered bushes. I’ve only seen them, even there, a couple of times in the twenty plus years we’ve lived here. I was surprised to see two catbirds in the honeysuckle bush, chasing each other around. And I was stunned to see one hop up on the birdbath.

Turns out there was more fun coming.

A nice cool bath is just the thing!

She (I’m deciding it’s a she) jumped in the bird bath and began to enjoy herself. But then she had an unwanted visitor.

Stay away! This is MY bath!

Then her mate showed up to guard her while she continued to bath.

I’ll keep watch for you.

She enjoyed her bath for a long time.

Shake it mama bird!

But once the mate flew back into the shrub she got even more visitors!

Look! She’s hogging the bath!

Eventually it was all just too much for her.

That’s it! There’s no privacy here!

And the visitors were left on their own.

Was it something we said?

Always an adventure. And to think if I was working I’d have missed it all.

Internet photo of Junco. Not here yet. Thank goodness.

August 8, 2015
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

There’s a Christmas card on our bird feeders

I have often thought, as I watch the birds visit our feeders, that it looks like a familiar Christmas card. You know the one…where a different kind of colorful bird peeks out from behind all the letters in “Happy Holidays!’ on the front? Just a few minutes ago I was reminded of that card again and went to get the camera, moving slowly, carefully, quietly.

If I had gotten the shot this is what you would have seen:

A huge bright red male cardinal lording over the flat feeder, the feeder I had just moments ago filled with black oiler seed. A female, or perhaps a juvenile cardinal, a chickadee, a house finch and a titmouse were all sitting on the feeder with him, some grabbing a seed and flying up to a branch to eat before coming back for more. He didn’t move from his spot. A juvenile oriole and another female cardinal sat on the top of Katie’s kennel a few feet away waiting their turn. A small black and white woodpecker slips in, grabs a seed and departs. The bright orange male oriole swoops down from the trees to the oriole feeder. There is no grape jelly left. He hops to the top of the pole and stares into the window, voicing his displeasure with a quick burst of machine gun chirps. The male cardinal, impatient with all the activity on his feeder systematically chases all the smaller birds away. Most go to sit in a line on Katie’s pen. Waiting. When he’s done gorging himself and flies off the activity on the flat feeder picks up again. Bright yellow goldfinches have stuck to the thistle feeder throughout all the antics. They are pigs. And a female hummingbird zig zags nervously around her own private feeder.

Can you imagine all of that? I hope so because I didn’t have a chance to get the shot.

As soon as I moved to the kitchen and picked up the camera, turning slowly back around to head to the living room Katie woke from her spot in the dining room, raced to my reading chair next to the window, leaped up and commenced to barking. Because if mama is grabbing the camera and heading toward the windows there must be something out there!

So you’ll have to be satisfied with a picture of the princess instead. After all, she says, nothing else is as beautiful.

Who;s the prettiest one of all?

Sigh.

July 22, 2015
by dawnkinster 8 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

July 15, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Suburban wildlife – or- not so wordless Wednesday

It’s beginning to amaze me the beautiful things that are in my yard during any given day. And to think all this has been going on here at home for years while I’ve been off at work.

Katie likes to bark a warning to us humans sitting on the sofa. By the time we get up and look outside she has managed to chase whatever it was away. But just in the last two days I’ve noticed, on my own with no help from her, plenty of goings on in the yard.

Of course we have the Orioles visiting daily. Sometimes hourly. Do you think this one is a juvenile or just a wet female?

Looking for “more grape jelly lady!!”

It’s a good thing Katie didn’t see this little guy at the birdbath right outside her favorite window.

“Hey! Anybody in there?!”

Do you think the butterfly on the house realizes there are two garter snakes curled up sleepily below?

Look out below!

And just now, in the back yard we had a visitor. Katie didn’t see this either.

Looking for rabbits in all the right places.

Good thing she didn’t. All heck would have broken out.

What’s that smell over there?

So much going on in my own yard that I don’t have time for cooking and cleaning and such. Must keep vigilent, as a sheltie, who will remain nameless, seems to be napping on the job.

STILL no grape jelly lady!

July 5, 2015
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Yard treasures

Mr. Oriole comes for grape jelly.

One of the joys of being retired is time spent in my own back yard. There’s time to sit on the deck out back, watch the clouds scoot by, the light change on the birch trees, the birds coming in shifts to feed, even the grass growing. What a treat.

Ripening black raspberries.

I remember the days when, while backing out of the driveway on my way to work, I noticed the early morning sun on the front of the house and felt a pang that another beautiful day at home was going to slide by without me. Now I have to keep reminding myself that I get to stay and enjoy the peace.

Gift from blue jay.

I constantly catch myself feeling sad that a day is ending, a weekend finished, a week gone by. It’s as if my body is automatically gearing up to go back to work after a vacation, sad that it’s ending. And then I remember that it’s not.

Roses bloom.

So if you see me smiling quietly to myself you’ll know I’m just mentally pinching myself.

And enjoying the treasures in my own yard.

Mrs. Oriole visits for a snack.

June 3, 2015
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

May 18, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Five photos, five days #3

This is part of Carol’s challenge, Five photos, five days, complete with a story; truth or fiction, or maybe some poetry. And you’re supposed to nominate someone each day to join in the fun.

Mom’s new babies!

At Kensington (the park, not the palace) it’s all about babies this time of year. Today mama swan’s eggs began to hatch. There was a huge crowd of paparazzi, cameras clicking as each egg hatched. Mama swan ignored them all and paid exquisite attention to her new little ones, shielding them from the cameras with her wings.

It’s a special time and we’re lucky to be witness to it.

Today I’d like to challenge Karma of Karma’s When I Feel Like It, because I know she has a new camera lens and is just itching to get out and use it!

Mama up close before the little ones arrived.

May 17, 2015
by dawnkinster 13 Comments

Five photos, five days #2

Everywhere there are signs that say “Don’t feed the cranes.”

Mid-morning snack

But cranes can’t read and apparently neither can humans.

A few weeks ago as husband and I walked around the lake at one of my favorite parks we saw many people standing still, hands upright while chickadees flitted. And we were accosted a few times by chickadees expecting something special.

We didn’t have anything to give them, and think it’s wrong anyway. But I have to admit it was fun to watch. This little guy will remember forever the day he had the crane eating out of his hand.

This is part of the five photos, five days challenge that Carol put me up to. Now I have to think about who to nominate to carry on the challenge. Today I nominate the Cowspot Dogs, because they are living in a new place and have lots of places to show us. Here are the rules, loosely speaking: Post a photo (as you can see I’m having a hard time sticking to one photo.) and a story, fiction or non, or maybe even a poem, one a day for five days and each day nominate someone to play along.

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: birds

Another shot missed

Reflection

Busy day at the bath

There’s a Christmas card on our bird feeders

Wordless Wednesday

Suburban wildlife – or- not so wordless Wednesday

Yard treasures

Wordless Wednesday

Five photos, five days #3

Five photos, five days #2