Wrinkles and Sags

I am getting really annoyed at all the "then" and "now" photos of movie stars, claiming that they looked so much better "then". For most of those pairs of photos, I find the "now" photos are simply genuine aging with a good deal of grace in most cases.


The multi-multi-billion-dollar cosmetics and 'looking better' industries worldwide need to calm down and find another way to make money. In fact all of the people sucked in by the ads and promotions, spending fortunes on cosmetics to get rid of wrinkles and sags, bulges and droops, are fooling themselves, but not fooling me.

I worked REALLY REALLY HARD to achieve the honest wrinkles and sags, bulges and droops my body has acquired during a long, interesting, challenging, wonderful life. And I expect if the population of the world should change its mind about 'looks' and become proud of what has been acquired through years and decades of hard labour, the money now being spent on all of that cosmetic uneasiness could be spent instead on educating and feeding children who have no chances, at providing millions of small loans to women worldwide to start their own businesses that will support the families they are already trying to raise alone.

In fact it just occurred to me the other day that really, when you look at every society on earth to see who is raising the children and making things happen--it is the women who are doing the constructive and educational activities, and the men (mostly) who are trying their best to tear it all down--whether through war, or violence against women and children, or simply by walking away from their G-d-given responsibilities, leaving women to cope as best they can, with NO male support.

In most societies, it is really the women who do the home-building, the child-rearing, the education, and the community building of all kinds. Men rarely are around to do it. However, they ARE around to criticize and point fingers at the way women appear to them---the clothes, the makeup, the hair, the shoes, the body shape and condition and the sexual attractiveness or lack thereof. And women BELIEVE what the men tell them, and spend those billions on continuing crusades to satisfy those who will never ever be satisfied.

And the women do NOT seem to criticize or care about the wrinkles, sags, bulges, droops and hair loss of the men. However, more and more, men are convincing themselves that women do care tremendously about this and they are buying in at a phenomenal rate to the fantasies and self-deceptions.

I think that Nick Nolte, Tommy Lee whatever, Brigitte Bardot, and so many others are honestly providing me with the visual treat of proof of their lives hard lived.

I think I got this attack of clarity while watching the bird-ladies on my deck, as they built the nests, laid the eggs, brooded the eggs to hatching, then provided conveyor-bird feeding to the young (I admit that many species' males do help on feeding). But it is the women/females/ladies of most species including human, who provide. When the men provide, it is limited, in both time and focus, and often totally self-interested, with a timer on the interest that clicks off when sexual arousal seems to disappear.

Time to turn things around.

Time for all of us--men AND women--to be PROUD of those wrinkles and bulges so honestly earned.

Time to tell the "fashion" and "cosmetics" industries to look at us differently, and help us to build pride in our achievements, however they appear.

Time for all women to STOP listening to and obeying those billionaire (trillionaire) industries and stand up (however creakily) for the hard-won achievements of appearances that demonstrate lives lived.

Another Thing About Crows

They seem to have phenomenal memory.

Over a year ago, I did my best to discourage them from nesting in the cherry tree to the left of my deck. Clapping my hands, throwing things, loud mouth noises...it seemed to discourage them enough to stop building and move elsewhere. I finally realized too that I was annoying my human neighbours as much as the non-h types.

This year, though, they're back, and very very quietly, and inconspicuously, they built the nest in the cherry tree, and every time I went out on my deck they would wing away from the nest to the south and away from my deck. But when I was not on the deck, they'd do a low-hanging flyby with a loud CAWWW that would scare the bjs out of anyone...

While I'm sitting on the deck, they are quiet and really not noticeable at all. But the minute I leave, they're rowdying up the neighbourhood....

And there was a pair out front for a few years---I used to make loud noises to scare them off whenever I went out the front of the building. They knew me, I guess, by my white hair, and my height---heaven only knows by what else---and every time I'd go out, they'd sit up high in a tree and jeer at me---LOUDLY---until I moved off by foot or by car....They never seemed to pay any attention to anyone else leaving the building.

Therefore, I am one of those humans who grant major intelligence to non-humans---and the crows have taught me some very intricate lessons. And octopii and wolfeels....but those are other stories.

The Young and the Feathered

You can't quite call them babies, but the young Downy Woodpeckers are now fluttering after their parents and chirping away at them for food. They are almost as big as mom and dad, and just as colourful with black and white markings, and the boy with a red topknot that he flairs at every opportunity and more.

For some reason the resident Black Capped Chickadee family, or at least the dad, takes offense at the appearance of the Downy Woodpecker family and practices his fly-by terrorist attacks. He's chased them all away from the trees and shrubs around my deck, but he has no affect whatever on the youngsters as they chop out and inhale suet (mostly the one with peanut butter). They don't even duck, just feed. The parents are more cautious and flit from tree to stake, to planter edge, to wall, to stake to tree....well you get the picture.

Why the daddy chickadee is so intent on chasing them away is beyond me. Mom just goes on converyorbirding with big fat white grubs and wiggly black whatevers for the growing chicks.

This evening, as the sun was lowering, I opened the front of the nestbox to see if any youngsters poked their nosed up over the edge of the nest---not a one. When I VERY gently felt in the nest, there were several warm little bumps. So I closed up and got out the hose to water my very dry deck plants. As soon as I put the hose away and went into the house, the chickadee conveyors were back, and then the woodpeckers.

Other constant visitors are what I am sure are male and female White-crowned Sparrows. They look much alike, but the slightly larger one, who moves a bit slower and seems to bend forward, I've decided is mom, and the faster one who is more upright I've dubbed "dad". They LOVE the chopped sunflower seeds, and stand in the middle of the pile for minutes at a time, crushing and chewing on seed. They make of lovely mess, and when absolutely every edible thing is gone from the seed tray, they  have usually left me wtih little black turd reminders.

The little raspberry-coloured finches are constant too, and both moms and dads appear. About 3 weeks ago, I am sure the first nestlings were around---fluttering and demanding while standing knee-deep in the seed pile. The currently-present parent would put up with the yammering for a while and then quickly p;ug the shrieking beak. The youngster would eventually get it, and start nibbling at the seeds around its feet, and the parent would hustle off.

Spring in birdland is just fascinating. Always new things to see.

A beautiful young Great Northern Flicker has become a regular at the suet blocks, also preferring the one with peanut butter--note to self....

One day while the flicker was noshing, an Allens Hummingbird appeared and buzzed all round the feeding flicker. Then took off, but appeared again a couple of times, investigating the flowering Penstimon, Wallflowers, and around and around the flicker. Haven't seen the hummer since, but the flicker is always there in the late afternoon. I wonder where she or he spends the rest of the day.

Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers

During the tiny bit of snow in December 2009, I took some photos that turned out to be mostly silhouettes, of the two types of woodpeckers that are constant neighbours at the suet blocks.

 

You can see the tremendous difference in size between the tiny Downy Woodpecker, and the (pigeon size) Hairy Woodpecker.  Not only in the length of the body, but the length of the bill is hugely larger in the Hairy Woodpecker. The red patch on the back of the head on both males is identical, and the only other difference is in the whiteness of the sidefeathers in the tail. But the size alone is amazing.

I remember a couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to be looking out when a Pileated Woodpecker landed on the feeder. It was truly HUGE...and to my delight, banged around for a while, but it hasn't been back that I've seen.

Intending to keep the birds wild, I intrude myself and my camera as little as possible on them. Just my movement in the living room inside the glass door is enough to startle them, but they do seem to hang around in the trees quite happily as I load up the feeders. Although they dash off with frantic haste as I open the door, they're back with seconds when they hear the door closing again. First chickadees, then juncos, then whatever....

Squirrels seem to have pretty well given up---thank G-d. I rarely see one now. Or maybe the coyotes have got them. Good meal for a coyote. The feathered neighbours seem to be thriving in amazing numbers, possibly partially due to a particularly mild winter this year. There are more than 10 chickadees coming and going in pairs and individuals, and gangs and bunches. They seem to have their own very carefully worked out and obeyed order of ascendency---nobody jumps the line. With the juncos, a different routine---whoever lands first defends like mad, while grabbing beaksful. Then dashes off and forgets about it all until next time.

My friend Mikal was here from New Mexico for a day or two, and she told me about the huge bird rescue centre she runs in her home. She takes her own showers at the neighbours because she usually has a duck in each of her two bathtubs. Adults and kids all bring her feathered bits of fluff in various states of disrepair and ill health. She does what she can to rehabilitate and get them out again, and seems to have a pretty fine system of care and antibiotics and food including a freezer full of mice, and other foodstuffs for the raptors, and pails of mealworms growing for the smaller critters. WAAAAAAYYYYYyyyyyyy beyond what I'm interested in doing. But she loves it and feels so good about making such a difference. I"m so glad there is Mikal and that others are doing the same. In our various ways, as we watch and learn, feed, and care for, we are learning more and more about our wild neighbours and how to live with them.

The other interesting thing lately has been the activity of crows on the lawns all over Vancouver. They dig in like made, tossing turf all over the place, and when they are through, the lawn looks completely plucked. I asked at the Wild Bird store about they are doing, and found that there is an invasive European beetle that they are after in the grub stage....the grub being about 1/2 inch long, and I'm sure full of fat and all sorts of delicious things for crows. Al at the Wild Bird store also told me that the neighbourhood skunks have been doing their part in this wild pest control activity, and that that is why some of the lawns look as if a rototiller had been through. The crows scruff it up, but the skunks really go digging and throwing  it aound.

Now I'm wondering if the lawns will recover next summer, or if we are in a natural state of returning our lawns to vegetable gardens, which they should have been all along.

Feeding Arrangements

My weighted squirrel-proofed feeding arrangements have been working out really well for the birds and for me and NOT for the squirrels. Although the squirrels, with their pea-sized brains, never give up. They are constantly on the cage and trying to figure a way to the seed and suet. When I am there and see them at it, I open the door quietly with my big jug of water in hand, and as they do the double-back-flip and scoot I chuck a stream of water after them. I'm getting quite good with my aim now, using a 4-litre plastiv container that came from the Wild Birds Unlimited store, with seeds in it.  Squirrels HATE getting wet, and it is a good, and harmless way for me to vent, and them to get chased.

They are very very cautious now about any movement they perceive inside the glass door, and are off like lightening when I open the door. Well, most of them. There is a grey one that just doesn't get it. I think someone out there is feeding it/them, and when the door opens it just sits and watches, as if waiting for me to do something lovely....the water flip is definitely not what it wanted.

I do think too that the coyotes are keeping the squirrel population in check. There seem to be 3 black and 1 grey squirrel, probably all the same family, that tour through on a regular and almost predictable schedule. They seem to come from the east, as if they've been foraging in the golf course on the other side of the Cambie Street boulevard, and are heading for home in some tree or rooftop west of me. They always scoot for the bushes to the west, that surround the swimming pool. Sometimes a mad dash up the cherry tree, but usually not. And I've never yet been yelled at. Maybe it is the little native red squirrels that yell at you if they don't like what you are doing. They sure do a lot of it when you are walking through Stanley Park. Now, if there were only the little red squirrels, I would be happy to have them share the food supply. But the blacks and greys are so big, and their teeth and claws rip such shreds in things. They do a huge amount of damage for their size. Never heard that a red squirrel did---although being half the size may have something to do with it.

Years ago, I watched a tiny red squirrel being fed peanuts in the shell by a man sitting on a bench in Stanley Park. The routine was: man holds peanut in his fingertips on his knee. Squirrel comes bouncing from round the back of the base of the huge pine tree, hoppity, hoppity, hoppity.....right up to the man's feet, then quick scramble up his trouser leg, with an energetic hop to get onto his knee. Grab the peanut and launch onto the ground and lopppity-lopppity-lippity-lop off to the back of the pine tree. Maybe 30 seconds or less, and here it would come again, across the grass, to the feet of the man, up the trouser leg and hop onto the knee.

This went on for quite an entertaining while, as I stood and watched. Short of a brief smile, the man paid me no attention, and the little red squirrel even less.

After maybe 10 or 15 minutes of continuous trips, here came the little squirrel again, across the lawn, up the trouser leg, onto the knee, grabbed the peanut---------smelled the peanut--------------flipped the peanut over its shoulder and held out its paws for another. As my mouth fell open and I laughed, the man gently flicked the little squirrel with his forefinger and it hopped onto the grass. It looked up at him, seeming a bit dejected, then picked up the despised peanut and disappeared for quite a while behind the pine tree. Neither the man nor I will ever  know for sure, but probably that peanut was not the top of perfection, to which the little squirrel had become accustomed, but was not bad enough to simply ignore. Maybe he/she even took it and buried it along with the others. However, I think that peanut went to a secret garbage dump that only squirrels know.

Coyote Howl

The other day, Lorraine and I visited the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens again, with leaves mostly gone from the trees, but now showing wonderful shapes and forms and textures in the trunks, limbs, and twigs. Birds all over the place, including the sound of the ravens.

As we walked to the west on a track we'd not explored before, we were roughly paralleling the Avenue, which is just off Oak Street, and one of the busiest thoroughfares in Vancouver. We didn't pay any attention to the sirens, but the coyotes sure did. As the sirens (who knows: fire, rescue, ambulance, police??) started up, so did the coyotes---from three different parts of the Gardens. It was wonderful. We stood with our mouths open, looking at each other, as the coyotes out-performed, out-sang, and definitely out-did the sirens. As the sirens faded, the coyotes did too---with a few last yips to close the symphony.

We have known that there are coyotes in the Gardens, for years. But we didn't know that they participated so fully in civic life. I have actually seen a biggish coyote trotting nonchalantly west on 49th Avenue, with a parade of cars slowly in its wake. I watched in awe as it paid no attention to me, took a right onto Oak Street and disappeared toward the Gardens. Probably came from the Langara Golf Course, and I suppose there is a coyote highway up from the river flats, into the golf course, and then on to the Gardens--both Van Dusen, and Queen Elizabeth.

They are so very very welcome. They are keeping the squirrel and rat populations in check, and staying healthy and bright-eyed as they do this. I so vividly remember the morning when Cookie was visiting, and we were breakfasting with the curtains opened onto the gardens that surround my happy abode. Cookie whispered urgently, "Rivka, Rivka, look, look!!!" and there was a gorgeous young coyote standing just out of the bushes and gazing into the early morning sun. It paid us no attention, and took off at a trot to the north through the gardens and townhouses and swimming pools.

I've sometimes wondered if they visit my deck at night, when I've found the heavy squirrel-proofing on the suet and seed arrangements knocked over. But then, it might be my neighbour the skunk....or......

Deck Dance

RED BREASTED NUTHATCH and HAIRY WOODPECKER SHARE LUNCH

Since the onset of cooler, even chilly weather, the deck has been a constant dance of birdlife comings and goings. The birds that have been absent all summer, are back in flocks and bunches---junkos, toheys, Pine Siskins, Fox Sparrows, nuthatches, Stellars Jays, Great Northern Flickers...

And the daily, and probably many times daily company of the Hairy Woodpecker has been a delight. After all, I do have a life besides birdwatching, so I don't really know how often feathered friends visit. But the last week or so has provided a constant and changing dance all over the deck, on the feeder rests, the seed catcher, and all over the several suet blocks.

At the moment, the squirrels seem to be taking a break--although I suspect they are simply regrouping for the next onslaught. Seems no matter where on the deck I position things, a squirrel will find a way to launch itself across 8 feet and UPwards, to land on the pole. I keep hoping it will spear its little self, and end the debate, but no, every one of them has found a way to get to the seed feeder. So all of the planters are at the edges of the deck, the screen door (as it is not needed with colder weather) is shoved as far as it will go to the north, and all tables and other launching pads are moved (hopefully) out of reach of the pole by the squirrel brigade.

I got all excited the other day when someone told me it was a red squirrel in the cherry tree. So out I went to investigate, and nope, it was just a grey squirrel and a not-too-well-educated onlooker. Now it if had been one of our native tiny red squirrels, I'd have welcomed it with pecans and other delicacies, while snatching back the snacks when the bigger predators arrived. Saw a tiny red squirrel zipping across the road into the toolies the other day in Stanley Park, but not otherwise. Sigh.

However there now seem to be several Downy Woodpeckers in residence, and sharing quite amicably with the super-size Hairy Woodpecker.

MALE HOUSE FINCH VISITOR:

RESTING JUST THINKING

And also this afternoon, a little male House Finch took a rest on the deck where it seemed to feel safe enough to snuggle its nose into its backfeathers for a small snooze. Occasionally looking up and around when bird shenanigans got riotous enough to wake it. I was concerned that the little fellow was not well, as it was all fluffed up and just sitting on the deck. But after a few minutes, it flew to the seed tray for a nosh, then to the birdbath for a drink, and off into the cherry trees.

I do think, however, that the local and visiting birds find the deck a haven. The Black Capped Chickadees and the Red Breasted Nuthatches at least, come zooming in to the feeder even when I'm standing nearby. So I guess they've figured out that at least I'm not out there with a shotgun, and that the thing in my hand is probably food. They also seem to be happy to have me chase the squirrels with loud bangs of the door, hand clapping, and hissing noises. These two bird species are back almost instantly at the feeder after all my noisemaking. But the squirrels stay GONE for at least a while. And the other bird species come back around pretty quickly, so I think they've figured it out---birds, YES, squirrels NEVER!!

Hairy Woodpecker Scores!!

Well, the Hairy Woodpecker is definitely a neighbour now, and visiting many times a day.

I got lucky with my camera the other day, and here are the results.

 

HAIRY WOODPECKER CHECKS THE LARDER AND DIGS IN

GRABS A BITE

SCORES!!

Then roars off with a huge flumpf of wings.

In the meantime....smaller birds dig in from any position....

      RIGHT SIDE UP OR UPSIDE DOWN

Any old stick will do for a hidey-hole. Chickadee investigation is at peak right now....

 And position is everything....

Including just taking a break....

Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers

HAIRY WOODPECKER AT THE SUET BLOCK

PHOTOS THROUGH THE SCREEN, BUT SHOW THE SIZE

DOWNY WOODPECKER AT SUET BLOCK.
BILL IS SHORTER, AND THE BIRD IS SMALLER.

The Hairy Woodpecker is now a regular, in fact, several-times-a-day visitor. It always, invariably arrives with loud screeches, in the cherry tree, or on the railing around the deck. It looks all around and screeches some more, then WUPs, it lifts up and lands on the suet feeder with a flumpf and more screeches.

Seems to need to announce its arrival. I haven't been able to figure out why yet, but I do notice, that when the Hairy Woodpecker is there, the little Downy Woodpeckers are not. However the chickadees, finches, and sparrows are all coming and going despite the flumpfing around and screeches. But the hordes of tiny Bush Tits are nowhere to be seen while the screecher is on base.

I've only been able to take pictures through the screen door so far, as the screecher doesn't appear when the screen is open. So they are rather fuzzy, but do show the huge size of this bird.

When I look at the difference in appearance of the door from the deck side, it is like having a huge black hole open with the screen door open, and a fuzzy wall when it is closed. So I guess shy birds, even if they are big and noisy, are edgy about that black hole.

Hoping the Hairy Woodpecker will stay a regular for the winter. He is even more entertaining than the smaller Downys. And it is definitely a male, with the bright red patch on the back of its head.

Leaf Bathing

        REGULAR DRINKERS AND BATHERS

Something new.

Last week, while I was watering the deck planters and the ones on the railing, getting lots of extra water from the hose onto the leaves and into the earth in the pots, I thought about how much water birds need to drink and to bathe.

About half an hour after I'd turned off the hose, I noticed a Black Capped Chickadee in the twigs of the honeysuckle. It was moving around a lot, and when I looked closer, I found it was taking a shower in the water left on the leaves of the honeysuckle. It hopped onto a twig, turned upside down and bounced, showering itself, then moved to another twig and rubbed its wings and head and tail all over the wet leaves and twigs. It kept moving around and finding new bath water.

WONderful!!! Another trick new to me. I had heard of birds flying through the drops of a sprinkler, bur never leaf bathing.....

Seagulls being Seagulls

I was peacefully munching on a huge cinnamon bun while watching the rain and wind, boat and air traffic, at Brockton Point in Stanley Park. It has been a windy, gusty day and rain started in the afternoon as a fine drizzle, then came on as definite rain. As I finished the cinnamon bun, cleaned up a bit and started to pull out of my parking space, I noticed a seagull coming in for a landing in the empty space beside me. Always interested in what they'll do next, I watched. A young gull, with a lot of grey still in the feathers, but full size. It landed fast and ducked down to pry a starfish off the wet pavement!!! A smallish starfish by our standards--only about 4 or 5 inch diameter, but a fully alive, purple starfish right there on the pavement. The gull is a Glaucous Wing, the biggest seagull on earth, and it needs to be to be prying up starfish and slogging them down.

Well, this starfish wasn't going easily. Who knows how it got onto the pavement--probably pried up earlier from its surf-zone home and dropped by a crow or a gull to try to kill it or at least macerate it enough to get it down. It had its five arms spread right out, and these purple starfish are really stiff with a calciferous structure right under the plushy wet purple 'skin'. So the seagull had much more than a mouthful. An older seagull swooped in to bully, and the youngster took off with the starfish. I laughed, and wondered what would happen next, but stayed on a bit to watch another seagull, same species, also a greyish youngster, trying to park itself on the top pointy bit of the lighthouse roof. Only thing is, there's a spike right at the top, and the seagull couldn't get a grip on the slippery roof all round the spike, kept sliding off. So it tried to straddle the spike--YOUCH--speared in the tender underparts. But it kept trying, and trying. Finally compromised with two feet in front of the spike, heading into the wind, and its bum parked on top of the spike. And so it goes. But if the wind took another twist as it had been doing all day, there would be one goosed gull.

As I pulled out once more, laughing, and started around the oval, I noticed a couple of bicyclists stopped and watching a young seagull on the lawn. It was the same youngster with the starfish firmly lodged in its beak. So I pulled over, and watched too. The bicyclists took off after a minute, but I stayed. The gull seemed really puzzled about what to do. The starfish has suckers, hundreds of them on the bottoms of its arms, and by this time, I'm willing to bet the suckers were hanging on for dear life to the inside and outside of the gull's beak. Not only that, the arms were still stiffly sticking out in all directions.

The gull just stood there, beak to the wind, then sssllllloooowwwwwwwly squatted down on the grass.......as an older, pure white gull came bullying in to take over. Both gulls took off to the west, behind the trees, and that was the last I saw of it. But I'll continue wondering, possibly for the rest of my life, what happened to that starfish. I guess, if the gull could find the right rock, it could bang the starfish hard enough against it to do serious damage. Then things would get foldy enough to go on down the beak and throat. But what about those sucker feet. They take a LOT of prying loose.

In all the years--more than several dozen that I've lived on this coast--I've never seen a gull trying to swallow a starfish whole. I guess today's youngster may learn something from the experience---but I'll never know what, and never know who won.

Old and New Neighbours and a Contortionist

Everybird seems to get along pretty well with every other bird species---the arguments and full-flight-flappings are between members of the same species---often same-sex. I laugh and they don't seem to mind---just continue the flapping controversy until they either disappear into the bushes, or settle it and get back to food.

 WHITE CROWNED SPARROW

Everybody is working away on the deck to keep it cleared of dropped seeds. Even the Hairy Woodpecker took a long turn on deck, with chickadees, and white-crowned sparrows for company. Things are staying really clean, and the squirrels are only occasionally in evidence on the concrete deck. They seem to have given up for now the noisy launchings or attempts at launchings onto the feeder arrangements.

A Hairy Woodpecker arrived on the suet block!! First one I've identified for sure. It is about 1/3 bigger than the little Downy Woodpeckers, has a very long beak, and is a contortionist. Hopped and climbed all over the wire cage, and chose to be upside down, hammering into the bottom of the block. Occasionally would stretch a looooonnnnnng neck to peer around at the neighbourhood.

It is probably a this-year's juvenile, as it was pretty wobbly in trying to land on the seed feeder. Then it landed on the pole that supports all of the feeding equipment, and acted like a slow fireman Slooooowwwwwwlllllyyyyy slid down the pole, while gripping it in both feet. Evidently somewhat embarrassed, it started investigating the clip and the screw-stop with its bill and tongue while sliding. After a while it managed a neat landing on the footrest of the seed feeder and proceeded to investigate all the cracks and crannies on, under and around the feeding holes. Finally got its nose/beak into a feeding hole and noshed happily for quite a while.

Came back a couple of times, and between visits hopped and clambered around on the cherry tree, inspecting the bark and digging and hammering into it at times. Wasn't quick enough to get a photo, and when I opened the door quietly, it took off across the property and away west. Hasn't yet learned that I'm not an enemy. The other birds seem to know I'm at least a neutral, and that my appearance will probably mean fresh grub, and bathwater.

 

BUSH TITS AT SUET

The tiny bush tits are back in full flight and feathers. Their quiet chirping is comforting, and the chickadees seem to appreciate the company.

 

PINE CONES HUGE AND FULL 

Seedcones are looking huge and plentiful -- or maybe I'm just noticing them more, but I wonder if they are not pre-supposing another hard winter.

Insect Repellant for Birds

Years ago I spent some time waiting at the side of the road for something that now escapes my mind. What I DO remember is the activity under the tree across the street. There was a dusty, scruffy looking area directly under the tree and around the front of the trunk facing me. In that dust, there were flocks of small birds arriving and leaving. While they were in the dust, they took a dust bath--which I've seen in many places and with many birds. But they did something else I couldn't understand at the time. After thoroughly dusting themselves, each bird would squat in the dust with its wings outspread to make a sort of tent over the dust. Each bird would sit for a while making the little tent, and then kind of shake itself and fly away.

The whole thing came under my personal heading of "What's Up?" The dust bathing would be followed by a preening session in nearby branches where the dust and old oil would be carefully and painstakingly removed from the feathers. But the business with the tent...."What's Up?"....

I couldn't figure if the same birds were coming and going, or if it was flocks of newcomers, but it seemed to be a regular progression of birdlife coming in from behind me, dusting and tenting, then taking off over the hill in front of me and disappearing.

The behaviour stuck in my memory until one day, I think I saw it on a TV documentary, or maybe someone told me about it, but I learned that the 'tenting' behaviour after the dust bath was taking on a load of insect repellant.

In the dust, too far away for me to see them, were hundreds, maybe thousands, of ants. The dustbowl under the tree was just loaded with the little suckers. And they just hated the birds that came to stir up their homes, and bathe in the ruins, then squat and watch it all collapse. The ants, thoroughly stirred up and annoyed BIG-time, would also squat in the dust and aim their formic-acid glands at the tented feathers above them, and squirt like mad to try to drive the birds away. The birds would take on a load of formic acid, and while doing so, drop a load of mites and other hangers-on in their feathers. These hangers-on can't stand formic acid and will leave the vicinity when any appears---usually by dropping or flinging themselves off at high speed. Fleas can JUMP---and they do.

The formic acid was delivered in precise enough doses to be no bother to the birds, but a HUGE bother and even life-threatening attack on mites and ticks and fleas and other bird-riders.

So what I had been watching was a major pharmacy doing huge business for the neighbourhood feathered inhabitants. Not only did the ants drive the birds away, eventually, but they got a good meal out of it too, as a lot of the bird-riders, trying to escape the acid hoses, landed in the dust amongst the ants. Yum!! LUNCH!!

No matter where I am or what kind of delays are involved, there is always something fascinating or at least very interesting going on. It is usually something I've not noticed before, or not noticed in that particular setting.

So today, while semi-snoozing on my chaise on the deck, I watched the chickadees arriving and departing, carrying on conversations and arguments, carrying away seeds, and acting as the warning system for the bird-life in the neighbourhood. I noticed that a lot of the chickadees were really scruffy and missing a few feathers in odd places. Then I remembered that it is August, and the exact time of year for the moult and regrowth of new feathers for winter and for some---for the long flight south.

I noticed too, from my unusual vantage point above the ground-fossicking birds, that the male purple finch has a sort of crown of raspberry-red feathers, and if you watch really closely, there is also a flash of the red under the wing converts, along the body.

My feeding system seems to be working as I want it to, and the grey squirrel simply passed by, not even attempting to come on deck for a nosh. I've heard crockery falling some mornings. The evidence trail indicates that they've evidently been launching themselves unsuccessfully from stacks of pots, tipping them, and crashing them onto the concrete. So far--pots intact, squirrels gone. YAY!!

Gotta Fish...

FINDING A FISH





It is just amazing what wonderful things my friend Lorraine and I see when we walk slowly, sit and watch a lot, sneak up on...whatever. We've taken out memberships in the Van Dusen Botanical Garden. This last visit was special again...

The heron produced a saga as it caught a really good size carp and swallowed it. We'd been admiring the huge carp in all the ponds, upwards of 14 inches some of them. After the heron's meal, we noticed a lot of smaller carp following the big ones, or swimming below them.

It's amazing watching the heron ssslllllooooooooowowwwwwwllly stalking a fish. The patience and eyesight are superb.




GOTTA FISH




It caught and swallowed a little fish or two, but the big one was a real problem to get down. It had to get it out on land, then turned the right way around in its beak, and the fish was objecting like mad.




SWALLOWED THE FISH




So the heron dropped it on the ground a couple of times to get a new hold. Finally, after about 10 minutes it got it right, and the fish disappeared nose first down the heron, with a HUGE bulge indicating the progress through the long neck of the heron....Lorraine and I laughed!!!!





GOT THE FISH ALMOST DOWN











On a sunny day, the turtles are out on the rocks and logs sunning, and the dragonflies in all their multi-coloured glory are zooming all over the place.

This last visit was somewhat overcast, so no turtles, and the little yellow waterlillies were folded up. But there were simply thousands upon thousands of bumblebees---small ones---at almost all of the huge variety of flowers.

We also heard ravens but didn't see them. To me this was a HUGE treat, as I have not seen nor heard a raven in Vancouver proper before these ones. Lots of crows, but this was the first for ravens.






DIGESTING & THINKING ABOUT IT










The young Pintail ducklings we saw before are fully fledged now, and just a bit smaller than their mom and aunties. They were making a huge production out of getting a bath---it looked as if they were rowing with their wings---then huge flappings and disappearing underwater for about 5 seconds, and POP up again.

Goes to show

While I was watering my plants, I noticed that the very deep hole in the grass outside my deck's balustrade was still there. I don't know what it is about talking about something that often seems to make it come true. No sooner had I posted the last blog entry about no more rodents, than right there at the foot of the suet feeder was a rat---a young one.

So I shoved a poison packet down and into the hole, then tried to plug the top of it with a stamped-down block of very hard earth. I'll keep an eye on it and if it gets dug out again, I'll ask management to try to deal with it.

On the other hand, the entrance to the drain for the deck does NOT seem to be rodent-filtered with a screen, so I expect I'll talk with the men who did the work and see what is going on.

I wonder where the tunnel goes that I've tried to poison and plug...

Long and HOT but Now Rodent Free

The summer has been long and HOT for Vancouver. From 32 to 34 degree Celsius for days--record breaking.

The birds and I have had interesting challenges. Finally got rid of the rat(s), when management tore up the old and rotted wood decking and left a clean concrete surface, with attractive wooden inserts. They've sealed the drain with a wire trap to exclude rodentlife and the deck feels much better and cooler. The management team who tore up the deck were all too familiar with rodentlife in the neighbourhood and more than happy to help me exclude it from the drains.

During all of this the planters were moved outside the railings, and I tried to keep the birdbath filled on the south side. No seed feeding, but the big suet block has had constant visitors: new Black Capped chickadees, new fluffy-looking Bush Babies who are noticeably uneasy about landing, but who have no difficulty flying. The Downy Woodpeckers are still around and I've heard the voice of a flicker.

Now that things have settled down again---took almost a month during our hottest weather, I've moved the suet onto a concrete pillar on the deck and the birdbath beside it, with my deck and visitor chairs nearby. Being as circumspect as I can about the feeding and bathing arrangements. Feels almost normal again.

The hot weather is, I think, hard on the birds too. No signs of squirrels or rats anymore, and hoping I've seen the last of the latter. I expect the tree rats will return with cooler weather and the fall crop of nuts and seeds.

Ohhhhh

The folks at the Wild Birds Unlimited store tell me that the Pine Siskins I'm finding who are 'slow' or 'brain damaged' or otherwise visibly impaired are victims of salmonella---the same as the small one earlier in the spring. Evidently, the Pine Siskins are particularly prone to infection, or at least to manifestation of the disease. They also tell me that a lot of (most?) bird species carry the infection but have no problems with it.

Chickens, and particularly turkeys are infected, and so are their eggs.

You've probably already heard all you want to about washing fruit and vegetables, and cooking meat and eggs thoroughly.

Well, also wash thoroughly after handling ANYthing that has been or could have been in contact with wild birds. Every time I fill the feeders, or the suet holders, I come in and wash in hot soapy water, including scrubbing with a nail brush. I also do it after sitting in the chaise on my deck, as the birds just love that padded liner as much as I do. But unlike me, they also use it as a place to poop. So I've made it a habit to wash thoroughly when I come in off the deck---summer or winter.

Who would guess that those adorable, hilarious, friendly, bumptious little feathered critters were so dangerous.

Hilarity and Delights

Well just when I thought I had seen almost all the bird behaviours, dozens and dozens of youngsters arrived. Such flutterings and flappings, such fluffings and circlings, squawkings and screechings, and somersaults in midair. Even the occasional baffled-looking wee one arriving through my open screen door, and landing on the edge of the coffee table or the television. A puzzled look around, a small screech and out again...

TWO young flickers are coming to the suet block. One with the delightful red mustachios, the other without, but both digging into the suet and peanut butter mixture, and flicking their heads back while smacking their bills together---because peanut butter also sticks to the roof of a flicker mouth....






SLOW YOUNG PINE SISKIN

A really fat and fluffy young pine siskin seemed to be either brain damaged or really slow. I went over to it, and it just squatted there on the deck watching me bend down. I put a hand down to stroke it, and it move a bit out of the way. Again my hand, and again it moved. Then I put a finger in front of it, up against the breast feathers and it clambered abord my finger. I toted it around the deck a bit, talking softly to it and assuring it I meant no harm. It seemed quite content to ride along, even making soft chatterings at me or at any bird-neighbour nearby. I did this several times during the long hot afternoon. This youngster made regular trips around the seed feeder, to the birdbath for drinks, and into and around the bottoms and through the tangled tops of various planters.

It's now several days later, and I am certain the same youngster is gaining confidence and losing weight. I can get very close to it, but it quietly edges away from my hand now. It's feeding just fine and seems to be growing happily.

The squabblings and fluttering fights in mid-air are hilarious. Every one of these youngsters of whatever species seems out to prove to me that flying is definitely no problem, but landing is the tricky bit. And the 'abort abort' 'fly around' 'fly around' wobble wobble tilt tilt of the landings is wonderful, and as varied as the species practising.

The other day I wondered what the robins were sreeching about. They were making a tremendous racket from the tops of the cherry trees. I went out and found that a crow had landed on a robin baby out there on the sidewalk. So I quickly clambered around the end of my railing and ran over. The crow left fast, and the baby squatted there with its wings spread, its tailfeathers really short, and its speckled breast heaving mightily. When I bent down to pick it up, still with parents screaming overhead, the baby flew off and away over the planter boxes to the far side of the big public deck. With parental screams for company, I followed the baby, and by coming around to the west, behind it, encouraged it to take flight into the grassy place, and land under a bush. Again, flying: no problem, but landing, hoooo boy: very tricky. As soon as the baby landed under the bush the parents stopped screaming and screeching at me and the world, and quietly flew over to roost above their offspring. Baby saved this time. Parents saved from full dementia, and crow exasperated and done out of a hefty meal.

Some starling youngsters have been shown my feeding arrangement by their parents, and are attempting to land and feed, but every time I see them I greet them with loud clatters of my hands and bangings that scare them away. The last thing I need or the other bird neighbours need is a flock starlings hogging the food.

I'm wondering if one of the gigantic black birds I'm seeing is a raven, not a crow. I've never seen a raven in Vancouver, but this black bird is truly huge---and silent. It is probably just huge in comparison to all of the tiny siskins, chickadees, finches and sparrows, but I'm not sure yet.

The squirrel-proof feeder is adjustable for the weight landing on the roosting ring, and I've now got it adjusted perfectly to allow the flickers to feed, but to close up when a squirrel or crow lands. Unfortunately, the starlings are a little smaller than a full-grown flicker, so all I can do is continue my targeted scare tactics, and hope they'll move off. I really really want to have flickers for neighbours, but not starlings.

Both mom and dad Black-capped Chickadee are taking turns trying to encourage their offspring to land on the suet feeder, but so far, no luck. Parents land on the hanger above, call dee dee dee, dee dee dee, and look around at the youngster teetering hopefully on a cherry twig. Then parent moves down to the suet with more dee dee dees, and plunges in for a beakful. No luck getting youngster to fly down, so parent retreats to the cherry twig with a beakful and stuffs the face of the offspring. This has been going on for a few days, and I expect any time now, the youngsters will 'get it' and come on down.

In the meantime, I'm call the Downy Woodpecker children, fluffy woodpeckers, as they land with a 'flumpf' of downiness and are all fluffed up and out with baby down still attached. There's both a boy and a girl arriving, and sometimes mom comes and digs hard into the suet then shoves it up at the face of an offspring who happily gorges.



WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

The place is flapping with babies and youngsters, and they all seem healthy and happy and full of fight. Except my little possibly brain-damaged, or just slow Pine Siskin. Nice to see it improving in strength and abilities.

Sadness

As it has been several days since there was any adult movement to the nesting box, I opened the front just now and found inside two dead chicks and an unhatched egg.

Sadness.

The smell was pretty bad too.

Trying NOT to imagine the feelings of the parent birds, after all of that effort. But I think that at least one chick fledged. I sure hope so.

So I've cleaned out the box, and replaced it.

The Black-capped Chickadees are still arriving at the seed and suet feeders, so they're in the area, although I've not noticed any young.

So, just in case my opening the box was too much for them, I'll not do that any more. If I can find a camera I can afford, I'll try putting it in the back of the box to watch nest-building and the rest of the goings on next year.

New Neighbourbird

Another weirdness has been visiting my feeding arrangements. Turns out that it is a Dark-headed Grossbeak. Have never seen one before.

This bird is also very shy, so I've not been able to get a closeup photo. It nips around the edges of the seed scattering on the deck floorboards, and then hustles off through the holes in the railings to wait for another opportunity.

Birds at the feeder for suet or seed have been pretty few these days, as there has been a bumper crop of wiggly critters in the trees and bushes. At least, the evidence in the beaks of the Black-capped Chickadee conveyorparents has been massive.

Two White-crowned Sparrows, and raspberry coloured finches, currently with flutterings of incoming offspring are my visitors these days. The finch offspring are so cute, and so bumbling. They can fly just fine. It's the landing that's the tricky bit. And they'll try to land on anything, even my head if I'm still enough while they're fussing around their parents and the feeding arrangements. That would be just fine with me if I didn't know that bird-poop is very much part of the package with human-head landings. No thanks.