Monday, January 5, 2009

National Bird Day


Today is National Bird Day. I love birdwatching and photographing them. When I was little, my brother and my grandmother both had pet parakeets. My grandmother had this little plastic bathtub and I loved watching her little bird hop into it and splash around while his cage was being cleaned. As much as I love birds, they scare the daylights out of me. I had a bad experience with a crow when I was younger. My next door neighbor had one as a pet. His name was Amos and he didn't like me. If I went outside when he was out, he'd chase me down and try to land on my head. I can't remember how many times that stupid bird pecked at my head or at my feet. It sounds funny now, but to a child, it was terrifying. This was in the 70s, remember, which was the same time The Birds came out. I hated that bird with a passion and that hatred stayed with me for a long time. Then when I began working as a vet assistant, I had to work on birds a few times. That was freaky because they're so fragile and you really have to be careful. For now, my love of birds consists mostly of birdwatching and photography.

I do, however, have a nine-year-old son who is obsessed with birds. He knows so much about them that he's thrown members of the Audubon Society into a frenzy when they couldn't answer his questions. Nathan's the type of kid that goes to a bird show and when they ask if anyone knows what type of bird it is, he gives the exact name including the region it's from. He cracks me up. We call him our little Bird Nerd. While most boys his age are reading books like Captain Underpants or Nate the Great, Nathan can sit for hours reading a 1000-page bird encyclopedia by National Geographic. He's totally obsessed with birds. Both he and his little brother collect the musical stuffed Audubon birds. They have over 100 of these. I don't even want to add up how much that has cost us. On a recent trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom, everyone was engrossed in the giraffes and other African animals, while Nathan was picking out the birds. He yells out, "That's a Victorious Ground Pigeon, the largest pigeon in the world!" Rick had to ask one of the bird experts to see if Nathan was right -- he was. I hope he continues with his interest and becomes an Orithologist someday. I can't even pronounce that, more or less understand what it would involve. Nathan and his birds -- if you ever have a question -- he's the one to ask!

This picture is of a rough-legged hawk. I took it here in the Flathead Valley when we were house hunting in August 2006. This guy was sitting right on a telephone wire and I got some really good shots of him. Rough-legged hawks are winter visitors here, coming down to escape the cold weather of the north. They're unique birds because they are only one of three hawks that have feathers all the way down their legs to their toes. We see them all the time in the winter, but by spring they've all headed north again. I've managed to get some pretty good pictures of birds since moving to Montana. This one is probably my favorite. For those who know me well, know I have a thing for bird feeders. That's why I've also gotten some pretty good pictures of bears, since they love birdseed too. The bears aren't a problem now, so I have 2 feeders up which are being frequented by red-breasted nuthatches and black-capped chickadees. I haven't seen many dark-eyed juncos yet, but they're another bird that hang out during the winter, so I'm sure they'll start showing up soon. Maybe I'll see one today on National Bird Day. Do you have a favorite bird? Mine is the bald eagle.

16 comments:

  1. Great picture. Darren loves to take picture of birds too, he has some good shots.

    Nancy

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  2. Funny how we blogged on the same topic with different perspectives. Wonder what tomorrow will bring for your topic since you tend to go with "National something Day" and I'm following the "Today is..." calendar from teachers.net (I think this was put up to help give teachers something for the kids to learn something fun and new and different. But it will be fun to see where are blogs go tomorrow.

    I've got my January calendar printed out and will be trying to blog every day on the topic of the day, even if I don't know anything about the topic. See you in the postings - E :)

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  3. Thanks Nancy! I've seen a few of Darren's bird pictures, and yes, they're awesome! I loved the one of the hawk with the bird in his mouth. What a great shot that was!

    Elysabeth -- That sounds like a fun thing to do with your other blog. I'll be looking forward to reading your entries.

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  4. Happy bird day! We watched an osprey couple building a nest all throughout vacation. Gorgeous.

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  5. Rena, what a gorgeous picture of the hawk. Your little boy cracks me up, what a smart little cutie! My dad photographs birds, too, I call him a Bird Nerd! :0) We are actually collaborating on a picture book with his photos and my bird poetry!

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  6. I did not know that about Nathan! That is pretty cool for a 9 year old I have to say! I have to say that I am more creeped out by birds then I like to admit. I see a group of birds and automatically think of the Hitchcock film... perhaps your old friend Amos was an extra in that happy movie Rena?

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  7. I have always loved feeding the birds and watching them since I was a child.I'm not sure if I have a favorite,but the prettiest birds around here are cardinals and blue jays.The hawk picture you took is incredible! And your son sounds amazing.

    Leanne

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  8. What a really cool pic of the hawk! I love the way birds-of-prey's eyes look when they're looking directly at you. It makes me want to stare and stare...then I get worried because they might take that as an aggressive posture, so I don't do it for long. Dunno if that applies to birds (I know it does to mammals), but I don't want to take the chance of getting my eyes scraped out, lol.

    I think that's great about Nathan. He seems so engrossed in it that I have no doubt his interest will carry onto adulthood. The Audubon Birds are too cute.

    Gale

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  9. Jacqui -- I bet it was fun to watch the osprey build their nest. They're summer visitors here and there are a bunch of nests they frequent by Flathead Lake. Such beautiful birds. We saw an osprey get in a pretty good fight with a bald eagle once in Yellowstone. Another time we saw 2 parent cranes trying to beat up a young elk who was threatening their chick. Talk about a wild place!

    Kelly -- I remember you talking about that book you're doing with your dad. Have you submitted it yet? I have a similiar one, but I have only subbed it once with no luck. I wish you lots of success with yours.

    Tracy -- I wouldn't be at all surprised if Amos wasn't the star of that horrible film. I tell people the story of him and how he pecked at my head and barefeet. Most people laugh. But you know, to a little kid, it was not only terrifying, but painful. Maybe one day I will blog about the raven I tried to take a picture of here at my house. You might remember that one from the WMB -- ugh!

    Leanne -- Thanks. I envy you seeing cardinals. We don't have them in MT, though a few have been spotted upon occasion. Those are such pretty birds to photograph, especially in the winter.

    Gale -- You know, I don't know how birds react if you stare at them too long. I'll have to see if Nathan knows. LOL! I know with apes and cats, they find eye to eye contact threatening. I've read how people in parts of India wear masks on the back of their heads that look like faces to scare off tigers from attacking.

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  10. I forgot to say it is an awesome picture. I think you really need to get your pictures published - I mean paid for - you need an outlet to sell them too since you take such wonderful wildlife pictures. Awesome job - E :)

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  11. Thanks Elysabeth! I'm working on getting some published. I've had quite a few published in a local magazine. They don't pay a lot, but at least they pay. I just sent off a few more today. I also have several photo-illustrated books I've done, but I'm not having any luck with them yet. Vivian said they are pretty hard to get published because it cost more to do photo-illstrated books. I'll just have to keep trying, I guess! :)

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  12. Rena, actually that was my first try at writing a book and subbed it to a lot of publishers (without major revisions)being a newbie and not knowing the biz (before I discovered Verla Kay's :0) Had no luck, but recently queried to a few publishers with it. If I have no luck, I will self publish it, because I really want it for my family. Good luck with yours as well!!

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  13. Fan-tabulous photo!!! We have some pics of a bald eagle that nests out by our boat. I'll have to look and see if I can find them.

    My sister-in-law volunteers with the Audubon Society. She's always bird sitting.

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  14. Birda.. yeah... LOL

    If australia Zoo rang me up today to say they have a position as a keeper, but its in the bird section... its the only position I would consider turning down....

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  15. I can't believe you took that picture! Wow.

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  16. Great picture! And how proud you must be of your son. I enjoy birdwatching from our porch. We get a nice variety at the feeder and because we are in a major migratory corridor we get "visitors" at different times of the year. My favorite bird is the mockingbird with it's ability to sing such a vast array of songs. Beautiful.

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