Blue Jay in the Hazel Tree

Feeding Wild Birds

We spotted a Blue Jay in the garden this week.  We don't see them often and they never seem to stay around for long.  They usually just take some food and fly off again!

http://digitalphotographyshots.com/blue-jay-through-the-window/

Our Hummingbird

This is a sweet little story about a lady who rescued a Hummingbird from a wasp trap.

We had a hummingbird get caught in a wasp trap, my granddaughter Ashlee and I brought it inside and washed its wing off as best we could.

What a awful and great thing at the same time. We fed it and kept it for 10 days. During the day it was outside, at night we brought it in.

I'm still amazed with the little thing trying so hard to fly, but just couldn't. It finally started eating real well and flapping its wings more and more.

On the 10th day, I had him outside watching him in the yard. I had my granddaughter take pictures of him.

I picked him up and held him and all of a sudden he flew away, I was in the yard jumping up and down, laughing, that I knew he was going to be ok.

I hated not having him anymore but know he's happier. I'm sure he will be back....Terri :)

Read more at Wild Bird Watching

Ducks Blown off Their Feet

This is a funny video.  A mother duck and her ducklings were blow off their feet by the wind.

All was well in the end!

Bird Houses for a Cure

I was reading an article about a guy and his wife who enjoy feeding wild birds in their garden.  They are also members of a church that like to raise money for good causes. This is about how they find a way to combined the two.

My wife & I have been feeding the birds in our area for a number of years. We love to feed and watch the Humming birds.

My wife and I are also team captains for a team in our church that participates in the Relay for Live campaign sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

We are always looking for ways to raise money for our team. This year we have combined our love of birds and ways to raise money to come up with "Bird houses for a cure".

I own a home repair and remodeling business and so with my wood working skills I have been designing and building bird houses.

I have taken pictures of the houses that I have built and put them in an email to all my friends which I sent out several days ago.

I have sold 3 bird houses modeled after a church. I have 6 different designs and continue to design one about every week.

My wife and I are looking forward to selling my bird houses as well as provide a home for our winged friends not to mention being able to raise money to help find a cure for cancer.

What a great idea!

You can read the article here at Wild Bird Watching

Feeding Wild Baby Birds

Feeding Wild Birds

If you how every wondered how birds feed their young in the nest then you will like this video. 

In the video David Attenborough explains different methods used by some birds.

For example some birds make their nests in holes in a tree which can be very dark inside.  So how can the parent bird tell where the baby chicks are in the nest? It is by the chicks having vividly coloured spots on the side of their mouths.

Different Food For Different Birds

When I moved to my present house and started feeding wild birds in my garden, I used to think that a handful of seeds and some crumbed up bread was sufficient.

I have since learnt that it is best to feed the birds a wide variety of different food and that different food will attract different species of birds.

The article below explains more about this

We currently have three bird feeders, a dish for peanuts, and a bird bath, all assembled in and around a small tree about 15 feet from a bay window where my two cats, Dude and Snugs, regularly observe the goings on. They love it, and are quite irritated when we put the blinds down at night even though it’s too dark to see anything by then. But I digress. What I really want to do is talk about the things I did that might help other people attract birds.

Read the full story here at Bird Food For Thought 

Harry Potter and the Snowy Owl

If you're a Harry Potter fan I'm sure you will be excited about his latest film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

But how much do you know about the owls that have been in his films. 

Snowy Owl

Photo © Erich Ferdinand

While Harry Potter's snowy owl, Hedwig, is the most well known of both the books and movies, many other owls from a range of species have made appearances on page and on screen. From Eurasian eagle owls to great gray owls to barn owls, many of these beautiful predators have been part of the Harry Potter phenomenon. "Professor McGonagowl" Laura Erickson has carefully examined all the owl appearances in the books and movies on her The Owls of Harry Potter page, and she offers tips everyone can use to help owls, even if we're not part of the wizarding world.

Read the full article here at About.com