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Birds of the Pacific Northwest (Go Seahawks!)

January 30, 2014 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

Birds of the Pacific Northwest

Anna's Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Robin

Robin

Chickadee

Chickadee

Eagle

Eagle

 

Seahawks Seahawk

Take the road less traveled (and GO SEAHAWKS!),

Beth

Filed Under: Photography, Seattle Tagged With: Anna's hummingbird, Birds, chickadee, eagle, Pacific Northwest, robin, seahawk, Seahawks, Seattle, Superbowl

Birds in autumn leaves

October 4, 2013 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

 The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

~John Keats, To Autumn.

Hummingbird on a branch

Chickadee in vine maple

Robin on the fence

Junco on branch

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: autumn, chickadee, hummingbird, junco, leaves, robin, twitter

My own back yard: Birds

May 31, 2013 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.

~Dorothy, Wizard of Oz

Chickadee with grub

Baby Crossbill

Hummer and bleeding heart

Goldfinch

Molting Flicker

Want to see more birds of a feather? Check out Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: chickadee, crossbill, goldfinch, robin

Spring in the garden

April 27, 2012 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

Nature never goes out of style

Bleeding heartBleeding Hearts

ChickadeeChickadee

Green and white leaves and blossomsLeaves and blossoms

Robin preeningRobin preening

Twitchy and his pizzaTwitchy and his pizza

Strawberry blossomStrawberry blossom

Baby Bird in the gardenBaby Bird in the garden

Want to spring into more beauty? Check out Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Filed Under: Garden Tagged With: Bleeding heart, chickadee, robin, squirrel, strawberry blossom

Spring is sprung

February 10, 2012 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

Spring is sprung, the grass is ris.
I wonders where the birdies is?
They say the birds is on the wing.
Ain’t that absurd?
I always thought the wing was on the bird.

Pine Siskin on a branchPine Siskin on a branch

Robin taking a bathRobin taking a bath

Chickadee airing his wingChickadee airing his wing

Bushtit contemplating the sunshineBushtit contemplating the sunshine

Want to see more seasonal delight? Check out DeliciousBaby Photo Friday.

Filed Under: Garden, Photography Tagged With: Bushtit, chickadee, Pine Siskin, robin

Bird by bird

September 30, 2011 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

We are proud of The Urban Cabin’s little backyard. It’s a certified “Wildlife Habitat,” and we have so much fun watching their comings and goings.

Last week, we experienced a veritable Bird Festival…so many birds, of different types–ALL AT ONCE–in our yard. It was spectacular. In the first picture you can see the baby Flicker, the Bluejay and the Starling. But what you can’t see is Anna’s Hummingbird, the robin on the fence or the Downy Woodpecker in the tree. And then, the deluge of birds that followed.

Here’s what we saw:

How many birdsHow many birds do you see?

Baby FlickerBaby Flicker. We often see the adults, but rarely the offspring.

Red-breasted FinchRed-breasted Finch. Their chests get more red as the summer progresses.

Stellar JayStellar Jay. We see lots of Scrub Jays but not as many of the Stellars. Love their “do.”

RobinRobin. He was watching his family take a bath.

Robins fightingThere was a LOT of “argument” as more birds jostled for space on the birdbath.

Gaggle of starlingsThen the Starlings show up. Party crashers for sure.

Big Papa says they are the “drunken soccer fans of the bird world.”

Downy woodpeckerDowny Woodpecker. This was  first sighting for us. Obviously he got the memo that day.

Anna's HummingbirdLast, but not least (though where size is concerned, definitely least), an Anna’s Hummingbird. I LOVE these little guys.

Check out more cool shots at Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Filed Under: Garden, Photography Tagged With: Anna's hummingbird, Birds, Downy Woodpecker, finch, Flicker, robin, Starlings, Stellar Jay

Bird Nerd

August 5, 2011 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

I spend a lot of time watching the birds in our yard. And, I spend a lot of time taking their pictures.

Finch in the BorageFinch in the Borage

Nice do Mr. RobinNice ‘do’ Mr. Robin

Hummingbird nibblingHummingbird nibbling

Young robin and reflectionYoung speckled robin and reflection

Huh, what thinks the finch“Huh, what?”

Birds in flightBirds in flight

How this for my close-up?“How’s this for my close-up?”

Filed Under: Garden Tagged With: Anna's hummingbird, Birds, finch, hummingbird, robin

A little birdie told me

May 25, 2009 by Beth Shepherd Leave a Comment

Last weekend we watched local family drama play out in our backyard. Three robin chicks were leaving the nest. The first thing that clued us in was all the commotion in the trees, tweeting, chirping, squawking and the flurry of wings. Soon, we spied two chicks in our plum tree. Shortly afterwards, we saw chick number three hopping around on the ground near our fence.

The chicks were impossibly cute, round little balls of speckled feathers, bits of fluff still hanging on. No necks to speak of, just a big yellow beak that periodically opened as wide as the Grand Canyon to accept worms, berries and grubs Mama and Papa stuffed down their hungry gullets.

Chicklet

One chick found his way to the fencepost and we caught him doing deep knee bends, squatting down and then up on his spindly bird legs, as if to say, “I’ll be darned, look how these things work.” For the most part they sat, in relative safety, under the cover of foliage on the trees, just taking it all in.

Mama and Papa robin, on the other hand were as hard working as any two birds with a family of fledglings could be, racing through the sky this way and that to find food for their youngins,’ while fending off the cadre of cackling crows. They would team up in a moment’s notice and dive bomb the crows to keep them at bay. We were both pretty impressed that Papa robin pulled equal weight in the “kitchen.” Each parent took turns keeping watch on the rooftops surrounding our yard as the other went in search of snacks.

Big Papa and I were tuckered out from the flurry of activity after a couple hours. Later in the day when we ventured back out to check on our little flock, we saw that two of the three chicks were gone, hopefully off to greener pastures. One of the three chicks was still nestled into the crook of a branch on our apple tree.

Mama and Papa robin continued to keep an eye on him and feed him, but we were a bit worried when he was still there the next morning. Special needs chick? Our neighbor thought he was the runt and that his failure to “fly the coop” didn’t bode well for his future. We kept our fingers crossed that he just needed a bit more time to get himself together.

Shake-a-tail-feather

Monday morning he was still in the tree. Big Papa managed to catch a glimpse of him during a test flight from the tree to a ledge on the nearby apartment building. A few hours later, he was back in the tree. Wings, legs, and feet all seemed intact and in working order. Maybe he just liked our little oasis and was reluctant to strike out on his own. When I returned later in the afternoon, he was gone. I guess he was just a late bloomer, something I understand. The plum tree seems a bit lonelier without him and our backyard is certainly quieter.

I think about our own brood of one, who we’ll bring to nest with us in the Urban Cabin. When he fledges, I’ll be on the verge of seventy. Right now, from where we sit, the distance from the branch to the ledge seems impossibly far away. It’s hard to imagine a kiddo running around the house, much less leaving the roost a couple decades down the road. Still, like our backyard buddies, that day will come when he stretches his wings and takes flight.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Birds, chicks, robin, trees

Some might fend off a mid-life crisis by leaving the comforts of their corporate salary to jet off to a deserted island. Others might buy a Jaguar. I’ve chosen to dive head-long into my 50s and beyond by becoming a first-time parent. At any given moment you might find me holding a camera, a spade, a spatula or a suitcase. Or my little girl's hand. Adopted from Armenia, she puts the Pampers and Paklava into my life.

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