Smoke laden skies are in evidence this dampish, gloomy morning and my sympathies go out to those of you who have breathing problems. I hope that all the animals and birds displaced by these huge fires have made it to safety and that they are able to find safe refuge in some other part of the country to raise their new families in. That sentiment also goes too to the human population equally affected by these fires who have been displaced.
Our nesting birds have all seemed to have done a good job and, once again, activity around their visible nesting sites has abated and the males trying to attract a female partner have gone quiet! Of those included around our garden are the Robins, Nuthatches, Bluebirds, and House Wrens and, quite obviously, the Grackles and the not quite so obvious,–Cowbirds! I wonder how many of those we are seeing at the moment are still being raised by the unwitting surrogate mothers and fathers of another breed of bird!?
I spent a lovely evening a few days ago just sitting on one of my park benches, watching the activity around our water feature which I had just topped up after a sunny, water-evaporating day had almost passed. A Chickadee desperately wanted to get into the water from the rock it was standing on, but at the same time it didn’t want to get its feet wet! Quite the dilemma
for the poor little thing, but courage eventually “won over” and it got into a very small and shallow part between two stones to ruffle its feathers in the cooling water, as it so desperately wanted to do! Prior to landing on the rock to achieve this act of bravery, it almost did a Hummingbird hovering act above the water, as it sought a spot upon which to alight. Of course this all took place so rapidly that I couldn’t capture it on my camera, as is the case on many occasions when trying to get pictures of the birds in action.
On the point of birds in action, I must congratulate NG Photography Club member Michailo J Beelich for his picture on the last page of last week’s NGT(Vol11No2422 June 2023) of the Osprey in flight after presumably having fed its chick. It’s a very exciting shot of which I would have been duly proud, had I taken it, but haven’t been able to get out anywhere for the past three months to get one of my own; thank goodness for our garden for the ones that I have got! Well done!
I hope that many of you are either just enjoying the birds, or even taking your own pictures of them, but whatever you do, please stay safe and well. Cheers,
John Baldwin
