In June, I believe we had three baby crows that visited our yard. I don’t know for certain because to me young birds (“babies”) look very much like older birds. Actually, young birds often look larger than adult birds, at least in the case of blue jays. From what I have seen in the past the young birds still have their fluff so they sometimes look larger. The fluff isn’t always easy to discern so originally I thought the larger birds were adults. We used to have baby blue jays in our yard every year and watching them it was clear they were not adults. They were so awkward and silly, whereas the adults were very precise. These three birds we had in June were silly. They liked to take bathes — as did all of our blue jay babies in the past. These crows seemed to play and explore, then one by one they were gone.
I had never seen a crow in the bird bath so it was really exciting to see these black beauties hop around and in the bath. They were really gone too soon for my liking.
I know the pictures are not great, sorry, but I took them through screens and windows because the crows would stop their antics when they noticed us watching. In a couple of shots you can see that they noticed me.
Maybe they will remember it was a safe place and they will bring their babies here.
Once a month after stretch class, on the last Thursday of the month, a group of us meets for coffee. Sometimes it is a very small group and sometimes it is much bigger, but it is a way for us to keep in touch and for us to check in with each other. Sometimes after yoga on Tuesdays we go for lunch. At a recent lunch the conversation came around to birds – it was a very windy, crazy, fun-filled path that got us to birds, and I was telling them about our bird bath. A couple of us stated that we love to watch the birds bathe. If you have seen any of my bathing bird posts you know I love to watch them. Because how the conversation started I wanted to show them a picture of our bird bath. Then I remembered I had a video of an oriole bathing. Then I was kind of sad because none of my students had seen it, then I realized I had tweeted it and not posted it on my blog. So . . . I decided to post it here to share.
You know how I love to watch birds bathe. They just seem to enjoy it with all that fluttering and hopping around. Since the orioles are so cautious I was super happy to catch one in the bath. It is a quick bath, but still pretty cool. I do actually have another video of an oriole bathing, but I will post this one first.
Such a gorgeous color. So very yellow. Perhaps they are feeling a little more comfortable since they’ve come back for a few years now . . . if, in fact, these are the same birds.
We keep the bird bath bath clean and full. I don’t do either (clean it or fill it) as much as my hubby. We love to have birds visit so we make it as inviting as possible.
We have yard animals. I like to feed the animals that come in the yard. I like to feed them because I feel bad that all of the land that is around our house and neighborhood that was once orchards and fields is now developed. I feel bad that the animals have no home and no place to forage for food. So I feed them. Also, it is great entertainment for our cats. I feel bad keeping cats as “indoor only” even if I believe it is for their own good. I wish they could go out and play and chase animals . . . but I really don’t want them to catch them. Anyway . . . I like to have yard animals to help entertain the girls. I love having hummingbirds. And, if you have ever read any of my yard animal post you know I LOVE (LOVE , LOVE , LOVE ) when birds bathe in the bird bath. I like to think of our yard as an animal oasis. So when I saw the hawk in the yard, I was so happy. It was exciting to me that a hawk would visit the yard. I didn’t notice the squirrel right away. When I did I thought, “Oh how sweet!” (Eyes rolling!) Then is dawned on me! AAAAAACCCCCKKKKK! This hawk is thinking our yard is like a fast food joint where he could grab a quick meal. Then I really thought about it, and although I could be wrong . . . I figured this hawk couldn’t get the squirrel. And either the squirrel was totally oblivious, totally dumb, or figured the same thing that I did.
I think the hawk needs to attack from air. They don’t just jump on their prey from the ground. They use their speed to help attack. Well, our yard is way too small for an aerial attack from this size of bird. He tried a few positions on a couple of rocks in the yard. He sat there watching the squirrel. Then he jumped to the fence and sat there for a bit. The he flew to a rooftop. I think he was really trying to figure out how to get the squirrel. He was determined. But, I think he concluded the same thing that me and the squirrel we so confident in. Our yard is too small. It has to many things in it for him to be able to spread his wings. He would never be able to fly down and attack. He sat there on the roof a bit, then he left.
This was quite a long time ago. In 2008. I hadn’t thought about it in a long time. But I was going through some stuff on my computer and I found the pictures. They make me laugh because I really did think, at first, that our yard was an oasis where animals could be together in peace. Yeah, as soon as my mind completed the thought I got it.
I think this is Cooper’s Hawk. We used to have a lot of them around. I think they used to nest in the trees near by. But as I said, there is no land around us any longer. There are no hunting grounds for birds of prey so they have gone. Now we just have a lot of people, housing, cars, traffic, and all that goes with it.
At least I have my pictures. And since I am sharing them . . . you do, too!
Oh, I saw this on Facebook, I think. It was from that animal rescue site where your purchases help feed animals. I thought it was so pretty so we got it. It was pretty. It was small, but pretty. I think a bird or two even bathed in it. But it didn’t even last a year. It faded to barely even recognizable and the metal that secured it to the rod that goes into the ground rusted. So the glass bath broke off it’s holder. A little disappointed because it was about $24.00. At least the purchase of it went to feed some animals. And it was pretty while it lasted (about four months).
I had to rearrange my Nia Classes this week and next week because stuff happens in life. You know that right? You have a plan, just cruising a long and something happens. Sometimes it is just a little quirk that maybe changes your schedule a bit. Sometimes it might be something bigger that changes a lot of things. Either way, there is stuff. We all have stuff. Even if it doesn’t happen directly to us, it happens to someone who affects us. Stuff. Good stuff, bad stuff, stuff that can’t be qualified as either . . . but stuff. Sometimes you gotta drop what you are doing and deal with it. Sometimes you get a little prep time. Whether you can actually get prepared in that time is another story, huh? There are also moments when you might be able to forget the stuff and enjoy the moment that is. Recently I was able to enjoy a moment. I took a few pictures of it. Since there is “stuff” I am using my moment to fill in.
I love when animals drink out of the bird bath. My husband and I try to keep it clean and full. I am really particular during the hot days. Even though I am sure the water gets really hot, I still want to make sure there is water in there for them. I like to see them drink out of it. The blue jay are funny because they put their heads back and move their heads as if that is how they have to get the water down. Is that how they have to do it? Do you know?
What I love more than animals drinking from the bird bath is birds taking a bath. They seem as if they really allow themselves to really enjoy it. They seem to love to get to splish and splash around. I love that. I really love when I have my camera or phone close by so I can take some pictures. I posted a long time ago (in 2009) about the baby blue jays taking a bath. They were so funny to watch because each one was so different in how they took their baths. One would barely get wet, while another would just go crazy in the water. You can see from the pictures how he would just splash around really big. He became a big blur. It was fun to see the different personalities of the birds.
The other day, I just happen to look up as a bird hopped in the water. He would jump in splash around, then jump out, then jump in splash around, then stop, then splash, then stop. Just having a good old time. He was not a big blurry splasher like that one baby blue jay was. Whenever I think of that blue jay it makes me laugh because he would just get so crazy. It does make me happy to see the birds actually taking a bath in the bird bath. Although I am fine if they just drink out of it. It is a nice break, either way, especially where there is “stuff”.
All this splishing and splashing reminds me of the Duck Walk. 🙂 Thanks for letting me take a little break and share a bird’s bath with you. It was a nice moment.
How are you doing? Have you had any moments lately? Got any stuff?
Look at all the water . . . . . now this is FUN STUFF!
Our cat is an indoor cat. She does not go outside. I honestly feel that cats should be able to go outside. There are so many fun things for cats to experience; butterflies, grass, fences, frogs, lizards, flowers, etc. They do belong outside, able to roam, but unfortunately there are also many dangers. In addition to believing that cats really should be allowed to go outside, I feel that people must take responsibility for their pet(s) and that can come with a heavy price tag. Neither my heart nor my wallet could afford having to fix my cat if one of those outside dangers were to injure her. In our neighborhood we have raccoons, opossums, dogs, cats, cars, and sometimes the worst danger of all . . . other people. Not everyone is an animal lover or they might not enjoy a kitty fertilizing their garden — understandable. So we keep our cat inside. She, like a lot of indoor animals, LOVES to sit by any open door or window. She can sit there for hours. She stares and sniffs, and sniffs and stares. She will often go from door to door as if patrolling her yard. My hubby and I feed birds and squirrels in our yard in hopes that they will serve as entertainment for the cat. We have learned that we are overly entertained by our yard animals too. As I have posted before, the animals often distract me when I am doing a Nia routine or working out.
My hubby and I also have animal protocol, if there is an animal in the yard and we are on our way out to the yard, we stop and wait for it to settle or be gone. If we are in the yard and one comes in we freeze and let it do what it is there to do then we proceed. We often will stop what we are doing (pause a DVD, pause our conversation, etc.) to watch the various critters that come to visit. They are very entertaining. They eat, they play, they drink, they take baths. It is all very fun to watch. They can be quite silly.
We used to have blue jays come with their babies every year. They must have nested in our neighbor’s yard, because one year he drastically trimmed the trees and the babies that visit now are not nearly as young as the ones we used to have. So I believe the birds are having their babies elsewhere and sometimes they come here to eat or bath, but they are not here over a period of months as they once were. It is interesting and very amusing watching “babies” learn new things.
I believe the video included in this post is a group of “baby” hummingbirds. They are either babies or they are adults new to our yard and they have not seen the “house” that we allow our cat to go outside in. The hummingbirds swarm around the house to see what exactly is the threat of the animal inside. It is quite entertaining. They did this just a few times and have since learned that she is no threat and they act as if she is not there. The squirrels often check her out though. They climb on the table and peer in at her. She just looks back at them, rarely does she rush at them. She knows she can’t get them, but I don’t think they are always so sure.
On this video you can hear the birds making their little chitter noise. I imagine them saying, “What is it doing? What is it? Can it eat us?”
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