Last Projects 2017 (6).

And Then, a Woodpecker Came Along!

[Photo: Finishing touches on two bird feeders]

Final tasks in the workshop are definitely coming along nicely. One bird feeder is finished and out the door (and I forgot to take 'finished' photos!), and the second one (now also sold) will be finished very soon. Trim needs a second coat of red but once it is dry the assembly will fly. Maybe I'll remember to take a final picture!

The swap box is almost finished as well. I just need to cut lumber for a new platform and collar to accommodate a wider metal pole. Everything should be ready to install on an Old South front yard in a few days, and I will be finished projects for 2017.... (Jinxed alert!)

 Red trim for one feeder.

 Most of the trim is attached.

 Plexiglass is inserted, 5/8th inch above the surface of the base.

 Two latches are now required - to keep squirrels at bay.

 Swap Box is ready for assembly. Platform and collar are next up.

Red paint goes a long way in the workshop.

About being finished for 2017. I thought 'Voila!' could be stated very soon.... until a recent email arrived with attached photo.

I believe a pernicious Hairy Woodpecker has been at work on one of my Little Libraries and help is needed to repair significant damage. Though I have not had to deal with this type of repair on a library in the past, I have seen this type of damage one other time this year, and it occurred on the cedar siding on my own house, above the workshop door. So, two wee fixes are in order asap.

Hopefully, by the time I'm finished, all Hairy Woodpeckers will be sipping Pina Coladas somewhere far to the south of London!

Please link to Last Projects 2017 (5).

Photos GH, Y. Tyml.

Birds, Pt. Bruce and Berries 2.

The Easy Life.

[Photo: Curious Boy is rewarded, 30 minutes from home.]

I could say we are both curious. I frequently check out mud swallow nests; mud swallows check out me.

Within 60 kilometres of my front door I can easily make a handful of stops - while motorcycling - that are both pleasant and rewarding. I can park myself under a small bridge and watch birds soar past me at 100 miles per hour. I can stroll a humble beach area, feel a fresh breeze blow through what's left of my hair. I can stop to gauge the health of this year's elderberry crop (Top Rate).

Photos from along the way:

 I expected more swallows at the door. All up and gone?

 Elderberry bushes are in full flush, with countless blooms and berries

 Soon the blush of purple will appear

 Two classics and a wannabe!

Bike. Bike. Beauty.

And pleasant stops offer more. A glimpse of classic cars and aroma of classic BLTs and the stir of wind and wave.

Please link to Birds and Elderberries.

Photos GH

Birds and Elderberries.

I Shall Return.

[Photo: Is this a young bird or one of the parents?]

I thought my motorcycle trip yesterday, to Belmont and Port Bruce, would include a stop to see dozens of young swallows "waiting at the door" (of mud nests) to be fed by anxious parents. I've only seen that spectacle once, and want to again. I stopped, I checked on the nests, but saw birds at only two of 90 houses (while scores were in the air around me).

Are the young ones gone already? (My last visit was 8 days earlier). Or are they still too young or small to climb out to the doorway to be fed? Or did the parents warn them of my arrival, so they stayed back from the door, well hidden?

I don't know, so I will return on Sunday.

Nearby I spotted elderberry bushes and immediately thought, "Elderberry pies in my future? I hope so. I shall keep my eye on these bushes too!"

 Elderberry bushes and mud nests (under the bridge,
background) are close to one another. Coincidence?

 Green berries are visible below the white floweret.

 One bush is ripening to purple. Will swallows beat me to it?

I think this is a parent standing on guard.

So, one of my favourite places to stop while motorcycling will - hopefully, hopefully - serve up two rarities in the near future. Young birds at the door and pies in the oven.

More to follow.

Please link to The Birds Have It.

Photos GH

Scene of a Crime

It's not a good sign. When I see a disturbed nest and debris on the porch floor, I know a thief has come in the night.

The adult sparrows visited the birdhouse at various times throughout the day, by instinct, but there was nothing to be done.

My wife and I noticed the stillness, the quiet, and the watchful parents in the nearby apricot tree. A cat, a raccoon had done its dirty deed last night?

We also checked the box several times yesterday but all was still.

Please link to "Feed Me, Ma!"

Photos GH

"Feed Me, Ma!"

Sparrows Talk to One Other.

A family of sparrows - with an excellent skill for communication - resides in a small birdhouse on my front porch. The chatter is constant (e.g., "Feed me. Now. Now") and the activity around the box is non-stop. (A chick's beak can be seen in the photo above).

 "We're here. We're ready"

 "Me first!"

"Ma, I want more!"

And they speak in a distinct language!

Both adults speak to the chicks during feeding time. The parents land, with food,  in a nearby apricot tree, and announce their arrival. (E.g., "Get ready.") The chicks then lean out the door of the box.

When I stood to get a photo of the two eager, hungry, wee ones, the male grew alarmed and sounded a warning.

He said, "Look out! Look out." (Really, his chirps sounded like those exact words.)

The heads of the chicks disappeared. I sat down. The female then announced she was nearby. The wee beaks reappeared at the door.

I thought, Why should I be surprised the sparrows talk to one another in chirps I can understand? They are English, after all.

Please link to A Return to Swallow Cliff.

Photos GH

Little Beggar

Hairy Woodpecker, Naughty Boy

"Are you talkin to me?"

"What?"

Noise from the front porch disturbed me the other day so I went for a look. This little toot was back to take a whack at an already damaged hole.

"Get away," I say.

"Who me?" he says.

"Yeah, you," I say.

Little beggar then went after my Christmas lights.

Please link to My Morning Smile 4

Photo GH

Port Bruce Photos (4)

Industrious Little Creatures

The swallows that are capable of building mud nests under the bridge on Crossley-Hunter Line (about 2 miles south of Belmont, between Highways 73 and 74) do not appear every year as far as I know. When I approached the bridge recently and saw 12 - 15 swallows in the air and darting under the bridge, I figured nests had been built.

Under the bridge can be seen evidence of a lot of digging.... for mud? 

How many trips w dabs of mud would one take to build such a nest?

Busy little birds, I say.

(In London, similar nests can be seen under the Kensington Bridge, near Labatt Park).

Please link to Port Bruce Photos (2)

Photos GH

Four and Twenty

Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

At least 24 Brewer's Blackbirds mobbed my feeder this morning before I shooed them away. I smacked my hands and they fled the scene, leaving me to wonder if they taste good in a pie.

Link to Something Strikes Me Funny

Photo GH

No Mud Swallows!

What's Happened?

I recently rode my bike to Port Bruce and stopped along the way to observe cliff swallows - by the thousands - in the act of feeding their young in sandy cliff burrows next to Lake Erie. On the way home I revisited a spot under a bridge on Crossley-Hunter Line to see if mud swallows were as busy. I was greeted with absolute silence.

Where in years past I photographed scores of swallows feeding young in unusual mud dwellings (below), I saw not one nest or swallow. What gives?

2015 - nothing to behold under the bridge. Why?

Link to Busy Wee Skunk

Photos GH

Port Bruce Purple Martins

Caught in Flight

Port Bruce is the birdhouse capital of SW Ontario. One active martin house caught my eye shortly after I arrived in town last Friday.

Pack some sandwiches, a camera and a straw hat. See you in the Bruce on the next nice warm day this week. I'll be on an early '90s Virago and wearing a '50s Stratton (outta Chicago) straw hat.

: )

Link to Birdhouse Hunting - Purple Martins

Photos GH

Bird Watching - A Gang of Jays?

Three, Then Five... Six?

I seldom see three Blue Jays at the feeder. Less often than that do I see five or six hanging out together at the feeder and nearby spruce trees. But today I did.

I felt they were in a gang, bold and brash, getting ready to rob a bank!

Link to more Bird Watching

Photo GH

Bird Watching - The Line Up

Increased Traffic

Due in part to warmer temperatures, there is higher traffic at my backyard feeder. A pair of jays here, a pair of cardinals there, a gang of sparrows everywhere. And they like the seed mix I toss in most afternoons before my own supper.

Birds are aggressive toward one another but most seem to find a time when they can sit and crack a few shells or gulp down a millet seed... or three.

Link to Bird Watching

Photos GH