Birds everywhere

Needless to say, this is the time of year we're dripping with birds. Here are a few we've seen.

Western bluebird.

Robin. Still one of my favorite birds.

Black-chinned hummingbird.

Barn swallow.

Tree swallow (down at the lake).

Osprey (down at the lake).

Loon (down at the lake).

Canada geese (with wood ducks behind)(down at the lake).

Mallards (down at the lake).

Eurasian collared dove.

Killdeer (three of them).

Meanwhile we have a blackbird nest in the corner post of the garden.

Here's the mother, eyeing me suspiciously.

She's sitting on five eggs.

A few days later, the babies had hatched.

Bump the post slightly, and mouths pop open.

Here's the mother, scolding me with her mouth full.

Here's a male red-winged blackbird. We have numerous nests in the cattails in our pond.

As a side note, yesterday a hawk flew low over me clutching a squirrel in its talon. What a windfall for the hawk. For the squirrel, not so much.

Unique function for a flashlight

We purchase three-packs of these little flashlights from Costco. They're very bright and perfect for farm use.

We always keep several hanging by the door for quick access when we need to find a missing chicken or see what's bothering the cattle after dark.

These flashlights have three settings: regular, extra-bright, and strobe. The strobe setting always seemed kinda pointless -- I mean, how often are you lost in the woods and require a strobe to alert overhead rescue helicopters where you are? -- so we never used it.

But then one evening after dark, I went looking for several chickens who hadn't made it into the coop and discovered a superb function for the strobe setting: it blinds a chicken so you can pick her up without her attempting to squack and escape. Seriously, it works perfectly.

Last week, we had a bluebird who got into the stovepipe of our parlor stove. (Fortunately it wasn't lit; we seldom use it since installing our wood cookstove.) The bird had made it all the way down the pipe into the stove itself, and was fluttering around in the soot.

The little guy was entirely unhurt. We were tasked with getting the him out of the stove without accidentally releasing him into the house. Don came up with the brilliant notion of using the flashlight strobe to momentarily blind and confuse the bird in order to pick him up.

It worked flawlessly. The parlor stove has a front and a side door, so Don shone the flashlight strobe through the side door while I picked up the bird through the front door. Then I released him outside.

Ya learn something new every day.

April showers bring May flowers....

...but what do April blizzards bring?

Twice this month we've woken up to snow.

Not a lot of snow, it's true, but enough to remind us winter hasn't quite lost its grip yet.

I took these photos early in the morning, and when the rest of the family woke up, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Here's our April flowers, looking cold and miserable.

This bluebird doesn't look too pleased either.

The snow melted off by afternoon, and we had a few days of spring. Then yesterday winter came roaring back again in what virtually amounted to a blizzard, with 40 mph winds and heavy wet snow.

Old Major braved the wind and snow to visit the yard, then hurried (as fast as his ancient legs could carry him) back to the woodstove.

It looked like December, not April.

Our brave little patch of daffodils withstood the onslaught.

The snow melted off soon enough, but the day was bitterly cold with howling winds, and periodic showers of sleet or snow would pass through. This photo was taken in late afternoon, with a bleary sun lighting up a distant snow shower.

Then this morning... sunny and calm. Go figure.

The daffodils looked much happier.

So did the beasties. Yesterday they were all huddled under the awning or in the barn. Today they basked in the sunshine. This is Hector and Ninja, who have become great buddies.

And the robins looked perky and ready to nest.

So what do April blizzards bring? Hopefully a warm May!

Nesting bluebirds

In one of the corner posts of the garden, we have a pair of western bluebirds who are nesting.

We figured this out after seeing the pair hanging around the area behind the barn and not leaving.

We try not to disturb the birds too much, but since we've been doing a massive amount of garden work, we're often in close proximity. And once in awhile I can't resist sticking the camera in the hole (it doesn't quite fit) to see what's in there. There were at least five eggs, probably six, but since the camera wouldn't fit all the way, I wasn't sure.

The eggs are now hatched and the nest is filled with wide-mouthed young 'uns.

Now the parents' days are consumed by finding consumables in the form of yummy insects and worms.

Looks so durned tasty, doesn't it?

Sometimes I catch both parents with their mouths full. The Wikipedia article on Western Bluebirds notes, "During the breeding season, bluebirds are very helpful with pest control in the territory surrounding the nest." Natural pest control! I like it!

The parents will flit into the nest hole...

...stuff the treats down their babies' throats...

...and fly off to look for more.

Busy birds!