Eight...Count 'em...EIGHT Blue Jays!

We ran out of peanuts at the homestead last week and our "blue babies" were not very happy with us! I intended to buy peanuts over the weekend (Sunday) but their squawks on Saturday morning told me they were very hungry...NOW! To tide them over until Sunday, I sifted through my birdseed and gathered as many sunflower seeds as possible. I sat them on the bar on the deck in the old Kong flyer that we use as a "dish" for the Blue Jays. There didn't seem to be much action on Saturday...probably because we were outside with Oscar for several hours.

Sunday morning, however, was a different story! It started when we woke up about 7:15 AM to the now familiar squawks of our blue-feathered friends. It sure sounded like there were several outside, but just how many we didn't know. We went downstairs to have breakfast and as I went to put Oscar outside, I saw them! It was like a scene out of Hitchcock's "The Birds" except it was all Blue Jays instead of Crows.

EIGHT OF THEM!

They were everywhere! On the pergola, in the two trees by the pond, in the tree at the other end of the deck, on the deck railing, and on the bar! It was incredible! Last year, I suspected that several Blue Jays were a family because two were larger than the rest and the ones that were smaller were "awkward." Has the family expanded? Are these eight all related? I don't know...but what I do know is that I have even more "blue baby" mouths to feed than I thought!

Of course, I don't mind. Blue Jays are one of my favorites! Just this morning while I was brushing my teeth, one landed in the tree outside of my bathroom, turned and looked at me, and squawked as if to say, "You're running a few minutes late, aren't you? There are no peanuts out here yet!"

Silly blue babies!

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

Watch the Birdie!

Yesterday afternoon/early evening was an exciting time for watching birds around the house. The excitement started with Chris' spot of an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) in our front garden. At first, neither of us was sure what kind of bird it was, but after a quick check of my field guide for PA birds, we were able to make the ID. I then put in the bird song/call CD that accompanied the field guide and we listened to the song and call of the Eastern Towhee. Chris said he'd been hearing it out back all week.

After dinner, I decided to sit out on the deck to enjoy the lovely weather and began listening and looking for birds in our stand of trees. Almost immediately, a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) began chirping and climbing one of the trees. I ran inside to grab my binoculars for a better view. When I returned, it took me a few minutes to find the bird again, but once I did, I was able to zero in on him and make the ID. I ran back in the house for my field guide for PA birds and my Smithsonian eastern region bird guide so they were handy.

I didn't make any other new or rare IDs last night, but in the 25 minutes that I sat outside, I was able to watch and enjoy the antics of the White-breasted Nuthatch, several American Robins (Turdus migratorius), and several Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina). Chipping Sparrows were eating Nyjer seed at the feeder, not on the ground which is their usual M.O. They are easily one of my favorite birds, simply because of their light and airy "tzee" chip or chirp that they make.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

I am a REALLY crappy blogger!

So...where is that October 7, 2009 blog post? It never happened. Shocked? I'm not.

A lot did happen last summer around the house and in the garden and here are some highlights:

• tomato blight - it hit us and we lost all 24 tomato plants...it was awful...and frustrating...and disappointing
• Chris' giant pumpkin - it just grew and grew and grew and when it was all said and done, it weighed 319.5 lbs! There are pictures on Chris' blog at http://www.cablebandit.net/tag/pumpkin/
• green beans, broccoli, and zucchini were awesome in the garden last year - hoping for a repeat this year
• corn was a bust and we've decided to discontinue it for 2010
• hummingbird activity was fantastic - I got a second feeder as a birthday present and will have three feeders this year - two out back and one in the front (it's a window feeder)
  
• bird activity in general was awesome - man I love birds!!!
• the push mower died so we bought a John Deere garden tractor and it rules!

Over the winter, we had a ton of deer coming through (as evidenced by the deer track superhighway through and across the yard) so we started buying "deer apples" by the bushel ($5) from the local orchard and leaving 10-12 out per night. That was a huge hit with the deer population and it seemed to save my bird feeder from getting hit as hard (at times, they'd empty the entire thing in one night!).

Here's what's already happening in 2010:

• bird activity continues to deliver - goldfinches are finally coming into their colors and are all over the place; blue jays continue to think they have us trained to feed them peanuts on command (because they do!); I had my very first cedar waxwing sighting ever on March 20th - there were three of them and they were incredible; our two bird boxes are filled with tons of crap (sticks, grass, feathers, fur) and if there are no eggs tonight, they are getting cleaned out - they've been that way for two weeks now.
• the perennial (hummingbird/butterfly) garden is sprouting to life and it just thrills me to no end!
• strawberries are coming up in the big garden and looking very healthy - we got those from our friends Nanette and Roy and are very excited about them!
• we are tearing out all of the plants along our privacy fence and planting two raspberry and two blueberry bushes and looking forward to reaping the benefits of them!
• Chris has begun hoeing the big garden, getting it ready for a major tilling and then planting next month
• we've casually discussed what we will plant in the big garden, but we need to have a serious discussion about it soon - one thing we know...NO CORN!

I took some pictures around the homestead last weekend and will try to post them this week.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...