Big bird & little bird

I happened to glance out the window one evening and saw a huge bird flying up into a tree across our driveway. Can you see it... center of photo about 2/3 of the way up?

That was just so you know how high it was. Let's zoom in...

Yep, a turkey... waaaay up there!

It appeared to be settling in for a night of roosting.

By the time the sun was going down, it had gotten all comfy.

Crazy bird. But only ONE - yay!!!

Here's a little bird visiting my birdbath.

It's an eastern bluebird. If I'm lucky, I get about a single glimpse of one a year. I did see the front of it, but in the few seconds that it took me to grab and aim the camera, it had turned around, and this was the only shot I got before it flew off. I haven't see it since and probably won't again this year. I think they only pass through here.

On the other hand, my blue grosbeak has been back, for the third year in a row! It must nest around here every year now, as I saw it several times last summer. I didn't get a new photo from this latest sighting, but maybe I can get one later. He's such a pretty bird, and I love every glimpse I get of him. His mate, not so much... she's pretty blah-looking. ;)

Big birds

I've noticed some bigger birds in the trees across the driveway from the house recently. This first one was a crow, I guess, but it sat there for an unusually long time. (I cropped all the photos way down for a better look.)

Occasionally it would open its beak and call (or at least I assumed that's what it was doing, since I was in the house with the windows closed and heard no sound). Or maybe it was sickly, I don't know.

Suddenly there was a bluejay above it, checking it out.

A few days later I saw an even bigger bird over there.

It turned its head around and I could tell it was a hawk.

I believe it's a red-tailed hawk. It soon flew off.

I put my birdbath out a few days ago. So far I've only seen a blackbird, a sparrow... and Rainbow (the cat) using it. Thankfully, no turkeys... yet... although they've been around plenty.

Their feathers are rather pretty when the sun shines on them. But I'd rather not see them at all. I think every single one survived the winter. Boo.

A study in contrasts

Soooo.... it's April, right? April 19th, in fact? Someone please assure me that it is! Last year at this time, corn planting was well under way. Contrast #1: This morning it looks like this (6+" of new 'stuff'):

Contrast #2: I took this photo yesterday at my sewing room window... just because I thought it made a nice contrast. Several, in fact... the drippy, rainy-looking window, yet the snow in the background (that was the actual depth of the drift at the window... and it got bigger), and the silhouette of the summery flowers. What a mixture!

Last week I showed you how the poor birds were struggling to find food. Here are a couple more pics I took later of different kinds of birds also searching for food. A blackbird...

... and a flicker:

Contrast #3: A much BIGGER bird, also searching for food. It's a pretty unusual sight to see turkeys around here while there's still snow on the ground. There were five others with this big ol' tom.

Okay, enough of the "winter" scenery (I've more than had enough, believe me!). This next photo is definitely a contrast from that. But it's a contrast in itself, because if you remember, the first flower stalk on this amaryllis had a problem. This is the second stalk, and there's not a blemish on it! Hurray! Yep, Contrast #4:

Contrast #5: The above photo's colors are accurate. The photo below is an example of what can happen if you don't have the proper white balance setting on your camera. Not such great colors:

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed our little "study". ;)

Lurkers in the backyard

Ever had the feeling you're being watched? Yeah, me too!

Tomorrow (maybe later today?) I get to show you my latest completed sewing project! It's been done since Sunday night, but since it was a gift for someone, I couldn't show you till it was received, so I wouldn't spoil the surprise.

I've been having some fun company. Maybe I'll show you more than just my sewing project! ;)

Mighty hunters

I happened to glance out the window this afternoon and saw this scene. Looks like they have her just about in their clutches, doesn't it?

I thought it was pretty funny. What a tasty-looking bird! Get 'er, Hairry!!

Rainbow was content to let Hairry have the prize.

The hen just walked away, totally unshaken by the hungry, fierce cats.

Maybe she felt pretty safe because of this guy:

Here's another hen that was wandering around:

There was also one more that disappeared behind some leaves. We don't see many turkeys around here anymore. A few years ago we had a flock of 20+ coming around. Thank goodness we don't anymore! They're messy and they're noisy. But they're also kind of interesting. Check out some of my previous years' posts here.

Just more birds

Sorry, my sewing project STILL isn't done! I missed my deadline. But I haven't given up on it, even though parts of it have made me want to. ;) At least the worst is over (I hope!), so it should be downhill from here.

I've been so focused on the sewing that I haven't even been taking any pictures lately! Sad, isn't it? So these are from nearly a week ago. Yeah, they're back. Right on our front lawn.

At least the flock is getting smaller. This is all that's left of the flock of 20+ a few years ago. I'm NOT sad about that.

You can see the fresh grass lying on the driveway. I had just mowed the day before. I mowed again yesterday. And it rained a bunch again last night. I fear its gonna be another one of those years for mowing again. I'd much rather sew.

Sew.... I'd better get back to it! My next post WILL show you what I've been working on. Completed. I hope.

The view...

... out my kitchen window first, then the basement windows yesterday:

(Be sure to click to enlarge.)

And one of them insisted on pecking on my sewing room window... off and on for hours! Really hard! I'm surprised he didn't break the glass!

At least there were only 3 of them this year... 2 toms and a hen. They sort of belong to a neighbor, but they're allowed to run free, and they usually make numerous visits to our place over the warmer months.

Speaking of warm... it got up to 79° yesterday!! It's certainly making short work of those snowdrifts. Dale, methinks you'd better start picking out your photos, 'cause it surely isn't gonna last beyond April 10th!

Turkey trot

While I was out discovering the "spittle" (see previous post), these guys didn't even seem to notice me standing still, and they practically came right up to me. They were looking rather impressive, and with the camera in my hand, I just couldn't not take pics of them.

(Click to enlarge.)

And here they are in action.

I was hoping they'd gobble for you, but they didn't while I had the camera running, naturally. I think it's interesting how they drag their wings on the ground in their little "dance". That one hen is pretty lucky(?) to have 3 boyfriends.

Look who's back

Right in our back yard this morning. At least there are only 6 of them this year... 4 toms and 2 hens. I found it interesting that their heads were so blue.

Nap time? Good grief!

Late yesterday morning, I came down the basement and noticed this scene in our window. Both were sleeping. Well, actually, Willow was fakin' it. (And forgive the dirty window... kitty noseprints!)

But this tom was definitely asleep!

He soon woke, though, and he...

... and his cohort...

...who had also been napping under the deck, ambled away to join the rest of the crew who were doing their resting in the shade of a tree on our lawn. They were so relaxed that they didn't even bother to move when I backed the car out of the garage right next to them.

Fortunately, they haven't been making a habit of this, and I rarely see the toms. There are, however, a couple of hens that I see nearly every day, and one of them has a baby following close behind her. Mom's pretty protective, though, and as soon as she sees me, they slip into the long grass before I can even think about going for the camera.

Big Bird Laid an Egg

Look what I found!

Gotta be a turkey egg. Interestingly, I found it in the machine shed right next to the pans I use for feeding the cats. Oops! I doubt that there's any baby turkey in it, since I've only seen a hen wandering around here and no toms for a long time. The egg is cracked on the other side, too, so it'd never hatch, anyway.

Scrambled egg, anyone?

Big Bird

Willow LOVES to sit in the basement window, which is right under the deck, and watch birds (and probably dream of catching them). First she'll stand on her back legs on the table, stretching up and just barely peek over the edge of the window sill to see if there's anything out there. Then she'll hop into the window to watch. She'll lie there patiently waiting for the longest time. And her wait is often rewarded... sometimes birds will even come right up to the window, because they can't see her, and she gets so excited and tense, ready to pounce and no doubt wishing she could.

Yesterday she was lucky(?) enough to see this BIG bird right outside the window! Not quite her typical bird. I think she wasn't sure just what to make of it!

I love turkeys...

... but ONLY when they're tiny, fuzzy babies... or when they're COOKED! Live big ones running around in my yard might be fun to look at, but other than that they're a pain in the you-know-what! To answer your question, Grace... I don't think they've ever really bothered my flowers TOO much. They do, however, like to peck at the tomatoes. The worst 2 things about them are: 1) the huge... er... 'droppings' they leave all over (use your imagination as to how far one can squish up the sides of your shoe... or what the machinery looks like after they've been roosting above it overnight in the shed); and 2) the gobbling outside the bedroom window in the morning, which makes for a very RUDE awakening. If you've ever heard them gobble, you know it isn't just a steady "gobble, gobble, gobble"... it's a silence, followed by a sudden burst of "GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!!"... then more quiet... then the BURST again... over and over. AARRGGHH!!!

These are the ones from the video clip I posted Saturday. Much to my surprise and delight, our neighbor who bears the guilt of bringing the semi-wild turkeys to our area and who claims them as his, apparently saw them in our alfalfa field (just on the other side of those trees in the photos) later Saturday morning and came over and chased them back "home". YAY!! Now, if only they'd stay there. Ha! So far, though, I've only seen one hen back here, wandering through those trees probably looking for a good nesting spot. ONE turkey I can take.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Of course, any little ones who survive, do grow up. They get quite adventurous at times, too. Here are some on our deck railing a few years ago... trying to decide if they're brave enough to join their sibling on the roof!! AACK!!

Early morning visitors

More on these "lovely" creatures later....

Birds on the farm

I think this is a female yellow-throated warbler. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong! Below is a goldfinch who thinks he's a hummingbird. :-) He's also a "peeping tom"! :-)

Here's a baby turkey I found right outside our garage one day last spring.

And here's its mama, who was a bit worried about her chick!

A young wren ready to fly off on its own: