Birds | wordsfromanneli

November 23, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 28 Comments

Good to Eat?

Imagine being known for your good flavour on the dinner table. The godwit was known, several hundred years ago, to be a “god whit,” a good creature (for the dinner table, it is presumed).

It was netted and sold at market, fetching even more than a snipe might have sold for in those long ago days.

These marbled godwits were dabbling around at the beach, poking their long bills into the sand in search of any small invertebrates they might feast on.

Their long legs help to keep their bodies from getting wet unnecessarily, but these birds do swim. For foraging though, they have more luck near the shore in waters shallow enough to walk around in without getting their bellies wet. Their long bills can easily probe the sand or mud there without having to dive for what may or may not be there.

They are no longer considered a target as a gamebird. Luckily for them, it is too much work to hunt and prepare these birds for the small amount of meat they offer for the table.

And like the turkeys that the president pardons each year, these godwits are thankful for their own version of the “Passover” at Thanksgiving.

November 21, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 41 Comments

Wild Weather

Before the big windstorm happened, the Captain was keeping a few cans of beer cool, in a plastic tote on top of the patio table that you can just see the corner of at the right side of the photo.

The second patio table, the round one on the left, used to sit in the middle of the deck where the fallen hanging basket is lying on its side now. The wind must have blown the table over as far as it could go.

The oranges were on the table beside the beer cans, to keep cool. I also had a small parsley plant in a pot. You might see it lying on its side without the pot near the far end of the deck. Just a matted clump of dirt with a few yellow green leaves in it.

The blue pieces are part of a small clay pot that I painted about ten years ago. I always liked that little pot, but never imagined that the wind could send it flying off the table and smash it. The white saucer used to be under the parsley pot. Not sure where that pot ended up. I think it was plastic so it may have flown to the neighbours’ place or be in the next town by now.

The bits of branches from the fir trees are relatively small compared to the branch that came down just beyond the deck, as you will see in the next photo.

I’m glad no people, dogs, or squirrels were out for a walk when this branch decided to drop in, and I was so happy to see the squirrels and two hummingbirds alive in the morning.

And so, further to the previous post about Thanksgiving Day, and all we have to be thankful for, I feel very thankful to have been spared major trouble from this windstorm. Even the few hours of a loss of power were not too bad. I can’t begin to imagine the terror people go through in hurricanes. Hearing this wind roar through like a freight train was bad enough.

November 17, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 38 Comments

Thankful on Thanksgiving Day

Since those unfortunate fat white turkeys have been raised in a domestic poultry setting, these wild turkeys have a lot to be thankful for every Thanksgiving Day. American Thanksgiving Day is on Nov. 28 this year. It’s still a few days away. Time for us to think about how blessed we are.

“Darlin’,” Mr. Turkey said,

“Sleep in trees or we are dead.”

“I see no coyote near,

Therefore, we have naught to fear.”

“But your night sight isn’t great,

Mildred learned that; she got ate.”

“You mean ‘eaten,’ don’t you love?

Fine, we’ll watch from up above.”

“Thank you, Lord, for common sense,

Otherwise, things could be tense.”

“We can roost up in a tree,

Count our blessings, you and me.”

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And yes, let’s count our blessings. There are way more than you think.

November 9, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 47 Comments

The Proud King and his Timid Queen

The golden-crowned sparrow and his girl are having an adventure on the feeding station roof. They are observed from a distance by a fox sparrow and his friend.

My golden crown means I am king,

It’s why I sit atop this thing.

Melodiously will I sing,

To celebrate the fall’s last fling.

Can anybody join you there?

You seem so high up in the air.

To be alone without a care,

Just doesn’t seem to be that fair.

But please, how do I get back down?

My happy face is now a frown,

I’m feeling foolish, like a clown,

My fear is negative renown.

Oh silly girl, just fly to me,

You’ve got two wings to flutter free,

A hero you don’t need to be,

If you come down I’ll marry thee.

Says foxy sparrow to his mate,

Such foolishness will not abate,

I’d marry you at any rate,

Just follow me and don’t be late.

October 31, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 48 Comments

And so it Begins

Robbie Robin thinks of spring,

And the bounty it can bring,

In the lower elevation,

Life was like a long vacation.

Summer berries in the hills,

How delicious were these frills,

In the forests by the streams,

Food enough to fill his dreams.

Ah, but what’s that ridge of white?

Yes, it is a pretty sight,

But it means the days are chill,

And he must come off the hill.

Food is scarce, the bugs are gone,

Must be time for moving on,

Back to lower, warmer climes,

And a few more happy times.

See my friends around my table,

Eating much as we are able,

Mountain ash is loaded full,

Grab the berries and just pull.

Oh, my heavens, see the snow,

I knew I was right to go,

One more feast on berries here,

Then I’ll say, “Goodbye, my dear.”

July 15, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 34 Comments

Hello World

You may remember the junco who guarded her nest in an unusual place.

My poor hanging basket had to go without its usual amount of water.

I didn’t want to drown the eggs in the nest the junco had made in the flower basket.

Today I thought I would check its progress and had a surprise. This little guy looks exhausted but he’s here.

I pecked and pecked for hours and hours,

And hoped it was not time for showers,

I know the flowers have to live,

But it’s a nest and not a sieve.

I slept and slept and snored and snored,

My mother left when she got bored,

It took so long to crack that shell,

But now I’m doing very well.

I panted, panted, smiled and smiled,

I have a brother, oh, how wild!

I’m not alone, in this big world,

Can’t wait to get my wings unfurled.

July 6, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 39 Comments

This Place is for the Birds

This spotted towhee has been living here for quite a while.

His wife is somewhere nearby but she’s more camera shy.

She looks much like her flashy husband, but her colours are slightly muted.

They have been nesting on the ground inside my fenced garden, usually under the thick rosemary bush. But this year I cut the rosemary back quite a bit, not thinking I was making the usual nesting area less inviting.

So the towhees chose the messiest corner of the garden where I had not weeded, and put a nest in the mess. I let the poppies grow up in the raised bed, thinking it would hide the weeds until I could get to them. Little did I know I was also helping hide a towhee nest.

I sneaked in there with my camera and got a picture of one towhee baby still in the nest. Mother had flown out when I came close but she went right back after I left. Now I’m hoping the baby will make it through the next critical days and weeks.

There’s no question of catching up with my weeding in this part of the jungle now.

Please click on the links below if you would like to take advantage of smashwords’ e-book sale. My e-books are 50% off during July.

July 1, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 38 Comments

Sorry, Sorry, oh, so Sorry!

Yesterday, I watered my hanging baskets, and, for the second time, scared up an Oregon junco, who flew up into the nearby firs and scolded me.

“How dare you pour water on me?” she chipped.

Today, I had a closer look. Yes, the junco flew out for the third time that I have disturbed her. But when I parted the flowers and looked into the base of the pot, I felt just sick to think I had been pouring water on a little junco nest of five eggs.

I felt terrible to think of what I had put her through, and that I might have hurt her eggs. I thought nesting time was over!

And now, I’m wondering how I can save my hanging basket if I don’t water it.

*****

P.S. The Smashwords sale begins today with my e-books being 50% off.

Go to the smashwords link https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/ and type in my book titles in the search box at the top of the page. You can find the titles on the sidebars of all my posts.

Sale is on for the month of July.

June 30, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 23 Comments

Watering

I’d found a perfect hiding place,

With flowers all of gold,

It sheltered, and provided snacks,

And kept me from the cold.

I slept there cozy, safe, and warm,

For breakfast there were bugs,

It once was so idyllic ’til

The dreaded water jugs.

The lady said, “A drink for you!”

And poured a deluge down,

The gush of water covered me,

I dashed out with a frown.

“Chipchip! Chipchip!” I scolded her,

At least she looked contrite,

And yet I felt I had to shout

And stand up for my right.

She’s done this to me two times now,

Perhaps she didn’t know,

But now that I’m the cleanest bird,

It’s probably time to go.

May 22, 2024
by wordsfromanneli 54 Comments

The Lonely Sea and the Sky

Last week the Captain and I went to a nearby beach. I took a few pictures and thought, “Why am I taking pictures of nothing?” When I looked at the photos later, I thought how lonely the sea and the sky looked and John Masefield came to mind. I have always loved his poem, “Sea Fever.”

(By the way, did you know that John Masefield was England’s poet laureate from 1930 to 1967?)

The first line was especially appropriate.

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

The rest of the poem didn’t fit because the sea was really quite tame, and the wind was not like a “whetted knife.”

But the loneliness of the great expanse of water was prevalent.

You may want to click on these photos to enlarge them, especially the ones with the lonely creatures in them. They are so tiny in an immense world.

In the first photo, the general setting. Notice the pink and blue striations in the water.

Now, notice in each subsequent photo, the one lonely thing in the setting. You will need to click to enlarge or you won’t see much. Use the back arrow to return to the page afterwards.