Well, it seems the Reeves Pheasant has befriended us. He seems to have taken a serious liking to the bird seed. You can tell in these photos that his tail has been altered/cut and is perhaps growing back. The short tail was the only thing that didn't match up to all the other photos of Reeves Pheasants that I saw, so now that makes sense. I did read that their tail feathers are sought after which could explain their alteration; but it could be that another animal damaged them too. I'm thinking of calling our local wildlife officials to let them know just in case an owner is looking for it. But for now we have been so blessed by this bird's visits!

 

 

UPDATE: This is very strange indeed, but it's true that based on it's size and other things this bird is a Reeves Pheasant. These birds are indigenous to China, however after reading a bunch about them there have been several unsuccessful attempts to introduce them to other countries including the United States. But I also read that people do raise them in captivity here, but there are none in the wild. SO, based on all this my conclusion is that this is/was someones pet around here that has either gotten loose, or been let loose.

Very strange indeed that it's visiting my backyard! It visited again yesterd, and here's the REALLY strange thing...it's hanging out with our pack of wild turkeys. We saw it a few times yesterday with them out on the ridge. Poor things confused to say the least, but for now seems the turkeys don't mind adopting it.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I'll post updates if anything come about new with it. I did email Cornell University to get their take on it, but I'm not sure if I'll hear back from them. I' ve had LOTS of fun nature adventures going on around here, hopefully I'll be back later today to share!

This strange bird was visting under our tree seed feeder this afternoon. I have NO idea what kind of bird this is. Maybe it's some type of pheasant or grouse, or even some type of exotic chicken. At first I thought it was a Bobwhite, but he much too large for that. Does anyone know what this could be?!! You know it drives me crazy when I can't identify something. He is so pretty, was fairly large like a big chicken, with a longer tail.

 

 

 

Really, it's quite ridiculous how excited we've been today...oh joyful day!!  I think the kids and I are as excited today as we were when we bought our own home.  We have bluebirds in our new nestbox!!!  I wasn't sure if it would actually happen this year or not, many times it takes a couple of years to get them.  We just put the nestbox up on March 2nd, and we already have "takers".  A female and male Eastern Bluebird have been working today bringing nesting materials to their new residence.  Almost everytime I look out towards our backyard I see a flitter of neon blue fly across my view.  They are truly beautiful birds.  I've taken some photos, but of course I had to max the zoom on my camera so they aren't of the greatest quality.

This is the male peering inside the nest box entry hole. 

 

In this one you can see the male and female; one is at the entrance, and one is on the branch above it. 

"Everyone loves the bluebird.  It is because he is so gentle, modest, brave, and useful. He is called the color-bearer of the spring songsters, the banner-bearer of Birdland, the minstrel of April, and Mabel Osgood Wright says he is a model citizen."

- from Type Lessons for Primary Teachers by Anna E. McGovern

                                                    - Eben Eugene Rexford

Attention Eastern Bluebirds!!  We now have prime real estate available!

Lately we've seen a few Eastern Bluebird sightings. For a couple of years now I've been wanting to hang up an Eastern Bluebird house in efforts to invite them to live in my backyard.  My Dad is the resident Bluebird house maker so he made and hung one up for us this week.  Thank you Dad!!

I'm busy preparing the Nuts About Nature class for tomorrow, but I had to pop on here for just a moment to share a few fun bird feeder photos with you:

 "Wonder"

 

 "Face-Off"

Seems the birds have become quite comfortable with the cat sitting there.

 

 "Torture" courtesy of American Goldfinches

 

 Can you see why the bird feeders are empty?  Look straight to the middle of this photo in the bushes.

 

 Let me zoom in for you...

 

Based on it's size, I think this is a Cooper's Hawk, well known for hunting at feeders.

 

 One more...

 

"Bird Walk"

 

 

Last year in March, my two Red-Tailed Hawk friends visited our neck of the woods.  I blogged about that HERE.  Well, they're back and they are making a nest again!!   They're rendevousing on the exact same branch!!  They're a bit early this year.  Hmmm, wonder if that means an early spring??

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the first class for Nuts about Nature!!  It was a wonderful day!

It's official... I've spoiled my birds.  But that's only because they are spoiling me with the peace and enjoyment I receive in watching them and all the funny things you see at the bird feeders.  I find myself repeatedly mesmerized while I sit and watch them.  Because it's like all of His Creation, it speaks of Him and I'm learning day by day to listen, watch, and feel more.

So how have I spoiled them?

Well I suppose it was time that I purchased some new feeders and seed for them.  A couple of my older feeders had suffered terribly under the wrath of the masked bandit, and were just irreparable.  And my supply of seed had ran to bare minimum.  So, I packed up my three "bird lovers in training" children and we headed to the local Tractor Supply Company, which is the most reasonably priced bird supply place I've been able to find around here.

As you can see from the photo above I picked up a very large bag of black-oil sunflower seed, smaller bags of Nyger Seed (Thistle), Safflower, and corn for the sweet squirrels and turkeys (more on them below).  Due to the advice I had recently received, I steered clear of the mixed bird seeds.

Also I picked up a new Nyger/Thistle feeder, a new suet/fruit basket which will hold more than my previous one, and a brand new to me feeder called a "No/No Bird Feeder".  It's completely metal, no plastic/no wood, this helps keep the feeder cleaner, helping with the prevention of bird diseases.  I also love this feeder because it appeals to both perching type birds and clinging type birds such as woodpeckers/nuthatches.

Ok, on to the bird feeder antics....

While the squirrels appreciate the corn that I throw on the ground for them, they have a special liking to the black oil sunflower and safflower seed.  While squirrels can be a bit destructive, they are no where near as much as the raccoons, so I tolerate them to an extent.  Plus they are just so cute, and watching their acrobatic performance is quite entertaining.

 

I've been working hard at getting photos of birds at the feeders but haven't had much luck. It has to be a fairly sunny day to get a good photo through the glass windows, and we've not had too many sunny days this winter. Plus, every time I get near the windows the birds seem to disappear. I'm going to keep trying though and perhaps I'll get a couple of good photos yet!

On the school front, we will be finishing up our snow studies this week, I'll be posting more on that soon, and moving onto another topic, hmmm, maybe birds?  I will be removing my Winter Book Basket list soon and replacing it will a Bird Book Basket!  ALSO, this Friday I will begin teaching a Nuts About Nature class to the 4th graders at my homeschool co-op.  I have lots of FUN things planned for that and will be sharing all about those here on my blog each week.

As I log out off of blogworld tonight, I'd like to share with you one more snow photo I took today.  The snow was falling in large clusters.  We haven't gotten a lot of snow this winter, but lots of dustings here and there on a regular basis, so I've had lots of opportunities for photos.

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?"~ Job 12:7-9

Even though ALL of God's beautiful creation simply fascinates me, I must divulge that there is something very special to me about the birds.  Perhaps it's because bird watching/feeding was one of the first ways in my adulthood that I began the process of coming back to a love of nature, or perhaps it's their delightful, peaceful and soothing voices or even the vast variances in their sometimes cute and sometimes naughty behavior.  Simply stated, feeding and observing the beautiful birds has given me countless hours of enjoyment.  And I think this shows through to my children, for they have developed quite a liking to them as well.

We do not feed the birds year-round; oh I'd like to, but it's just not feasible.  In recent years I used to try and do this.  However there are several factors which keep me from it such as cost, maintenance of keeping the feeders stocked and clean, the masked bandits, the squirrels, and the neighbor's outdoor cat which views my bird feeding station as a cat feeding station.  But, there are certain times of year in which I choose to face all the objections listed and still feed my feathered friends.  One of which is the middle of winter.  During mid-winter, during the coldest time, when the bird's natural food sources are more scarce, they are particularly thankful for my endeavors to keep the feeders ready for them.

Therefore, at the beginning and throughout winter, I stock my freezer with Homemade Suet, fill large plastic boxes with Black-Oil Sunflower seed, Mixed Bird seed, and fill a small plastic box with Thistle.   Also on occasion we will do a special project for feeding the birds; it's just neat to be creative with the ways to feed them.  Last year we made Bagel Bird Feeders, and this year I found a wonderful (and easy) project on The Crafty Crow for making Acorn Squash Suet Feeders.

First we made our Homemade Suet Recipe (above linked) because we we're running out of our supply in the freezer.

Then we cut off the very top of the acorn squash and scooped out the insides.

Then we poked two holes with a nail into the sides of the squash, about a 1/2 inch from the top. And thread through and tied string to the sides and then together at the top (we did this a bit differently than the original plans suggested).

Then we filled it to the top with delicious bird-lovin suet.  The bird's especially love this suet this time of year because it is full of things they need.

 We also cut up an "on the verge of going bad" orange to put out in the feeders.

 It is truly a joy to observe them!  It is not uncommon for me to find my children doing this.

And on the topic of bird identifying/observation.  Check out this great new blog I just recently found, I'll be surfing on this one each day.

And don't forget about the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up February 13-16!  We participated in this last year and really enjoyed it.

If you are interested in how we go about identifying birds, my favorite bird identification field guide is Birds of Kentucky by Stan Tekiela.  He has them for many states.  If you click on the link, perhaps he has one for your state?  And there are a few other online sites that I have linked under my "Nature Links" on the sidebar that are helpful as well.

Updating this to add a great website I just found.  Packed full of information; it has the best and easiest to understand listing of different seed/suet you can provide and why they are or aren't good.

Winter Bird Feeding

I was surprised (but maybe not) that she does not recommend purchasing and using mixed birdseed, saying that it's full mostly of red millet which birds don't even like, so it's a waste of money.  And I have to thumbs up that one because it explains why I always have tons of these little red seeds left in the feeder that never get touched.  So I think from now on I will steer clear of it and purchase more specifically.

Oh and also, there's the matter of a water source.  I have a creek which runs at the edge of our backyard which provides an excellent source.  However, if there isn't a water source very nearby and you are considering feeding the birds, you may also want to provide a bird bath for them.