Yard Birds

16 Replies

Amateur backyard birdwatchers my husband and I. We have noticed a little bird on our patio the past couple of days. It seemed pretty bold coming up to perch on our patio table chairs and tweeting its head off at us. It was making quite a ruckus this morning. I may have discovered why. I saw a pair of birds flying back and forth from the large Echeveria plant near the edge of our patio with pieces of wild grass in their beaks.  Are they building a nest inside the plant?  Is the bird on our patio standing guard?

Our little lookout could be a chickadee because he fits the discriptions with a black head. The sound he was making at us was like that warning alarm sound you hear in the last part of the little video above. Why are you sending up the alarm? We were minding our own business inside our kitchen when you happened to spot us.

I read that in California you are called the Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee by VJ Anderson

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. Today’s prompt is ‘Why/Y.’ Chickadee video by LesleytheBirdNerd on You Tube.

16 thoughts on “Yard Birds”

  2. joey

    Aw! The black-capped chickadee we have here is my favorite. They seem like such round, happy lil birds, I’ve always liked them. And they like suet here, that’s how to attract more of them. I hope they are nesting — that will bring more to watch! 🙂

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  4. cleemckenzie

    All of the birds around here are pretty vigilant this time of year. I was even warned off by a wild turkey last week when his lady was on one side of the trail and he on the other. He fanned his tail and told me “Back off!” I did.

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      Yikes. I would back off too. I was surprised to find a nest inside our Echeveria plant. I hope I did not scare them off or maybe it was already abandoned. I didn’t want to poke around the plant too much to disturb any nesters. 🙂

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  5. JoAnna

    I suspect there’s still a lot we don’t understand about how birds and other animals communicate. But we can get the general vibe. It’s interesting how many words some parrots can learn.

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      There is a lot to learn. I read a little when writing this post about Chickadees and how, like many other birds and animals, their calls have specific meanings for other Chickadees. Birds that can speak human language are amazing. 🙂

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  6. Bette A. Stevens

    Black-capped Chickadadee-dee-dee! Maine state bird and one of our favorite visiting neighbors… 🙂 When my girls were young (back in the 70s & 80s, we would walk through our trails holding birdseed in our hands and our little friends wood land on our gloves and dine. Later, when I was teaching, I would tell students they were my little Chickadees and tell them about my lovely, friendly and gentle feathered friends. In fact, I’ve got a file on my computer labeled “Her Chickadees and save little school quips for a future story… 🙂 Enjoy your darling feathered friends, Deborah! xo

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      I didn’t know that the Chickadee was Maine’s state bird. Ours is the California Quail. We used to see Quail in our backyard in Northern California but I think they were shy and would run away. Not like the Chickadee. You have lovely memories about the Chickadees. Your students must have loved having you for a teacher. The ones here do seem like they are not afraid of people too. Thank you, Bette. ❤

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      1. Bette A. Stevens

        Thank you for your encouraging words, Deborah. ❤ We don't have quail here, but we do have pheasant–they stay here all year long and love to munch on our crab apples during the winter months. Don't know if you're familiar with this verse from Emily Dickinson, but thought you might enjoy listening to it as your watch your feathered friends:
        “Hope” is the thing with feathers –
        That perches in the soul –
        And sings the tune without the words –
        And never stops – at all –
        ###
        Have a lovely day! ❤ xo

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      2. Deborah Drucker Post author

        It would be so nice to watch the pheasant eating the crab apples. I am familiar with that verse but had forgotten it. Very lovely. Thank you, Bette. ❤

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