Brazen Birds

At my family's cabin, we often put out a few unsalted peanuts for the local Steller's Jays to enjoy.  The antics they get up to are quite fun.  Last weekend, I noticed that there was a Jay who hung around and seemed quite comfortable, even to the point of sitting only a few feet from us when we were outside on the deck.  Upon seeing how brazen and comfortable the bird seemed to be, I turned to my family and told them that I could get the bird to take a peanut out of my hand, he seemed so tame.  While this was said in jest, they told me I would never get him to do it.  This was a challenge I couldn't resist.  Here is the fruit of my endeavor.

For those of you out there who are worried about a wild bird being fed by humans, the peanuts are a treat and in no way do they make up the entirety of the birds' diet.  Typically there are half a dozen or more who stop by to get a nut or two, because of how much birds need to eat, a few peanuts can not possibly suffice for their entire diet.

Birding at Caswell State Park

It's Easter (or Spring) break now, and typically that means I use the week to catch up on work and projects at home that need to be done.  Today my brother and I took a break from work to spend a few hours at Caswell State Park, located in the central valley of California.  This beautiful forest is lush and green and runs along the Stanislaus River.  It's what is known as a riparian woodland, which just means it's the lush green woods typically found around a body of water, like the Stanislaus River.

Here's a copy of their brochure, for more information:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/557/files/CaswellMemorialbrochure.pdf

We saw some amazing birds today. Unfortunately I was unable to get good pictures of the birds with my personal camera.  I will list the birds I saw and suggest that you look up the birds on the Audubon website: www.audubon.org

Here's the list:
Spotted Towhee
White-Crowned Sparrow
Bank Swallow
Wood Duck
Great Blue Heron - white morph
Belted Kingfisher
Swainson's Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
White Breasted Nuthatch
Black Phoebe
Nuttall's Woodpecker
American Crow
Western Bluebird
Western Scrub Jay
Marsh Wren

I was definitely most excited about the Heron and the Kingfisher.  They were very hard to spot and very shy.  Almost as soon as we found them, they would take off and hide again.  The hawk was amazing, too.  It was quite close and screamed several times.  I hope you look up pictures of these birds, and perhaps next time I will have pictures of my own to show you!

Fun Front Yard Birds!

My family and I were coming home from breakfast one morning when I noticed a handful of birds with unusual profiles (unusual to me).  I could see a slight crest to the feathers on the back of their head, and I got kind of excited, so I ran inside, quietly so as not to scare these birds away, and grabbed my binoculars, camera, and bird book.  I suspected they might be waxwings, though I had no real idea why I thought so.  I'd seen pictures of the waxwings in my bird book while looking for other birds, but I had never studied the pictures or read any of the information about them.  Turns out I was right!  A small flock of Cedar Waxwings called the tree in my front yard home for about two weeks.  They were there everyday.  I sat out on my front porch for almost an hour studying these birds, watching their behavior, practicing taking close-up pictures with my sad little point and shoot camera.  It was a great time.  Scroll down for pictures of these pretty little birds.  Here's a link to their information on the Audubon website:
http://birds.audubon.org/birds/cedar-waxwing
(I have no affiliation with the Audubon Society, other than finding their information most helpful)

Notice the crest behind the head

Yellow tip on tail feathers

There is a small red spot on the wings, this is not always visible

Getting into Birding

I grew up with a love of birds, instilled in me by my paternal grandmother.  I spent a lot of time with her as a little girl, and everywhere we went, she would point out different species of bird and ask me what they were. I loved it!  It even went so far, in my funny little girl's mind, that I thought I could tell the difference between birds of the same species I saw around my house, and I would name them and talk to them when I played outside.  When my grandmother passed away, I was 9 years old.  I inherited her field binoculars and bird book, the same binoculars and book we used when we went anywhere to look at birds.  Now, I'm 24, and my parents bought me a very nice pair of binoculars for Christmas. So, what did I do?  I took up bird-watching, or birding, of course! I'm still very much a beginner, but I'm loving everything about delving into the world of birds.  It's not just about what birds you see, identifying said birds.  It's about the time spent to find an elusive bird, even if it turns out to be a common sparrow.  It's about watching the bird's behavior, taking your time, understanding what they're doing.

The best resources I've found for anyone interested in bird watching are the Sibley Guides (written by David Allen Sibley) and the Audubon Society.  I own several guidebooks, field guides, and other literature on birding from both of these sources.  There is also a Sibley phone app that I am looking into purchasing, which (in addition to having field notes on the birds) has sound recordings of bird calls and songs.

I've been on a few bird watching excursions since receiving my new binoculars, and have since listed the species of birds I was able to identify.  My list now stands at 22 different species, and I know that I will add to that every day.  I will post pictures that I took on these excursions soon.  In the meantime, here are generic pictures of some of my favorite birds:

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Western Bluebirds - male/female

American Goldfinch - female

Black Phoebe

Downy Woodpecker - female

House finches - male/female

Pileated Woodpecker

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Spotted Towhee (I've also seen it called Rufous-sided)

All Creatures Great and Small

All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all
~Cecil Frances Alexander

Ever since I was small, I have loved animals of every shape and size.  Now that I'm an adult, I still love them, and I can have my own small menagerie.  My current lot of critters consists of 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (family dogs, and not technically mine per say), 5 parakeets, 3 rats, 2 fire bellied toads, 2 guppies, 4 platies, and a chinese algae eater.  These guys constantly have me laughing, worrying, or scratching my head over their antics. And so, I have decided to share them with you.  Sadly, my camera is not working tonight, but I will have pictures of them all up soon.  In the meantime, here are names and descriptions to be placed with pictures later.

The Dogs:

Daisy is a 16 year old Cavalier Spaniel mix (we think), and the love of my life.  I found this delightful, happy girl 13 years ago outside my Jr High.  After about a week with my family, we finally located her actual owners and returned her to her home.  A month later, the family called us and asked if we would like to take her.  While not being the brightest flower in the bunch, Daisy is a happy go lucky little girl who, despite her age, bounces around the house everyday looking for a treat, a belly rub, or some mischief to get into.

Bailey is a 7 year old Cav, and a ginormous baby.  We got him for my mom when he was 7 months old, and sometimes he still thinks he's that tiny puppy.  Bailey loves anything with a squeaker, and other random objects he thinks are "his," like utility rope, stuffed animals, and the occasional shoe.  He hates raspberries (the mouth noise, not the food....) and being locked out of bedrooms at night.

The Birds:

Silarya (aka Aria) is the start of my collection.  We found this gorgeous girl wandering the streets, and were unable to locate an owner.  Being a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, I gave her the elvish name Silarya which translates to shining day.  You'll see why when you see her feathers.  I'm also a musician, so I have short nicknames for all my birds that are music related.

Tuilindo (aka Maestro) was bought as a companion for Aria.  He's a pretty little green parakeet, and he and Aria are pretty much inseparable.  Tuilindo is elvish for spring singer.

Lone (aka Sfortzando) was given to me by an acquaintance along with his friend Forte because the birds were occupying the room which was to become their baby's room.  He is a pretty little turquoise and white bird.  Lone is elvish for deep pool, of which his turquoise color reminded me.

Lindoroma (aka Forte) is Lone's sister, and definitely the loudest of the bunch.  She is Lone's twin in every way, including color and volume.  In fact, her elvish name means loud little singing bird.  She's the first one up in the morning and the last one asleep at night.

Quessanulla (aka Coda) is the last of my birds....for now.  He's a pretty grey parakeet, which is exactly why I got him.  His elvish name means dusky feather, and that's exactly what he is.  Unfortunately he is the odd man out in my little flock of birds, but the cage I have now would be crowded with another bird.  I am in the process of looking for a bigger cage for my feathered friends, so if anyone has a cage large enough to house 6 parakeets, let me know!

The Rats:

Donna, Rose, and River are definitely my favorite of my own personal critters (so not the dogs).  Rats just have so much life and curiosity.  I have owned close to a dozen rats due to their short life spans and always keeping multiple at a time.  I did have one girl, Circe, live to be about 5, and I was heart-broken when she finally died.  Anyway, my three girls now are all named after Dr Who characters.  I did have a 4th, Martha, but sadly she died several months back.  Donna is the oldest, and sadly on her last legs.  Rose is the middle child, and definitely the spunkiest.  River is my newest little girl, and still a bit skittish.

The Fish Tank:

I have a 10 gallon tank that is 1/2 full and partially land.  In here I have 2 fire bellied toads (Trevor and Oscar) and some small fish.  This is the newest addition to my collection, and the tank has been up and running for almost 2 months.  Everyone gets along great.

So there's a short introduction to my zoo.  I will post pictures of everyone soon.  Let the fun begin!