Watching The Birds

[GrandmasterP]

That's the third mow this month.

Unusually early but it has been unusually mild so the grass grows.

Only about a quarter inch off the top but it looks better for it.

I 'mow high' the first few mows then take it down after Easter.

Totally love my mower.

It has a Briggs and Stratton petrol engine.

So reliable.

Hauled out from winter storage gassed her up and first pull on the cord off she went.

Briggs and Stratton should make engines for cars!

[Marblehead]

Briggs and Stratton should make engines for cars!

Hehehe. They would likely do a better job than GM is doing right now.

 

I would think, from what you said, your lawn is some type of rye grass. Some people put rye seed down here in my area just to have a green lawn during the winter. It pretty much dies back when summer arrives but by then the other grass is green.

 

I haven't mowed my grass area yet. The only grass I have is the public access area between the road and the sidewalk. I have a lithium battery powered mower for doing that. However, there are some weeds growing strong in that area so I will likely be mowing it one day next week.

[Nungali]

That's quite an assortment of vocalizations for those birds. Apparently you feed them regularly, them sitting in the sun porch like that.

 

Nah, thats an internet clip for demo purposes . besides , I wanted to share the call when you said you didnt get to hear many bird calls nowadays.

 

But I do feed mine a lot. They are fairly tame and sensible and can hand feed after a while, but better to toss and watch the acrobatics. They are tough little guys, I have seen them battling the big goanna here, and that horrible giant nipper cricket. The zoom in as soon as a motor starts, especially the tractor and slasher ... they play deadly chicken and will be battling something on the ground as you back up .... within, millimeters, swoop in and grab things from under the wheels ... freaky! But not much one can do about it, to panic or try to stop in time is dangerous, so just trust them ( and yell and swear at them like a cattle dog ) - been doing that for over 20 years - no accidents yet.

 

 

I stopped feeding them on the front porch as they would start brining their babies with them and then leave them there for me to bring up ... squawking on the doorstep for food - no thanks.

[Marblehead]

Nah, thats an internet clip for demo purposes . besides , I wanted to share the call when you said you didnt get to hear many bird calls nowadays.

I wasn't sure and that is why I mentioned as I did. But it still could have been your video that you had uploaded.

 

But I do feed mine a lot. They are fairly tame and sensible and can hand feed after a while, but better to toss and watch the acrobatics. They are tough little guys, I have seen them battling the big goanna here, and that horrible giant nipper cricket. The zoom in as soon as a motor starts, especially the tractor and slasher ... they play deadly chicken and will be battling something on the ground as you back up .... within, millimeters, swoop in and grab things from under the wheels ... freaky! But not much one can do about it, to panic or try to stop in time is dangerous, so just trust them ( and yell and swear at them like a cattle dog ) - been doing that for over 20 years - no accidents yet.

Yeah, I suppose that they have to take advantage of all opportunities for getting food. I've never seen such activities first hand but have seen many documentaries that include such. Interesting how much they can actually learn.

 

I stopped feeding them on the front porch as they would start brining their babies with them and then leave them there for me to bring up ... squawking on the doorstep for food - no thanks.

Hehehe. I can very well understand your rationale.

 

I'm still waiting for my first sighting of the woodpecker coming to the feeder to get sunflower seeds to eat. I have seen any land on the new feeder I put up last summer but the woodpeckers have been here ever since I put it up.

 

I saw yesterday out at the ponds that there is one egg in the nest that the birds built in one of my Christmas Cactus hanging baskets. I will keep an eye on it and when the egg hatches likely move the basket to an area away from the water. I don't want that same mishap repeating itself.

[GrandmasterP]

Those coal tits have made a nest in the Buddleia.

They had a go last year but abandoned it, hopefully this year may be more successful for them.

[Marblehead]

I wish them well.

[GrandmasterP]

Hehehe. They would likely do a better job than GM is doing right now.

 

I would think, from what you said, your lawn is some type of rye grass. Some people put rye seed down here in my area just to have a green lawn during the winter. It pretty much dies back when summer arrives but by then the other grass is green.

 

I haven't mowed my grass area yet. The only grass I have is the public access area between the road and the sidewalk. I have a lithium battery powered mower for doing that. However, there are some weeds growing strong in that area so I will likely be mowing it one day next week.

The back lawn's heavy duty grass seed mix as we're on it a lot so are the dogs, pretty vigorous and tough.

The front lawn which is for looking at and gets minimal walking on is fine turf and not so vigorous.

No chance of die-back here during most summers are we generally have enough rain, and more than enough sometimes.

Once it warms up I'm mowing twice a week.

Did all the edging this afternoon first time since last November.

That was 'fun' going round with the crescent spade is easy enough but picking it all up and cleaning round afterwards was a chore and a half.

My poor old back knows about it right now!

Edited March 30, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Marblehead]

Yeah, I remember those days when I was a kid living in Toledo, Ohio. Mow the grass and two days later it is ready to be mowed again.

 

Down here my soil is mostly lime sand. I don't fertilize the public access area that I have to mow so the only thing that grows there are the indigenous plants, mostly weeds and one type of grass (Bahia).

 

I gave up on the spade and shovel for edging and bought a powered edger. But still, I use it only once a year and just use the weed-eater the rest of the times.

 

I think I might let the birds watch me relaxing today. Hehehe. (Actually, I do have a couple projects on the list for today but most of that work will be outside.)

[GrandmasterP]

Enjoy.

Work day here.

1 til 9pm at the 'chalk face'.

Managed a tip run this morning with all the weekend's garden debris.

We get a free 'resident tipping' permit so I load up the van every now and again for the dump.

Never ceases to amaze me down at that council tip just what folks throw away.

I've come back with three perfect good deep 10 inch wide planter pots.

Edited March 31, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Marblehead]

We have yard waste pick-up and disposal here. (We pay for it, of course.)

 

And it is true about what people throw away. Sometimes I will have something I no longer want but instead of trashing it I put it out where passers-by can see it. I almost never have to end up trashing it as there are a couple guys who search the area where I live and will grab anything they think has a value of any kind.

 

Well, enjoy your work day. The sun is just starting to come up now so it won't be long 'till it is warm enough for me to go outside and get started with mine.

[Nungali]

.

We get a free 'resident tipping' permit so I load up the van every now and again for the dump.

Never ceases to amaze me down at that council tip just what folks throw away.

 

 

 

.... I wish I could get one of those .... its about $20 a small trailer load here ... they even charge you more if you are over the top a bit - it goes on sq. meterage. The local tip used to be a recycling centre and had a shop there as well and some guys that fixed things up for re-sale. The council put it up for tender and someone underbid to a ridiculous amount, the original guys said that was impossible and stupid but ( since the council is too ) they got the bid and rapidly started going broke, closed the shop, stopped all but basic recycling, anything good goes straight to land fill, put up the dumping charges and then had to plead for a $ injection from council which they got. .... much to the pissed- offedness of the originals. Its a real bummer as there is all this stuff I want to get rid off and I cant afford the fees. Not that I would. but that might just encourage others to dump in the forest and other places.

 

Thats my gripe for today .... I better say something on topic ..... the Ibis have taken over the rubbish dump from the seagulls ... a trend I have noticed lately ... even taking over at the park near the beach !

[GrandmasterP]

They are pretty good as far as waste disposal goes our county council.

We get a once a week house collection plus that free tipping permit.

Our rates ( local taxes) are amongst the lowest in the UK as well, only went up £9 for this next rates year on the entire year.

It's rural so hey don' waste money on community centres and stuff like that hence the saving out here in the county compared to colleagues who live and pay rates in the nearby city.

Those are really high.

On topic we get a lot of gulls round here as well and we are as far away from the sea as you can get in England.

They follow the plough.

Great flocks of 'em.

[Marblehead]

I rarely see a gull in my area but I do see an occasional ibis. But heron more often than ibis.

 

The little female that nested in the Christmas Cactus has been busy. There are now four eggs in the basket.

[Marblehead]

Well, my House Finch has returned. Haven't seen it since last summer. Likely spent the winter at Key West.

[Marblehead]

The little female that nested in the Christmas Cactus has been busy. There are now four eggs in the basket.

Now there are five!

[Marblehead]

I got a nice look at one of the hummingbirds yesterday afternoon. Came over to the trumpet flowers then played around the Lantana for a little bit then off it flies, faster than the eye can see.

[silent thunder]

Whenever we go to the Getty Museum, I spend most of my time outside, as I know the permanent exhibits quite well and I prefer hanging out in the gardens. The show that the hummingbirds put on there daily is awesome. I love those little buggers. They're so territorial, it's fun to watch them jockey for position and chase each other around.

[Marblehead]

I can imagine. Yes, I would likely spend most of my time outside too.

 

I don't have enough hummingbirds for them to need to get fussy. Now the sparrows and wrens, that's a different story. And when a male Cardinal comes to eat he will not allow any other bird on the feeder while he is there.

[GrandmasterP]

We don't have wild hummingbirds here in Blighty but I've seen them abroad feeding from little bottle jobs with adapted nozzles.

That flying backwards that they can do is amazing.

[Marblehead]

We don't have wild hummingbirds here in Blighty but I've seen them abroad feeding from little bottle jobs with adapted nozzles. That flying backwards that they can do is amazing.

Yeah, too cold in your part of the world for them. And even if they did visit during the summer it would be a horrible flight going somewhere warm for the winter.

[GrandmasterP]

I think they put sugar water in those feeder bottle jobbys.

Certainly attracted the hummingbirds.

[Horus]

Gotta love bird watching...

 

On the weekend I saw my first bird aura while watching tree auras on my morning walk...

 

 

A Kurrawong landed on a street pole and I cast my glance upon him and saw a beautiful bright yellow/gold aura around him.

[Marblehead]

I think they put sugar water in those feeder bottle jobbys. Certainly attracted the hummingbirds.

Yes, they do that, and I do that.

 

There is a place in Texas along the coast where many people congregate in the Fall to feed the Hummers. Many Hummers stop there to get their fuel tank topped off prior to their long journey into Mexico and Central America for the winter.

 

So many Hummers stop over there it would be impossible to count them.

 

Some of the Hummers do Summer in parts of Canada. What a bi-annual trip that is for such a small bird!

[Stosh]

How cold is it there in UK?

Its so cold that they have blue tits!

Edited June 10, 2014 by Stosh

[silent thunder]

How cold is it there in UK?

Its so cold that they have blue tits!