Bird watching: It's a legitimate hobby!

 

Mark Parisi's birds (featured in the carton atop this entry) got this! Birds watching their neighbors (and vice versa) is a legitimate hobby. I love the park and natural areas but I am truly grateful to be able to watch birds from my window as sometimes when I come upon them when outdoors, I feel as if I'm intruding on their territory.

Attn! Peanuts may not be good for squirrels!?! Let them eat corn? (Wednesday's Wisdom)

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

THIS SQUIRREL IS FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

As those of you who follow this blog probably know, a alone squirrel, has been visiting my rooftop garden since July 8th 2020. He/she can be seen in the photo-ops atop this entry where he/she is spending his/her time at one of my bird feeders that I have to accommodate the needs of various birds who visit my place.

Friday's Follow Up to my 7-24-2020's Post

MY GARDEN IS THE SETTING FOR MY BOOK SERIES

Last Friday, I published a post here on Blogger which discussed Henry David Thoreau's well known quote, "The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest." 

In this follow-up post, I'd like to share with you what Thoreau had to say about this animal type in his essay, Walden 175.

I am prompted to do this upon seeing the squirrel (who has been visiting my rooftop garden since early July) enjoying peanuts from one of my bird feeders. He/she can be seen munching away while atop my ring-style feeder.

The reason I thought of Thoreau upon seeing this is I recently learned he was evidently known for leaving out ears of unripened sweet corn for these creatures during the winter.

I've never left out unripened corn in the winter (or any time for that matter) but during winter months, I have made sure my feeders (including my ring-style peanut feeder) are replenished during that season in order to provide my visiting birds with physical nourishment.

N'tl Peanut Day 2019

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

In addition to it being Friday the Thirteenth, its National Peanut Day, a this national holiday that blue jays would probably like to celebrate everyday, as you might surmise from the photos atop this entry.

A Bird in the Hand

IMAGE CREDIT

Yesterday when I was on what has become my weekly Saturday walk with CF in Central Park, we paused on a grassy area to take in the beauty of the day, both of us had seeds in in our hand which we were intending to feed birds. From out of no where a fledging Downy Woodpecker flew toward us and landed on CF's fingers where he/she perched and began nibbling from the morsels in C's hand.

My camera was sling across my shoulder and I also had seeds in my palm so I could not get to it easily. After eating from CF's hand, the little bird alighted on my fingers and began eating from my hand. CF's cell-camera was not in easy reach for her so neither of us have a physical photo-op of the day; but we have a permanent image of the blessed event in out hearts and minds.

Moreover, the "undocumented" event gives us the opportunity to heed the wisdom of E.B. White's beloved aunt who evidently once told him, "Remembrance is sufficent for the beauty we have seen."

Such wise words and ones that may be familiar to those who read my blog as I've discussed them in a few of my past entries, including one I published a litle over three years ago.

By the way, Downy Woodpeckers are featured in my book series, Words In Our Beak.

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

Saturday's Story The Bird Feeding Area (Within Central Park & My Rooftop Garden)

There is a portion of The Ramble in Central Park called The Bird Feeder Area and the name does not refer to people who feed birds, rather it refers to an area which has numerous bird feeders hanging from trees. A partial view of it can be seen in the picture (which I took yesterday) atop entry.

During the time I was there numerous American Goldfinches were congregating (and noshing from) a feeder which can be seen is at the extreme right of this photograph. The following set of  images feature both male and female varieties engaging in activities at or near to the aforementioned feeder.

It's March!

Well, here we are already in the third month for the year 2019, proving time does fly rather one is having fun or not! I hope someone remembers to wake Mooch (who can be seen in the Mutts comic strip posted atop this entry). But, maybe Mooch needs to sleep a bit more... after all, his pillow looks pretty comfortable and plus the weather might not be so great just yet.

As you undoubtedly know the beginning of March is associated with an idiom: "If March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb and if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb."

Evidently this is because "March straddles winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, it tends to have very harsh, unpleasant weather in the beginning but typically has milder, more palatable weather by the end." 

Here in NYC, March is beginning with moderate snowfall as seen in the picture below of my rooftop garden taken in the morning.

THE STORIES IN MY BOOKS TAKE PLACE IN MY GARDEN

In any event, according to a number of sources (including Holiday Insights AKA HI), the month of March in the United States is known as Irish American Month, Music in Our Schools Month, National Celery Month, National Craft Month National Frozen Food Month, National Irish American Heritage Month (designated by Congress in 1995), National Nutrition Month, National Peanut Month, National Women's History Month, Red Cross Month and Social Workers Month.

Snow Day

We had a snow day in NYC today, but the accumulation wasn't much as evidenced by the snow atop my "water cooler" for birds (featured in the photo atop this entry). But the snowfall was enough to deter most birds from visiting my garden! Therefore, it was especially nice to have the company of a lone downy woodpecker on this snow day and his singing in the snow all the more cheerful for your truly.

It's Feed the Birds day!

Today is truly for the birds because it's Feed the Birds Day, a holiday that I wrote about in at least one prior post here on Blogger. In any event, according to an entry on a garden related web-page (as well as other sources), "Every February 3rd is known as Feed the Birds Day."

Within the posting of the aforementioned garden-themed web-page, they have included a chart on what various song birds enjoy eating and in honor of this holiday, I've posted a screenshot of it atop this entry.

February First

I confess that I feel that I don't have much to offer re the onset of February in this year of 2019 except to reiterate what Snoopy has to say re the date of 2-1 (in the comic strip that I've posted atop this blog entry). What I can do, dear reader, is to remind you that February is National Bird-Feeding Month.

Some Facts re Male Downy Woodpeckers (Tuesday's Truths WK 112)

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

Last Wednesday, I saw (in my garden) my first visiting Downy woodpecker (a male) for the year of 2019. He can be seen in the photo atop this entry as well as in the ones that are directly below.

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

It was wonderful to hear his sound on that cold winter's day. "You can distinguish males from females because the adult male has a small red patch on its head (juvenile birds exhibit a larger red patch that later disappears). But in spring their presence is usually betrayed by the sound of their drumming. Although many people assume that they’re hearing the sound of a nest being drilled, that may not be the case, at least early in the season. In February, before the onset of the breeding season, the male woodpecker drums to signal for a mate. Selecting a hollow tree or dead branch with promising resonant qualities, he taps rapidly on the bark with his bill, making a rattle-like drum roll that is startlingly loud and carries for a considerable distance through woodland. Males not only drum in order to attract a mate – throughout the year they will continue to drum to proclaim their territory. Each male has his own drumming sequence and stops to listen to the replies of males nearby..." Read more @ https://bit.ly/2R3DLYA

I'm now wondering since the onset of February near (six days) and since that is the time Downy woodpeckers will do their drumming to attract a mate, if my visitor was grabbing nourishment in order to be up to this "task," for he did go from Ailanthus tree to Ailanthus tree within the courtyard and I could hear his drumming.

Saturday's Sequel re The Death of Mary Oliver

It has been eight days since I published an entry re the death of Mary Oliver, the poet I've written about here on Blogger and in social media venues. She is on my mind today as I go through my photos of squirrels, three of which can be seen at the top of this entry.

Here's a powerful poem of hers where this creature is referenced.

Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but

still nothing is as shining as it should be

for you. Under the sink, for example, is an

uproar of mice it is the season of their

many children. What shall I do? And under the eaves

and through the walls the squirrels

have gnawed their ragged entrances but it is the season

when they need shelter, so what shall I do? And

the raccoon limps into the kitchen and opens the cupboard

while the dog snores, the cat hugs the pillow;

what shall I do? Beautiful is the new snow falling

in the yard and the fox who is staring boldly

up the path, to the door. And still I believe you will

come, Lord: you will, when I speak to the fox,

the sparrow, the lost dog, the shivering sea-goose, know

that really I am speaking to you whenever I say,

as I do all morning and afternoon: Come in, Come in.

None of my pictures were taken when a squirrel gnawed his or her way "through ragged building entrances," they were taken in NYC's Central and Riverside parks; but I like to think that I have Oliver's mindset re communicating with creatures and communicating with the Lord.

I'm not the best at formal prayers — using words written by others — as they feel false but I do find myself hoping that my care and appreciation for nature and the creatures who dwell in it are my prayer.

So far, it has been a very cold and bleak winter. With no snow to brighten up my surroundings, it looks a bit grim in my garden. But the many reason my garden seems grim is very few birds have been visiting it because there is a Red-tailed hawk in the vicinity.

Throw Back Thursday: #NationalPeanutDay

IMAGE CREDIT

Today is National Peanut Day (hence the web-image atop this post). It is a holiday that I discussed in a prior post (published in 2016) making it "eligible" for a Throw Back Thursday entry. You may reference that posting by clicking here, and as I stated there, and reiterate today, #NationalPeanutDay is for the birds for they celebrate no matter what the day or the weather!

Tuesday's Truths, the Ninety-Second Week: "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année!"

CoCo Chanel's quote, "Vous pouvez porter blanc toute l' année," that's within the title of today's post may sound familiar to you, dear reader, as it was included in the title of a blog post that I published here on the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 (although at that time I was not running my Tuesday's Truths series).

Incidentally, the picture atop this entry was also featured in the aforementioned entry. When I wrote that entry, I referred to the white flowers which were growing in my rooftop garden including a variety of Echinacea, such as the one seen in the photos directly below....

...  as well as the flowers growing on my Autumn Clematis.

I'm not sure why I didn't mention (in the blog post which I've been referencing) the white flowers produced by my Tree Peony — AKA Paeonia suffruiticosa — whose flowers are featured in the images below...

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

THIS PEONY IS FEATURED IN VOLUME ONE

... perhaps I failed to do so because by the Tuesday after Labor Day in 2011 this particular shrub was long past its thriving days (which always occur in April through early May).

Feed the Birds Day 2018

I've posted a You Tube video atop this entry in honor of one of today's (February 3rd) holidays, which  is known as Feed the Birds Day (according to Holiday Insights who states the following):

"Date When Celebrated: Always February 3: Help the wild birds in your backyard to survive the long, cold winter by feeding them. That's exactly why this special day was created. Mid and late winter are especially hard on all outdoor animals. By mid winter, food sources become scarcer and scarcer for the wild birds that over-winter in your backyard..."

I featured this quote from Holiday Insights along with the Mary Poppins film clip that's included here in my 2017 blog entry for Feed the Birds Day,

In terms of the many photographs of wild birds eating that I used in the aforementioned entry, most of them are different than the ones I am using today.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Let them eat suet!

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

An article by Drs. Foster & Smith Educational Staff, states "suet was once something we stocked our backyard feeders with only in the winter months. Present day suet use is much broader - and more beneficial to birds. In spring, it meets the increased energy demands of nesting birds. In the summer months, it provides a good substitute for insect-eating birds, especially in years when insects are not very plentiful. In fall, suet helps wild birds store fat to prepare for migration or the coming winter. And of course, in winter, suet replenishes depleted stores of energy and nutrients, to help birds survive the long, cold months."

Over the past few years, a number of wild birds have come to my rooftop garden for suet, including members of the Northern mockingbird community, as evidenced in the photographs atop this entry.

Tuesday's Truths (WK 70) are from The Spruce: "Fun Facts About Woodpeckers — Bird Trivia"

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

As I write this blog post for Tuesday, it's Sunday, and the temperature outside is six degrees, but it's going up to nineteen degrees, which will be up seven degrees from Saturday.

The bitter cold temperatures that we've had for a quite a number of days in a row, here in NYC, has caused the snow on the surface of my rooftop garden to freeze, which will make it difficult for me to gain access to my wreath-style bird feeder in order to replenish it with peanuts. And, as you can see from the images atop this entry, where a lone downy woodpecker is dining from it, I need to refill the wreath because my supply of peanuts has dwindled.

Throwback Thursday: N'tl Peanut Day 2017 has come and gone.

Yesterday was National Peanut Day 2017; and because the holiday shared the spotlight with the celebration of Uncle Sam Day, I didn't cover it in my blog post at that time. I focused on reporting facts re Sam's day of honor; and if you'd like to refer to this particular entry, please click here.

Today's post is dedicated to the 2017 National Peanut Holiday, which means I'm not throwing too far back on this Throwback Thursday. Besides Uncle Sam's Day always coincides with the celebration of National Peanut Day.

Last year, on September 13th 2017, I published an entry on National Peanut Day; and on the following day, September 14th 2016, I published a post which discussed Uncle Sam's Day.

Therefore, this year I'm doing the reverse in terms of publishing entries re these two holidays. As I said, Uncle Sam's posting was on his official day which was yesterday, and today, a belated offering to National Peanut Day is being made.

The young cardinal pictured atop this entry can be seen enjoying peanuts from a wreath-style whole peanut bird feeder which hangs in my urban garden.

My Rear Window

In less than one month's time, on September 1st 2017, it will be the sixty-third anniversary of the movie, Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film starred Jimmy Stewart. And the synopsis (stated on Wiki, where I got the image atop this entry), states the following:

"After breaking his leg photographing a racetrack accident, a professional photographer, the adventurous L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart), is confined to a wheelchair in his Greenwich Village apartment to recuperate. His rear window looks out onto a courtyard and several other apartments. During a powerful heat wave, he watches his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool."

Like Jefferie, my NYC apartment (with a garden atop a rooftop terrace, something which Jefferies did not have), my rear window, looks into other apartments, as evidenced in the photo below.

The image was taken by Juan V this past Tuesday when he was here to plant some Toad Lilies, pot my Angusitifolum curry, and to help me keep a drainage problem from getting worse.

My Toad Lilies are indicated by the larger of the two arrows affixed to Juan's image. The vantage point of the image, because it was taken from overhead only gives one a sense of where these plants are located within my garden. However, I have published an entry here on Blogger that features these beautiful plants; and if you'd like to reference, dear reader, please click here.

The smaller arrow is referencing my Angusitifolum curry, which I will write about in the coming days. And the square is highlighting a new centerpiece that's been added to my place. It can be seen in close-up format below.

I am likely to include in a separate blog entry, but the center-piece's photo is here now for purposes of reader known as Sara, for she was instrumental in my having it, and I'd like her to see it, as she lives too far away to travel here.

And with that info, I've digressed enough, for I was speaking about my rear window view being much like Jefferies' except for the garden. The Rear Window character of Jefferie is on my mind today as I have been somewhat confined to my home with a foot injury. I'm not confined to a wheelchair as he was, but I am much more limited in going about my usual routine.

The reason for this being that I have to wear a boot cast which makes it difficult to go up and down the seventy stairs that lead to my place. Going up is actually much better than down in terms of my agility when wearing this cast.

Therefore, I've been attentive to what's going out from the vantage point of my rear window, and have been most fascinated by my view of the array of birds who visit here (as always), especially in relation to "their" wreath-shaped bird feeder that holds the unshelled peanuts that they enjoy eating.

In the following picture, the feeder I'm referring to is indicated with a circle.

In any event, A couple of weeks ago (July 25th), I wrote about a Northern cardinal availing himself of whole peanuts from this feeder. He can be seeing doing this in the next set of pictures.

If you'd like to read about this cardinal's antics and see different images, please click here.

The beaks of a cardinal are designed for un-shelling nuts and seeds which is one topic that is  discussed in the book, Words In Our Beak Volume One. The soft-cover version of this book is  available on MagCloud and it's written in the voice of the female cardinal whose picture is featured on the cover, as evidenced below.

But getting back to my wreath-style bird feeder and the birds who dine from it, sparrows are a bird variety that take pleasure there too, but the task of them eating an unshelled peanut is difficult as their beaks are not designed to open shells!

I suspect this bird type observes other birds eating from the wreath-style feeder and want to get in on the action, even though it is much easier for them to eat black-oil sunflower seeds from my house style feeder that contains their favorite seeds (as seen below).

But maybe house sparrows are like some people, I'm not naming names, in that they like to have what they see others having! For surely it is much easier for a sparrow to eat something other than a  peanut in the shell! However, it was a sparrow attempting to asses the possible ins and outs of getting some peanut crumbs that kept me watching from my rear window. Take a look (the photos have very subtle differences in order for you to see the time and attentiveness this sparrow put into procuring his food choice).

Tuesday's Truths WK 32: The National Month of Peanuts (and other things)

Welcome to Week Thirty-One of my Tuesday's Truths series. Today, March the Seventh, is the first Tuesday of this month for 2017. Because we are already at the seventh day mark for this month of March, I'd like to point out that one of the observances associated with it, causes March to be known as National Peanut Month. And, I dare say one could proclaim peanuts are for the birds!