What's That in OUR Yard? The Birds Nest Saga

A few weeks ago Francesca got in trouble. (What's new, right?) She looked up at the hose reel and saw something amiss. There was a rough and tumble kind of birds nest in the hollow of the reel and something was rustling around in it. She was very curious.

Of course there is a back story to this saga. One day our owner noticed some Juncos bringing straw and leaves into the hose reel. She thought this wasn't a very safe place so removed the "debris" hoping to dissuade the little black-hooded birdies from building a nest. She went to bed thinking everything was taken care of. Imagine her surprise when she awoke the next morning, went outside and saw.... a huge messy Junco nest. Inside, they had made a little round indentation and they weren't going to budge! So she let them be. "Let nature take its course," she muttered.

Junco

So the next day she checked and sure enough there were four little eggs in the nest. And the mother bird definitely was inhabiting the nest.

Back to Francesca's troublesome day. Well, the eggs did hatch and it was those tiny birds making the noise that she heard. She sniffed and it smelled interesting to her. With no mother bird in sight Francesca went up to the hose reel and with one huge bite, she lifted the nest out of the hose reel and was coming around the corner, prancing.... when she ran into our owner.

"Drop that NOW, Francesca," could be heard way over where I was on the other side of the yard. Francesca dropped the intact nest and I guess our owner picked it up and put it back in the hose reel.

A very bad photo of the birds in the nest

The days passed and the birds in the nest got noisier and noisier. The mother and father birds would swoop out of the nest if one of us approached. They were very protective. Our owner is protective too and put chairs all around the nest so we couldn't bother the birds.

So the day came that we packed up and went to our Doggie Country Club for an entire week. We got back yesterday. Francesca and I both went over to where the nest was and sniffed around. We didn't hear or see anything. Apparently the birds flew away when we were gone.... all of them!

I don't know if there is a moral to this story but Francesca should know better than to pick up a nest with live baby birds in it. She's lucky they all lived!

The culprit

Love, Cinnamon

Birds: Cinnamon likes some but not others

Here I am bird watching.

It was a fine evening in the backyard. My owner and I were communing and bird-watching. First we watched a pair of Red Tailed Hawks circle overhead. I was thinking that they might attack me. I decided the best safe place for me would be to hide under my blue bench.

I kept sniffing the air and sensed a squirrel in the not too distant woods. My owner thought I was a bit loco because the branches were moving. The squirrel was hopping from branch to branch and I really didn't see it. I was too busy sniffing. Smell is my strongest sense by far.

But back to the birds. My favorite visitors to the back yard are the Colibri. Oh, that's right. I'm not in New Mexico anymore. You folks won't understand. Colibri are Hummingbirds. They buzz and they hum in our yard and come to feed at the special bird feeder. When they get their fill, they buzz off into the tree-tops. They love our bird feeder.

Here comes a friendly Hummingbird to our feeder

I am annoyed by bees, flies and blue jays. But why am I not annoyed by the buzzing Colibri? Why don't I growl at them and chase them? I think it is because the Colibri remind me of my homeland... of New Mexico. There are many hummingbirds that fly through when they migrate to and from Mexico. They are my friends. Colibri help the plants and they make my garden pretty. And, most importantly, they remind me of the land of my birth.

My friends in New Mexico had about four hummingbird feeders in their backyard. They had lots of hummers coming and going. I loved spending time there with my friends Pinta and Bridget. I even kind of liked Aly, even though she was testy at times.

Me gusta las Colibries

The Colibri remind me of home. I am kind to them. They don't buzz me and are kind to me!

They are kinder than Sammy the Blue Jay and those Red Tailed Hawks that circle overhead. Of course there are the noisy blackbirds. I get tired of the "Caw, Caw, Caw."

So now that I have had my visit from my Hummingbird friend, I am off to bed.

Photography copyright: Elizabeth Rose Photography

Excuses, excuses, excuses: Cinnamon tells about the big oak tree and her eye issues

Here's the huge oak tree where the birds live

I haven't been blogging much lately because my eye is watery and itchy. It might be allergies or something else. I'll find out today when I go to the vet. So that is my excuse for not blogging.

I've actually been having a great time at home. I went to the dog park and ran into tons of dogs. The sunny weather brings them out. The two little dogs who always wear matching shirts were there and I've run into a couple of young hounds to play with. I always run up to the hounds to say hello and to compare blood lines. You never know when you might run into a relative!

But some of the most exciting things happen right in my back yard. The huge oak tree leafed out. Up in that tree (and I do look up) live two blue jays. I call them Sammy and Samantha. They are huge and very bossy. They don't like it when I come out and look at them. Sometimes they hop around on the fence and watch for me.

Up there high in the branches you'll find Blacky the Crow. Blacky is also a rather noisy bird. Then in the lower branches you'll find smaller birds like Chickadees. We have a hummingbird feeder and there is a really bratty hummer named Rufus that feeds there. He whirrs his wings really loudly and has bright reddish copper on his head. He thinks he owns the place. There is a smaller hummingbird that is a dowdy green color. This bird is afraid of Rufus.

If you like birds as much as I do, you might like the Thorton W. Burgess books. My owner read them all when she was a little girl. And when my eye isn't bothering me (sympathy needed) I read them too!

Here I am feeling bad about my watery eye. It is actually worse than this.

So between the dog park and the back yard, I've been enjoying some sunny days. But my eye keeps watering, and has whitish discharge too. I have to go to the vet today and see what's wrong. But don't expect me to let my owner use any eye drops!

The eye problem keeps me from working at the computer. Please feel sorry for me! Please!