Friday, November 17, 2017

Christmas Early!

While we were out west, we gave our kids their family Christmas present a little early, a bird feeder.  It was a hit, and immediately successful in bringing birds into the yard.  Warning - a bunch of blurry bird pictures follow.  I had a lot of trouble with my auto-focus in the dim grey light.

We started talking about birds because they'd been seeing a Varied Thrush, a beautiful orange and black bird of the Pacific coast which I had never seen before.  It was coming to eat the berries off the Yew shrubs.

We got them the same kind of squirrel-proof feeder that we've had, on a tall stand.  And immediately the Oregon Juncos moved in.  Much like our Junco, but brown where ours are grey.

A Towhee soon joined them.

But the Juncos just stayed around all the time we were there.  Normally ground feeders, they did flutter up to the feeder enough to knock down seeds for the other Juncos.

Of course there was a visiting Chickadee.

I think this was a pair of Purple Finch, mostly brown but with red on the male's head..

But the highlight for us was the kids.  Our grandson spotted the first birds arriving, and several times a day they'd go and watch from the window - our grandson with his toy spyglass, and our grand-daughter with her 'toilet-paper roll' binoculars!  We thought our Christmas gift was a success.

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16 comments:

  1. Delightful grandies, there is something so special there. Our two were here today, on the way home from University. Sadly... I do not even reach Josh's shoulders now.!!! Lovely bird feeder, this will give so many hours of joy and entertainment.

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  2. Oh, my, I LOVE the Oregon Juncos....I want to look them up now. That gift will bring joy for a long time!

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  3. Looks like a huge success! Great gift!

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  4. That's a gift that the grands will always remember. Good Job!
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  5. Bird feeders are some of the best things to help kids with their new love for nature. And I love seeing the birds too, either by myself or on a blog.

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  6. A educationally thoughtful Christmas gift that will be enjoyed year round by the whole family for years to come.

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  7. Hello, What a great gift. It looks like the grandchildren will enjoy watching the birds from the window. I love the Varied Thrush! Wonderful variety of feeder birds, great photos. Happy weekend to you!

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  8. Great idea for a gift, F.G. Love the toilet paper binoculars! :)

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  9. What a great gift and how nice that the birds came right away.
    Don't think I'll be feeding the birds any more once we move into the new house. Don't want to attract the bears to the yard.

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  10. What a wonderful gift that will work for a very long time.

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  11. Some different birds than what I'm used to!

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  12. What a wonderful gift which keeps on giving.

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  13. HI Furry....
    As a bird lover myself, I can certainly appreciate your gift! And for the kiddies! Great job!
    Soggy and dreary here....☔️
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  14. Glad to see you got the young ones started early on enjoying the natural world -- and got to see some different species yourself.

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  15. I'm sure the birds are enjoying it as are the children.

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  16. Nice gift. I have seen one varied thrush in my life. Spectacular bird!

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