Birds doing their spring fling
Female cardinal silhouetted in the vitex tree
Yesterday morning, the birds were atwitter all through the garden. A male cardinal preened and pursued a female in the vitex tree, a wren sang in the tall hackberry, and a pair of sparrows toiled over the feeding of their chicks, who peeped frantically from the depths of a clay-bottle birdhouse on our garage wall.
The sparrows were suspicious of me as I walked around the garden taking photos. But they finally relaxed enough to make several forays to their nest.
Mama
Daddy
Daddy flying over to the Mexican plum. For a minute they’d both been on the perch, trying to feed the chicks, but then Daddy flew off to keep an eye on me.
Daddy watching the pesky human from the plum tree
Mama weighing the risks of taking her eye off me
Here’s one bird that doesn’t mind a close-up. It’s part of an old chip-and-dip set that I potted up with succulents.
I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.
—Emily Dickinson
All last evening we stood outside and watched flocks of sandhill cranes migrating north. At least I has told by a neighbor they were sandhill cranes. The most amazing part to me was the sound. They made this high-pitched trilling sound and you could hear them for about a minute or so before the birds would appear over the treetops. It was really eerie when I heard the first flock approaching and did not know what it was.
Another gardener I know who lives east of Austin was just telling me about the sandhill crane migration. How wonderful to get to see—and hear—them. —Pam
What is a chip and dip set?
Gosh, is that just a Texas thang? You know, the chips go in the wide bowl, and the dip (or salsa) goes in the inset, smaller bowl in the middle. In this case, the middle dip bowl was shaped like a bird. —Pam
Thanks for sharing your birds, Pam 🙂 And I love that Dickinson quote!
I love that unique bird house. What a great idea! I wish our oldest daughter was still making pottery. I’d request she make one for us.
I can so relate to spending more time looking at the garden and watching the antics of the birds, rather than getting the work done 🙂
We have very industrious sparrows too.
It’s called a bird bottle, Kerri, and it was popular in colonial times. I ordered mine through a catalog called Monticello. I don’t know whether it’s the shape or the placement, but sparrows nest in it every spring, and often in summer too. —Pam
What a sweet little peek into the family life of these birds! Very enjoyable!
I’m glad you dropped by, Gotta Garden. —Pam
Cute little sparrows you’ve got. How nice that they’ve nested in the clay pot. Great pics, they tell a lovely story.
Over here sparrows used to be very common birds but nowadays they are rare. How’s that in Texas, the same?
No, they are very common here. As are grackles, cardinals, wrens, white-winged doves, and mockingbirds. Texas is located along the migratory path of many species, however, so we can get lucky now and then with sightings of less-common birds. —Pam