Bird watching

Bird watching has become a past time at our farmhouse.  I have always fed the wild birds but out here it is a little different.  We have different birds than we had in the city.  So finding what attracts them has been challenging.  The bluebirds are especially beautiful.  Bright and graceful, they are my favorite by far.

This spring, I put up a bluebird house in the middle of the flower garden. I had yet to see one on our propery but I knew they were in the area so I was hopeful.  After several months with no activity, I disappointedly gave up the house to some sparrows.  Then this week, here they came checking out the house.  Now, bluebirds won't kick sparrows out but sparrows will boot out bluebirds.  I decided the bluebirds needed some assistance.  Springing into action, I destroyed the sparrow nest to make way for the blue beauties.  Then sharing the information with my sweet mother-in-law (who lives 200 ft.away), she went out and bought three bluebird houses.  Well, what do you think happened?  They decided against my old Walmart house and moved next door in the new cedar condos! She gave me one to put up too so I am hoping to attract more.  Meanwhile, the sparrows have moved back into their old comfy home.  We have spotted several more bluebirds though, so I'm still hoping to have a pretty pair in my backyard.

Taking our past time seriously, we have binoculars and bird reference books in an accessible place in the mudroom.  They sit below a painting of cosmos that my great grandmother (lovingly called "Pink Grama") did years ago.  Isn't it sweet?  It reminds me of her.

Common birds that we see are Western Kingbirds, Nighthawks, Red Tailed Hawks, House Finches, Great Egrets, an Orchard Oriole, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (lots of them!), Barn Swallows (so fun to watch), Eastern Bluebirds, & of course House Sparrows.

Comments

  1. I hope you get more bluebirds! They're lovely. And I love the cosmos painting! They're one of my favorite flowers.

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  2. I starting making a list of birds that I've seen at our house when we moved in about 6 years ago. With so few trees of any size, there are not as many song birds as when we lived close to big trees... mostly field birds here and the ever present starlings and sparrows. The list is growing, though.

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  3. Bird watching has always been something I liked, but it's even more enjoyable now that we live in the country! We have two bird books and the ever-present binoculars (for both bird and cattle-antics watching) on the coffee table in the living room for ready access. I fill a feeder in the front yard late fall through early spring, and love seeing who comes to visit. I want to add bird houses and a feeding spot in the back, too, when we have more cover for the birdies to hide in back there. We have scrub jays, sparrows, finches, juncos (Oregon and pink-sided races), hawks, goldfinches in summer (our state bird), Brewer's blackbirds, crows and robins, mourning doves, quail sometimes...and Mr. Pheasant, the, um, pheasant!

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