The Giving Tree

Have you made a study of trees?  I think trees are one of the most interesting plants on the planet.  There are so many of them and they each seem to have their own personality.  I have fun looking for faces and animals in the shape of the trunks of my own trees. 

My neighbor has a tree in his yard that I have always admired.  I think of it as a giving tree, though it’s really a Mountain-ash.  Fall and winter the tree gives shelter and berries to many birds in the neighborhood.  I’ve seen it shelter hawks on cold winter days.  In the spring it provides sap for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  I’ve seen that giving tree give insects and sap to Ruby-throats and Yellow-rumped warblers, too.  Eventually this tree will die. It will give too much to the sap-sucker and be invaded by insects and disease. 

Here he is the master hole-driller.  The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker makes neat row after
row of small holes to allow sap to run out of the tree. They come back later to lick the sap
and insects attracted to it.

Birch, Maple and Mountain Ash seem to be the preferred sap of these sap suckers.

I’d like to be like this tree.  I want to give my life to those around me.  I would like to provide nourishment for the soul through encouragement and pointing people to the hope in the Gospel.  I want to be a shelter for my family and friends in life’s winter storms.  I don’t ever want to retire from a life of service to others…I want to keep on giving until I have nothing left to give and then be given the best gift of all.  One day I will receive eternal life with God because of what Jesus did on a tree for me.  He gave until there was nothing left to give when He laid down His life for me.  

I'd rather be birding!

Jenny

Scarlet Tanagers

The local state park, that we are blessed with, is hosting a photography contest.  I decided that I would enter.  It's limited to ameteurs and I figure I've got nothing to lose.  The subject has to be a bird whose picture is captured in the state of Michigan.  I wish I had more pictures of birds outside of my state, but I  do have plenty of material from my own backyard.

For months the deer knocked my birdbath off the pedestal it sat on. Every morning I would go out and put it back in place.  The antique cement bath is so heavy that I finally decided to save my back and leave it on the ground.  It was one of the best things that has happened for my backyard birding.  I've gotten an incredible mix of birds now coming because of the birdbath ending up on the ground.


After careful consideration I finally decided on a pair of Scarlet Tanagers who I found splashing in my bathtub one day.  The male certainly catches your eye with his bright red coat.  These birds usually stay high up in the canopy, but on this particular day they both decided to come down for a dip.  I've wanted to have these framed for some time.  I've threatened  promised my husband that we can hang them above our bed on the appropriate sides.  Here they are, "my" Scarlet Tanagers...

This bird's beauty takes my breath away!

I especially like the composition of this picture.  I printed it so that
it is flipped and looking at the handsome male!

Dropping them off at the Hoffmaster Nature Center, I was told to go take a look at the competition.  My heart swelled with pride when my daughter said, "Mom, you don't stand a chance!"  You've got to love the honesty of a child.  I have to admit that the "competition" is outstanding.  I also have to admit I didn't feel too shabby either.  It's the first time I've exposed myself to anyone so publicly besides you, my friends!

Here are some pictures my lovely talented daughter took the day we dropped off the photos.  I will never tell her she doesn't stand a chance as she travels down life's road looking for opportunities.  I hope she gets out there and lives her dreams.  I pray she'll always have the joy of learning and discovering new opportunities.  Of course I hope that one day she might join me and say, "I'd rather be birding!"

Ella was smitten by this squirrel.  We don't very
often get these Red Tree Squirrels in our yard.

Photography by Ella!

Encore! Encore!

Can you find him?  Look at that gorgeous eye!

Thanks to the Brown Thrasher, Thrasher, I have accomplished very little in days, days.  The Thrasher usually sings each phrase twice, twice!  I was happy to hear him join the orchestra and when I dashed across the street to find him, I was thrilled to hear his friend singing in the next yard.  I first heard him late in the evening as the sun went down on Saturday.  I saw him a couple times and hoped that at better light on Sunday I could snap a few pictures.

The Brown Thrasher and I have a long history.  His song has always led me deeper and deeper into the woods and many a quick birding trip has turned into a marathon of stalking this gorgeous friend.  His warm cinnamon brown feathers are beautifully accented by his buffy streaked breast.  His bright eyes are sparkling with good humor!  Seeing him scratch and thrash through the leaves and debris is certainly worth the chase!  He is definitely a treasure worth seeking.

My first chance at getting a picture of him in my very own backyard was filled with fumbling and accidently changing camera settings and then accidently turning off the camera….GRrrrr!  In my excitement I usually get a little shaky when I’m trying to aim and shoot, so I lost him.

These guys are on their way further north to nest.

These birds are everywhere right now.

For two hours I sat on the cold damp ground waiting for him to appear.  Waiting for that perfect shot.  For two hours I took picture after picture of White-Throated Sparrows, but the Thrasher would not make an encore performance.  I tried my usual trick of telling him he was just a common bird and I didn’t care if I saw him or not….It didn’t work.  I finally gave up in disgust and headed in to work on my never ending pile of laundry.

Today I decided to see what was happening in my new backyard.  I hope that I get the same variety of birds at our new place.  I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.  First the Winter Wren made an appearance.  I’m pretty sure that was the Wren visiting.  He was silent today, but a week ago I could tell by his song he was not a House Wren.  What a gorgeous voice he has.  A hawk flew by on his way somewhere and even he didn’t quiet the constant singing of those White-Throats!  I would guess Northern Harrier by his flight pattern directly through the woods and by his white rump!  Then Hermit Thrush showed up with his constant flicking tail.  Finally who should appear when I least expected him?  Yep!  My Brown Thrasher. 

He blends in so well with those leaves.

After this one flew away another flew in
to replace him.

This is the start of a great migration season, season!

Off to work on my other blog, but I’d rather be birding!

Jenny-Wren!

Morning Symphony

I had front row seats at the symphony this morning.  The surround sound speakers added to the ambiance of the performance.  The rendition of "Oh, Sweet Canada" was particularly moving.  The White-throated Sparrows were well tuned and the way the conductor spread them across the stage was amazing.  The bass drum of the Pileated Woodpecker was resonant and clear.  When the House Wren joined the cacophony the crowd gasped with excitement.  I must give honorable mention to the Mourning Dove's alto voice as it added a richness that had this listener begging for more!

When I read the above to my husband he replied, "You put the nut in bird-nut!"  I took those words as great encouragement and as the compliment I know he was extending.

My son is an accomplished musician.  He loves to write his won music.  For Mother's Day last year he composed a song for me using nothing but bird sounds.  I couldn't help but think of his song this morning when I was bombarded by the delightful symphony of birds greeting the morning sun.  You've got to listen to it.  You'll agree, it's pretty sweet!  The only way I can figure out to share it with you is by putting  it into a video with some of my bird pictures. Billy's Bird Song features my talented amazing son in one of the pictures!! Someday I'll take the time to put the right birds making the sounds with the pictures.  Today I was hastily putting it together to share with you because I'd rather be birding!

Crazy Neighbor Lady

I thought I was getting a picture of a Fox but it was a Song!

This skulker was so hard to capture.  The Fox Sparrow is a large
sparrow that is sneaky like fox and is on his way to his breeding
grounds in the boreal forest far north from us!

I love Saturdays.  I'm sure this isn't a surprise announcement to anyone.  Once spring migration begins I can't wait to spring out of bed every morning and dash outside to listen for any new songs.  The next birds due in are the White-Throated and White Crowned Sparrows.  I've seen their cousins Fox and Song.  I heard Chipping yesterday, but never saw him.

So this Saturday morning I was outside checking on my feeders when I heard a song I'd not heard before, but knew what it was immediately!  Gobble...Gobble.  I bet you guessed it, too.  Turkeys.  I had missed them in the front yard last week displaying.  (My daughter managed to  get a picture for me....Thank you, Ella!)  I wanted to hear them and see them.  I turkey trotted inside to get my equipment.  Did I mention, I'm in my pink polka dotted PJs which are covered by my big purple robe?  My feet are housed in matching slippers.  If you want a chuckle, imagine me at my neighbor's fence on top of a planting area about two feet up.  Camera around my neck and binoculars glued to my eyes.  I'm looking all around for the  turkeys I hear two yards down.  My neighbor on the other side walks out with a load of garbage for his can.  He is dressed to be outside.  He does a double take at me, and just shakes his head.  Do you think he saw me?! I waited for him to go back inside before I skulked back inside like a fox sparrow.  I'd like to say I'll never go out in my PJs again, but that's not true...It just won't be tomorrow.  I never did see those darn turkeys.  Now I'm inside hiding, but I'd rather be birding!
Jenny

These turkeys show up regularly to eat the many acorns our trees
produce.  This picture was taken in the fall!

The End?

Signs of spring are everywhere!

All good things must come to an end. Here I am at the end of spring break.  I'm happy to say that it did have a good end. A spectacular end!  The end of a warbler kind of end...which can only mean we are at the beginning of something else.  Something spectacular is beginning. Something good has begun!  It's warbler migration time!

Can you find the woodpeckers?  I felt dizzy trying to get this picture.

This yellow- rumped warbler is one in a group of most the abundant warblers
 in NorthAmerica

My husband and I were standing watching a pair of downy woodpeckers do a little ritualistic dance around each other.  It was hard to get a picture because they kept taking turns flying over each other to go a little higher in the tree until one would fly to the next tree and repeat this dance from the base of that tree.   All of a sudden flying straight at our heads was this little gem of a warbler.  He seemed as surprised as we were and made a quick U-turn and landed with his butter-butt in clear view.  I could have gone home right then and

there, but I kept pretending I was spending time with my family and ignoring all birds...My family didn't believe it for a minute.  I even took pictures of them to drive the point home!

He turned around and posed before quickly flying back the way
he had come.

No one in our party had ever seen such a small turtle in
the wild.

On down the path we found the smallest turtle I have ever seen in the wild.  Our children had wheels on and were ahead of us on the bike path that winds its way through the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve.  I had to show them this and I correctly predicted my youngest would want to take him home.  I denied the request, of course.  We can't throw off the balance of nature. Because she is a Dr. Who fan, she understood keeping him could have thrown off the whole space-time continuum.  We returned him close to the place we had found him, but off the trail and a little closer to the water. I hope he makes it.  I hope this is his beginning and not his end.

I'm ready to get back into a routine tomorrow and give these last few months my best. I get to spend my days with some of the most wonderful people I've ever met.  I'll be sorry to see them move on to second grade.  At the end of the day tomorrow when I have to come home and make dinner you can bet, I'd rather be birding!

Jenny

Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve

After spending two hours sitting and waiting at the Secretary of State with my son for an activity that took two minutes and forty-nine seconds, "we" decided to take a little field-trip.  It's amazing how  a teenagers disposition improves with a little treat from Taco Bell!  Of course we wouldn't have been at the Secretary of State's office if said teenager hadn't lost something, but I digress!

Our "field-trip" was one of my favorite spots to go birding, of course.  As you can see we went to ...The Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve!  Wetlands and woodlands cover an area that is easily covered in under an hour. There is a wonderful boardwalk that goes through the wetlands and up to an observation deck overlooking the Muskegon River.

We saw more than I could capture on my camera, of course!  I was happy to see this Phoebe waiting for us as we approached the boardwalk.  He just sat there waiting for us to take his picture!

An early migratory bird who likes to be near water, the Eastern Phoebe is a flycatcher that  wags its tail from perches  that are not too high up!

Other highlights included my first of the year  catbird, belted kingfisher, ruby crowned kinglet and fox sparrow...no pictures....You'll have to take my word for it! It was a beautiful day to be out in the sunshine and fresh air!  My son is a lot of fun and I enjoy spending time with him.  At the end of our time together, we stood looking over a small pond.  We were hoping for one last awesome find to end our day.  I felt something hit my arm.  We noticed ripples in the water from something dropping.  It was then that we looked up and saw the under side of cedar waxwings...What goes in one end comes out the other!  

The turtles were out in full force sunning themselves!

My first attack by cedar waxwing poop!!

I am learning that I have to keep my birding excursions fairly short with my kids.  That way they leave wanting more and when it's time to leave....They'd rather be birding!

Brown Creeper is Not a Disease!

Brown Creeper.  Have you ever had one?  It sounded so awful to a friend that she said, "Is this another one of those things that happens to women as they get older, but nobody talks about?"  I hadn't thought about it that way until she posed the question.  After giving a little chuckle I relieved her tension and assured her it was a bird.  Her reply?  "I should have known!"

Most people think of robins when they think of the first bird of spring.  I see those guys all winter long.  I see them in large flocks devouring berries from trees that may have been lucky enough to hold onto them through the fall.  Nope, Robins are not my harbinger of spring!

No!  You are not my Spring Harbinger!

I cleaned off my counter for you!

I have a perpetual calendar that goes back about eight years.  I have written memorable and noteworthy events on this calendar.  I have made a record of births, baptisms, wedding anniversaries and even deaths of loved ones on it.  It sits on my kitchen counter and is looking a bit used, but that's a good thing.  I have also included spring arrivals and fall departures. Look who had arrived on April 2, 2008.  

SPOILER ALERT!!

Yesterday I sat on the couch for TWO hours waiting for a brown creeper.  That's a long time to just sit.  I was just about to give up and start again on April 3 when something fluttered down to the base of a tree.  It almost looked like a leaf, but it immediately began "creeping" up the tree.

He is a hard bird to photograph!

   My harbinger of spring had arrived.  It is the sweetest little bird.  Difficult to see because he blends in perfectly with the color of my oak trees, he reminds me of a mouse.  Why didn't they name it the mouse bird?  Anything but "brown creeper" would be a nicer name for this sweet spring friend.  It must have been at the end of a very long day of exciting bird names that this guy was named.  Poor thing.  Let's start a petition to change this guys name to Spring Peeper....Shoot a frog took that name.  How about you and I call him,  "Certhia americana"?  That's his scientific name anyway and I'd rather have that then brown creeper!

I'm off to get my son's drivers license.  You can be sure....I'd rather be birding!

Blue Jay

I've been sitting looking out the window for about three hours.  Camera in hand, I have at least switched from one window to another.  It's my first day of Spring Break and a much needed rest from my labors as a first grade teacher, music teacher, and computer teacher.  As luck would have it I've just woken from a 48 hour sleep induced by the flu...Yuck!  At least I'm feeling well enough to look out the window and even made it outside to refill my feeders.  I'm waiting for the Brown Creepers to return.  They usually arrive right around April first.  Guess who seems to pop up in every window?  The Blue Jay!

The crows and jays are fighting over these peanuts I happened to find in my garage!

If I was a birder from out west, this is one of the birds I'd want to see!

My friend Joy, at JEMinEYE talked about Blue Jays and her love for them recently.  I've always enjoyed these bad boys, too.  There coloring alone makes them worthy of wearing feathers.  The way they protect their family unit is rather impressive.  It can be a bit annoying when they use their sentinel call to notify all of your presence the moment you set your foot in the forest.  When they mimic the Red-Shouldered Hawk I run to see... a Blue Jay!  With 30 plus oak trees in my yard, I guess I might as well like them because they are here to stay.

I've managed to stay awake for six hours!  I guess it's time for a nap, but I'd rather be birding!

Another bad boy...The crow always alerts me to the presence of our neighborhood  Red-Shouldered Hawk!