Tag Archives: birds

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Bird brains.

June 14, 2020 Rivergirl 25 Comments

First let’s deal with the peckers.

Because we all know not paying attention to peckers makes them crazy.

This is a hairy woodpecker.

Why hairy?

Your guess is as good as mine.

He loves the peanut nugget feeder and is an expert at extracting them.

There.

Now you can say you’ve had a hairy pecker wink at you.

This is a downy woodpecker.

Why downy?

Your guess is as good as mine.

To be honest, he looks more like a Storm Trooper from Star Wars to me.

Then we have a pair of Mallard ducks who visit daily.

The female strolls around under the bird feeder collecting scraps….

While the drake plops down and takes a load off.

That’s one chill duck.

Big Tom turkey?

Yes, we have one of those too.

And finally, a Baltimore Oriole getting his junk food Jones satisfied with some grape jelly.

It would be nice if he didn’t poo all over the feeder…. but hey.

Who am I to judge?

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Random critters.

June 10, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

Squirrels have to be brave to cross the wide treeless open that is the bird feeder area of our backyard.

So we rarely see more than one grey.

Until there’s something worth having that is.

These little sparrows adore the boxwood shrubs.

And the woodchuck?

Still feeding, still fat…

And now?

Winking and waving as well.

This last pic looks like a little inter species communication is happening.

Although aside from the deer saying “Please don’t poop on me.” I’m not sure what they have to talk about.

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Ducks… and a deer.

June 3, 2020 Rivergirl 22 Comments

We now have daily duck visitors.

A pair of mallards who make me smile and cut grapes in half. It’s the best food for ducks…. though they prefer to nibble on deer grain.

They’re here off and on all day but make a point of showing up about 4:00pm when I put out the nightly treats for the deer.

You would think the considerably larger deer would scare them off.

But in actuality, it’s the opposite.

The deer is frightened of the ducks and makes sure to eat on the opposite side.

Keeping one eye on those terrifying birds the whole time.

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Do you ever feel like you’re being watched?

June 2, 2020 Rivergirl 16 Comments

On a late afternoon trip to Home Depot for baby barn supplies….and okay, maybe a plant or two…. we were desperately hungry and hit the McDonalds drive thru.

If you know how much we hate McDonalds, you’ll know how desperately hungry we were.

Geranium perched between my legs, we scarfed down the (is this supposed to be edible?) food.

And while we were doing that?

They gathered.

One by one, on both sides… as well as in the front and the back.

Not wanting to re-create a Tippi Hendren phone booth scene, we ate quickly and fled.

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Sunrise, pandemic rocks, great ideas and dirty birds.

May 25, 2020 Rivergirl 14 Comments

A post of random trivial things that aren’t worthy of their own blog.

First, a sunrise photo a friend of mine took the other day.

She lives on a lake…. and I have to say that looks like a pretty sweet way to wake up.

Rocks?

Don’t mind if I do.

The Covid 19 versions someone cleverly painted.

Brilliant ideas?

Yes, they’re still out there.

See?

I found one.

These days social distancing is more important then ever….. so let’s commend those who go the extra mile.

What?

She doesn’t know where that bird has been.

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Critter cam.

May 22, 2020 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Alright, that’s a lie.

It’s just me snapping shots from the window. But that’s not a snappy title… so get over it.

Our fox is coming every night now.

And sometimes he/she brings a friend.

They’re such beautiful creatures.

And wonderful at keeping the mouse population under control.

As you can see from the bird feeders, it’s Baltimore Oriole time.

They’re gorgeous, but quick.

And catching a good shot is rare.

We put out oranges and grape jelly, which they adore.

Of course, so does everyone else.

A raccoon comes in at midnight and strips the jelly…

And this hairy woodpecker makes short work of the oranges.

Our resident chucker is still here.

Enjoying apples.

And salad scraps.

Life is good in my little corner of the world.

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A day most fowl… as well as foul.

May 11, 2020 Rivergirl 13 Comments

It started out well enough, with a sighting of a beloved yet rarely seen visitor.

This time he was across the street, walking along the edge of our neighbor’s farm.

He’s a beautiful ring necked pheasant we named Phineas.

They’re not native to Maine and can’t survive the winters, but a man up the road raises them and occasionally one or two will break free. Last year, Phineas brought his woman to our backyard. She was looking for a nesting site… but we never did see any chicks.

Later on in the day….

Saturday, May frickin‘ 9th?

We had ducks.

And snow.

This is the first time we’ve ever had mallards.

Sadly….it isn’t the first time we’ve had snow in May.

The ducks stayed quite a while, raiding the droppings from the bird feeders and the leftover deer grain.

And then a friend joined them.

A fowl day for sure.

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I’m glad.

April 20, 2020 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Very glad I bought bird seed the last time I went to the store.

Because if this batch isn’t kept happy….

It could get ugly.

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Did you know….

April 6, 2020 Rivergirl 46 Comments

There’s a school in Reykjavik, Iceland that teaches you how to spot elves?

I did, because….

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Yes, you can enroll here and start learning all there is to know about trolls, fairies, gnomes and other assorted mythical creatures.

Admit it.

You want to go.

Did you know...

The tongues of flamingos were a common delicacy at ancient Rome feasts?

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Apparently Nero thought so as well.

Did you know.…

The word misteltoe derives from the Anglo-Saxon words mistel and tan?

Mistel means dung…. and tan means twig. So the next time you steal a kiss at Christmas? You’ll be doing it under a dung twig.

Can’t get much more romantic than that.

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Did you know….

The band Steely Dan got it’s name from a William Bourroughs book called Naked Lunch.

Steely Dan III was a strap on dildo.

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Which gives an entirely new meaning to this meme.

(Yes, all the above statements are true.

Knowledge is a wonderful thing!)

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Dead things, live things and lots of things in between.

February 23, 2020 Rivergirl 17 Comments

After we settled into resort #2, we tried to pick a day’s activity that we could all enjoy… because yours truly was not visiting another theme park, no matter how much I loved that child.