Ready, Set, Bird!

I am participating in Jen's from I Used To Hate Birds, (see my sidebar) Birdathon! Would you like to make a pledge to help me Help Her raise money for the Audubon Society of Oregon? If you do just go here...

Sondra's Birdathon Page

and you can pledge per species or make a donation! I am then giving my raised funds to Jen's team..

It is going to be fun you can pledge as little (0.01 per bird & Up...I think!) 

I sold this cute birdhouse on my Ebay listings! 

I have a goal of seeing at least 20 birds ( I do believe I will see more than that tho) and since my Mom is in the hospital with a broken hip (her Left this time) I will be birding in and around the yard, hospital, the drive to and from etc..and I've got some special spots in mind too! 

Immature Bald Eagle?

I think I will have mine done by the weekend I have until May 8th to do it! BUT that whole first week of May is filled with Dr Appts and stuff so This weekend is looking good for me! 

It's any bird you see hear or otherwise can ID its RAD as Jen would say she is super cool and all of you 

BIRD NERDS will love her blog check it out!! 

Pileated Silhouette

I probably WONT be getting any good photos to share of my finds....since I sold MY camera--yeeees-- and made a small profit!! I will wait the 14 day return period before I buy a new one JIC!

Monochrome Mocker

I have decided I want either a Canon SX 50 or a Panasonic FZ 70 zoom  size is smaller for me to handle with my new hands...and no lens to try and change with my clumsiness! They both have mega zooms, and a view finder...and good mega pixel count!  I will however try to get some photos with the Kodak that has NO view finder and is dang hard to see what you doing when your hands are doing the watossie!!

brown thrasher in a brown bush

Mom has had the hip surgery same DR who put me back together put her back together! She said we are 

The Falling Wallings sounds like an acrobat act right? Hahaha
 In my next blog I'll report my Birdathon findings!

Okay Lets Get Birding!!!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

A Day Ago 4-14-14...

Can you get over this cold blast on the last day we should be having frost in my area we are under a frost freeze warning! I spent the last half hr trying to cover stuff up piling leaves over what I could...

And today the first female hummer arrived the males are here almost 2 weeks already! Saw one male doing the "I may get lucky dance"...pretty cool the female was not impressed she was just sitting on the perch sipping that sugary awesome stuff we make for them. 

this is an example of a photo I should have cropped before showing but ....didnt!

There is a baby squirrel in my tool shed... I've been tossing him some grapes he loves those, NO I don't normally feed squirrels, but I think I may have accidentally relocated his mother...I don't think he is still of nursing age, but he depends on her to bring him food so I'm bringing him food..this is not him this is the one in the yard whose mother brought him out to teach him the ropes..I'll try to get a photo of the orphan when the weather gets better!

(rain today cold front coming in)

...nap time- if only they could stay this cute eh?

The Dogwoods are in bloom...I hope this cold blast doesn't kill the blossoms...it may 

and the wisteria is blooming too....We dont let ours get out of  hand, so we have only a few blooms...the bees love it!

The girls are happy to be out wandering around.

Annie

and Flossie...

I whacked off some of her hair...I know its awful....

This is all I could get of the moon, the clouds moved in so fast...

NOW I took that photo with the Canon I recently purchased...I took the one below with my Kodak a year ago...I like it much better!!! Dang wish it was still working.  The Canon is too heavy and awkard for me to focus with my hands and wrists the way they are now...so...

... I listed it and it has sold---I will buy myself another bridge camera that is light weight, easy to use and can take the beating I give my equipment! I'll keep ya posted on that.

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Carolina Sandhills Visit

The weather is so nice we wanted to see what we could find in a nearby wildlife refuge.

Carolina Sandhills NWR is a spot we visit several times through out the year. Its very close by... I never see any wading birds as they keep the water too deep for that.  I wish it could be better regulated for wading birds and waterfowl. It seems they worry more about the long leaf pine trees.  That's all good and well but doesn't all this burning make the water acidic? I'm just wondering out loud...cause I don't know.

a recent burn area

Around the ponds I can hear lots of songbirds, and some allow a photo...but most are hiding...

A curious Pine warbler came out to see me, but hiding way back where no clear photo was possible was the Common Yellow Throat. One area has a photo blind, I flushed some wood duck upon arrival no shot of them...but these geese were floating nearby.

These geese are wild and migrate, not like the geese at Oak Grove Lake who nearly knock you down for a hand out...the woods are coming alive with all the color its almost like fall with the maples, and oaks budding out.

The Yellow Jasmine is our state flower its in full blossom now...usually it creeps up a tree to the top and blooms high up...this one is out on the edge of the woods.

 A little chipping sparrow got curious and wasn't too scared to get his picture made!!

  The fields are getting green, yellow, and lavender from the small meadow flowers that emerge very early... One bird that was out and about was the Kestrel.  I saw several, so I guess they are looking for small rodents and insects. 

He wanted nada to do with me, 

a crop here of his fly by...

Back by the ponds, the Eastern Kingbird loves to go after the flies over the water...here's a great look at his feathers! 

and his front side...

And we ran this fox squirrel up a tree sometimes these are solid black, or we get this grey/red/black/white variety! They are bigger than the normal grey's and they have a longgg fluffy tail, and move along in an undulating fashion.  See his masked face? These fox squirrels are not as well adapted to interaction with humans I've never had one let me get close...

Had a cool bird in the yard this week, the Black and White Warbler. 

I've got a bad case of spring fever!! Pollen is everywhere that lends to a physical case of spring fever 

aaaa-choooooo

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

The restoration of bliss...

Im sitting here sipping coffee...you should get a cup yourself, before you read this epic saga...

I can hear the white-throated-sparrows singing their song, Mr. Peabody, peabody, peabody....so cute! One of my very favorite songsters, life is really good you know!!!!! But it hasnt always been that way....

...there was the Goldfish Ying and Yang I raised in my wee water garden, then...

they disappeared without a trace...WTH??...

These last few days have been rough since Rory the fire breathing DRA-ccoon started terrorizing me and the dogs----now its been 3 nights in a row.  He attacks at midnight and then continues to attack all thru the night.  2 am, 3 am, The girls are exhausted from barking, I'm exhausted from trying to stop them from barking all night and running around the yard at 4 am in my underwear chasing this damned raccoon off my bird feeders, off my deck, out of my yard, out of my slumber! 

Come 7 am Wednesday I was wasted...but  I was scheduled to have blood work done at the hospital lab, just routine stuff...and I was told its okay to sip a little coffee before going...thank you nurse Setup for that tidbit.....well its okay to do it, HOWEVER... its NOT okay to tell them you did it!! So I was up at the crack, gone without food, and only sipped a wee bit of the caffeine bliss, was  met at the sign in desk by Tech-Sgt. Leadbelly and sent home!! DRAT...and other words no where close to that one slipped out of my irritated brain and off my couldn't keep it shut tongue!

So come back tomorrow....she jeered then sneered...

WTH??? "Come back tomorrow, no...but....please...I didnt mean to break the RULES, wont you just please listen it was only a sip and an I didnt even swallow!!"

 She didnt buy it......so I resign myself to come back tomorrow Holy Cow!!! But before tomorrow could come another night of terror has to be survived.

Wednesday night....more raids by the DRA-coon, at 12:00 hrs he made his first attack on the feeder by the deck off my bedroom.  I jumped out of bed, hit the light and saw the double crystal eyes staring back, course the dogz were barking rapid fire and all I had was one rock left to throw ( I keep a Rock Jar by the door for Squirrel attacks) since I broke my wrists I cant even toss it in a straight line let alone throw it and hit something but I give it a try and fall way short of the mark...he wobbled off in the dark...unbothered, unharmed, and undeterred- DAMN!!  I slam the door go back to bed...

• 03:35 BARKING is heavy and frantic....I jump up there he is....chase him again this time running out onto the grass barefoot wearing tank n skivies...he hi-tails it up the first tree and looks at me about the same way Leadbelly did....(come back tomorrowwww moron)
• 04:22 "He's backkkk" another round of fire by the dogs, I sling a flower pot drain pan it hurled around like a boomerang and nearly hit me in the knee caps...Raccoon was laughing as he easily avoided it and scampered across the yard to the dark forest...I slam the door.
• 06:00 am,,,,,I'm in bed and could barely see thru the glass door and the dim light his bushy ringed tail wrapped around the feeder, I just lay there helplessly and watch...whats the use? Dogs going nutz again...I put the pillows over my head...heck they will sleep all day --me I got to go see Tech-Sgt Leadbelly again with NO caffeine in me. Neary a drop....holy macro will I survive it?
• 08:30 am Tech-Sgt. smiles her crooked all-knowing, I have control of  your life, smile "did you eat or drink anything?" I was about to say, "I had a double slam at Denny's," but then I realized there is not one shred of giggle in this woman and said "Not one drop!" Amazingly she sort of squinted at me like I was lying anyways!! So finally they got my samples! By this time my butt is dragging I have to drop 3 boxes at the post office from my yesterday Ebay sales, and back in the car I hit a Drive-thru...something you will never rarely see me do...fast food joint---me? COFFEE please!

Its so freakin' hot I nearly burn my hand trying to place it in the drink holder...again my wrists don't bend that way any longer..."No wonder that lady sued, dear Heavens this is like volcanic lava hot"...I got no sleep, had to appease Leadbelly, scalded by coffee,...and Im just done and its only 09:30.  I'm not a napper, I have to be running a fever of 105 to sleep when the sun is out all I can hear is John Wayne in my  left ear saying Daylights a burning...get these cattle moving!

So I pushed my herd around all day doing the stuff I had to do, on the day I didnt get the blood work done I went to the Goodwill found all sorts to list on my Ebay so I cleaned the stuff  up photoed it and did some listings...

yawned all day...and made my plan imagine that scene in Home Alone where he spreads out the shelf paper with his plan of attack all drawn out...that's me,

here is the plan...

• Before dark I set up my now famous squirrel relocation cage. (to date somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 squirrels have been magically teleported to a place Far Far Away in this magic carpet ride box...
• I would remove ALL the bird feeders and bait the cage with my best Berry N Nut mix. He wont be able to resist. 
• I will close the doggie door so the girlz cant chase him...and then I'll wait!!

So daylight was just dipping to dusk Wheel of fortune was about half way over.... when I hear the trap snap shut...YIPPIE...I've got him!!

NOT....ITS a danged old Squirrel! *&^% so I have to give him a ride off to the 40 acre woods...good riddance and no love lost!! Come back home reset the trap....and now its time for Jeopardy!

I checked the trap before bedtime...nada.  Retired at 11 ish....and at 12:30  he struck I'm roused out of a troubled sleep...I can hear the bamboo poles that hang off my feeder support rattling, he is up on the pole there is no feeder...so I wait the girlz go nutz barking inside the house...I hear no slam shut of the cage....I wait then get out of bed to check the trap.... NOPE he is no where to be seen..Dad-nabbit!! Back to sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

• 04:00 Annie is by my bed, trying her best to rouse me, "leave me alone, go back to sleep" 
• 05:00 Flossie by my bed, whinning..."ughhhh get outta here" I turn over...
• 06:00 Annie is back...."What is it?"Then I recall...OH damn... the cage." 

Rush to the door throw it open and shout "Glory be to Heaven I have WON."  There he was eyes glaring I got my camera turned it on and pushed the button...came up with this bleary shot off the edge of the deck....

I put a coat on over my sleepwear, grabbed my keys jump into some clogs, out the door and grabbed the cage....HEAVY could barely lift it with 2 hands I'm used to those lightweight squirrels...off we go..

it looked exactly like this to me cause I forgot my glasses....omg I drove about 2 miles away down a dirt road,  the kind your worst nightmares go down in those night horrors you've had, and there is this mysterious locked gate....and a driveway of sorts wayyyy back off the road is a clubhouse where men meet when they go deer hunting its a hunting lodge? Well its perfect this coon is a hunter!!

So I open the back of my Blazer draggg the cage out-this sucker is heavy-

set it on the ground, open the trap door and <<<<<<<<ZOOM>>>>>>>>> he shot out like a rocket...I tried to get a photo of his departing figure but the flash didn't fire and he was outta there!!!!!!!!!!! And I had no glasses anyways Imagine the scene, a 60ish grey headed woman, in a tank top and shorties, with a hoodie concealing her true identity, wearing bohemian clogs, on her feet, a camera around her neck, she is squinting cause she is blind without her glasses, and on the ground before her is a caged WILD Raccoon, filled with terror,  clawing the cage, and making funny noises like he is saying-- "I didnt mean to break the rules, please give me a break, I didnt mean to insult you"....sound familiar...sooo glad no one was out to witness this...

he disappeared into this darkness.....

...back at home, 06:45  I'm yawning, standing there in my sleepwear,clogs,& coat, camera is still around my neck hair all over the place.....making coffee...Mom rouses from her room...

"What's going on out here?" 

I answer..."you want some coffee?"

(no animals were hurt in the making of this blog, some  however were trapped and released unharmed)

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.