These are a Few of My Favourite Things

I would love to soar above the earth, free to follow the breezes. Untethered. Accountable only to myself, or my baser instincts. But Free. As a bird.
I don't know why I feel this way, only that I do. And that one of my greatest life pleasures is being outdoors, watching birds.
This hobby passion has taken me all over North America and parts of the Caribbean, and now is the primary reason we travel. To see new birds. Yes to see new places and meet new people and have new experiences, too. But, those of you who share this addiction know. It gets in your blood.
I have over 25 bird guides/books, 50+ bird sculptures and miscellaneous pieces of bird art, four pairs of binoculars, 10 feeders, an account at the local feed store (!)...well, you can see that it is a pretty major part of my life.
Over the past few years, since starting this blog, I carry a camera with me (as well as binoculars) and I now have several hundreds or thousands of photos. Which I have decided to start culling and organizing a little...starting today.
So here are my favourite bird shots of 2011...no particular commentary, just that each and every photo is a memory of a small, feathered thrill that left me smiling.
Funny. As I age, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, or what we did on the weekend -but I can remember  taking every single one of these photos!



2011 was a wonderful year, birding mainly along the routes and rivers of the Ottawa Valley, and along the eastern seaboard, from Connecticut to Long Island, Delmarva, Cape May, South Carolina and all parts in between

enjoying many flights of pure fancy!

Nesting Instinct

If you're a female and you don't live under a rock, the term nesting instinct is likely familiar. You know, that  feeling that you get  sometime in your mid to late 20's, sometimes in your  early 30's - it's that little voice inside your head that says, "Tick, tick, tick -time's a wastin' girl and you better get to it and do it."   Make babies. Throw away the diaphragm, toss out the pills. Reason takes a hike, and hormones rush in.

It's a big step, and all it takes is about 10 seconds. Zap! You're pregnant! now start decorating the baby's room, shopping for cute little onesies and diapers and really expensive diaper bags that come in really cool colours and patterns now with all sorts of pockets and pouches for baby necessities while travelling to your mom's for an hour to escape the fact that this is a REALLY BIG STEP you took, and it lasts a lifetime!

Deep Breath!

Yup. Nesting.

 But imagine being a bird!! And doing it every year. And every year the kids leave - yay! so you can get busy and do it again, and again. That is what you do, if you're a bird. You take a leap of faith one day, and plop out of the nest. Then you fly around free as a bird for a short shiny spell.  Then some brightly coloured gadabout catches your eye, and before you can flip him the bird, there you are - sitting on a  bunch of eggs! Feathering your nest and waiting for the "pick, pick, pick " to start so you can start flying hither and yon catching bugs like a crazed  bird brain, burping them up into outstretched beaks leading to huge empty stomachs, and then off again, and again, and again! Then one day, the fluff balls take a leap of faith, and you fly 2000 miles south, and do it again, and again.

Oy.

Is it any wonder then that some birds build rather uncomfortable, flimsy nests that barely qualify as a nest? That appear to be just a bunch of twigs thrown at a branch? Not for the Green Heron a cozy, grass lined pouch swinging gently to and fro in the soft summer breeze while hugging the beautiful little oriole chick inside, safe and warm. Nope! That ain't happening. It's more like  - there's your nest. Don't  like it? Hah! So leave!

The Green Herons' "Kronk!"  is about as rude a call a bird can have- kind of like saying  "Git outtta my way! Here I come with food. Open yer mouth right now!"  And I'm  guessing it's a good thing the babies are so gosh durn cute, or Tired Old Bird (Mom for short)  probably wouldn't even bother feeding them!
Just look at those little eyes...what's not to love!?

Green Herons Up There

My friend Fred lives on the Ottawa River, as do we. However, his property has a lot more cedars than ours, and consequently, a lot more Green Herons than we do. In fact, the score right now is three nests at Fred's place to none at our place.
So when Fred called to say come see the Green Herons before they're completely fledged, we went with binocs and lousy camera in tow...or toe...doesn't really matter which. The photos could have been taken by toes judging by the quality. You be the judge.
First up, er, down...proof of nesting activity. Note to nest site seekers...wear a hat and keep your mouth shut. Lots of activity here, at the first of Fred's nests. Didn't see any Green Herons, but did see an empty egg shell...smooth, light green, no one home.
So we wandered across the yard, past several more cedars over hanging the water's edge, down the driveway and into the woods beyond the house. Site #2 had the same signs of life - lots of white wash, lots of empty shells on the ground.
And a million branches getting in the way of actually seeing the nest, which if you look really really carefully is the blob of twigs at about 11 o'clock. Hah! I didn't see it either until I had total birder's neck going on.
Then there was a slight movement that didn't bend with the gentle summer breeze, but went the opposite direction, and sure enough! A bird! Not just one but three of them sitting on branches near the nest...
This little Green Heron seen through binoculars has really bad hair, all spikey, and big yellow eyes, and is very very cute. The mother was lingering near by as well, so we didn't spend a lot of time looking...besides, they were at least 30' above us, and the neck thing was starting.
This picture of a Green Heron is a really great one. I can say that because I didn't take it. Tom Hughes did...kudos to Tom wherever you are! Some day I'm going to get a camera with a big honkin' zoomer on it too!