Birds
Peter and I spent some time sitting outside today, watching swallows dip and soar around us. We have a 'swallow condominium' that Peter built above a bedroom window on our upper deck a few years ago. There's room for seven little families in his condo, and I think we have quite a few residents this year. They're beautiful little turquoise-y things, shaped like tiny jet planes. It's not much of a picture I'm posting, but I was lucky to get what I did because they dart about so quickly.We also have a family of crows nesting just a few feet from the back door. The fact that the crows aren't
concerned about us with their babies not yet fledged is a testimony to what all the critters around here think of Peter. The crows are regular visitors to our door with frequent demands for food. When we go down to the beach there's usually a crow following us, hopping from log to log, hoping we've got our pockets full of food, I suppose.My husband also speaks 'crow'. He picks out the particular tones in the crow calls and will announce, "There's an eagle out there" or "Oh, a cat!".
When I first came to this house I met Hokey, the seagull who was a regular visitor for forty years. FORTY years. I have a wonderful picture of Peter sitting on the deck reading, with Hokey sitting on one side of him and a mallard on the other, both birds within arm's reach and roosting quite happily.
posted by Susan @ 10:49 PM
2 Comments:
You would be proud of me Susan (especially proud as I loathe seagulls). Yesterday I saved the life of one of your friends. A baby gull fell off the roof at work (the same thing happened last year - they must be a bit thick to nest on a slanting roof).
The little horror pecked me to pieces as I hoiked him back up and then his mother had a go!!
They won't last forty years if I've got anything to do with it!
Bless your heart, Minx! It's all the more noble if you don't even care for them. They're beautiful birds but not nearly as admirable as crows. (Crows actually have earned my respect.) The only good thing to say about seagulls is that other than during mating and nesting season there's usually only one gull in perpetual residence. Good thing too given the quantity of guano I have to clean up!
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