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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

An unexpected visitor in the woodlot.

Forrest loooooves his grampa.

It was another hot, dry day last week when we took our grand-dog for a hike.

But our grand-dog, Forrest, doesn't care about the heat.
He just wants to head out on an adventure.
So we keep him on trails in the bush out of the sun.
Other than yanking my arm out of it's socket...
he's a good dog.

Around the garden this week...
there were many visitors in the sumacs.
First off, a very odd looking bird came by for seed bright and early this morning.
Notice the beak.

It's always nice to get a different bird from our regulars to drop by.
He hung around in the wood-lot for the morning.

I watched that he could eat seed, which he did, as I was concerned about that.
After showing his photo to a birder friend, I was told that he may be a Starling with a deformed beak.
Has anyone ever seen a bird like this?

And this is the first of our Downies this summer. I have not seen one since the heat hit.


He had some fun on the sumac.

We've had some steady wind and rain this week. 
That could be why a Pine Siskin hit our window and fell to the ground yesterday.
I ran out and picked it up; caressing it's head to see if it's neck was ok.
It looked around, obviously stunned.
I left it on the ground, lifting it onto a towel away from the rain. Then I waited an hour... checking on it's condition every few minutes.
I was prepared to take it to our Wild Bird Sanctuary http://www.wildbirdcarecentre.org/ if there was no improvement.
But the last time I looked...it was gone. :)


I didn't have the heart to take a photo of the stunned bird.

I love happy endings.

btw...we have sun-catchers and ribbons hanging on our windows but I guess the rain confused the bird.

Today
the sun is out,
(She doesn't care)

 the sky is blue
and I have some veggies to deliver. :)

Have a good day,
hugs, Deb

15 comments:

  1. Today is Black Cat Appreciation day in our country. Let's celebrate their beauty, intelligence and enormous capacity to give and receive love and help these often overlooked kitties find forever homes.

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  2. What beautiful tomatoes, Deb! Just perfect.
    Good to hear that you finally got some rain.
    We have had birds hitting our windows too and it does just break our hearts.
    I guess the bird with the "bent beak" must have adapted to his challenge--he looks pretty healthy otherwise.
    Nebraska ><>

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  3. Poor little dude does look like he has a beak deformity. It seems like some of them can manage with that.

    And glad you were able to help the little guy who flew into the window. Sometimes they just need somewhere safe to be while they come to their senses!

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  4. Oh my that poor little bird...his beak must be deformed...the Texas heat is winding down thank goodness. Have a good weekend Deb and kiss the kitties!

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  5. I always worry when I see birds in a bad way, usually hopping about as if they can't fly. At least this one was able to eat, thank goodness.

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  6. Poor birds. At least the one with the deformed beak seemed able to eat seed and the stunned bird was able to fly away. Wildlife watching can be fun and concerning.
    hugs!

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  7. Birds hit our windows/glass storm door quite often - when I hear a bang I dread looking but fortunately they always seem to pick themselves up - or I do and put them in the shrubs - dust themselves off and fly away again thankfully!

    That bird resembles the Brow-headed cowbird. Must be healthy even if deformed as it seems full sized so must eat well. I hope it will be OK and that it's not shunned by other family members because it looks different. The females lay many eggs each season (up to 30) in other birds nests - then leave them to be raised by 'adoptive parents'!

    Forest looks gorgeous - our neighbors' black lab Scarlett is the sweetest old girl ever - and definitely does not think she is a dog but a person. I've never known a more loving dog to be around.

    Here's to cooler days soon - we're still in triple digits and it's getting boring!
    Hugs - Mary

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, should read BROWN-headed cowbird!
      Mary -

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    2. Thanks, Mary. It is hanging around and eating at our feeders. I just hope it is a bird that can tolerate our winters so I can continue to care for it. I'll have to read up on it.

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  8. We had a number of bird crashes into the big windows in our Wyoming home. One, a flicker, lay stunned with its long tongue lolling for about 5 minutes before making a wobbly flight to a cottonwood stump where it was joined by its anxious mate.

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  9. Audrey, we only see your toes these days! How kind you were to the bird, Deb; let's hope it shook off running into the window, and flew away. At my old job, we had a pair of nesting cardinals that pecked at the windows all morning, because they could see their reflections until the sun went overhead. They thought they were fighting off another set of birds! I loved being close to them, even if I worried they were going to hurt themselves.

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  10. Deformed beak or not, it looks like he's doing all right. It's good to give birds a bit of a safe spot while they're coming back to their senses after knocking into a window. It does take them a bit of time.

    We must love Audrey's dozing beneath the blankets.

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  11. Poor litle birdie with the warped beak - it can't be easy for him to eat, glad he can!

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  12. I think grand-dog enjoyed of his adventure through the shady forest, away from sun and heat. Meet the most unexpected visits in the garden, the birds are cute.

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  13. My parents had to nail streamers on the outside of one of their windows. Too many birds met their demise because they thought they could fly through the living room and out the front door.

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