Saturday, September 6, 2008

Got seeds?

This picture says two things to me. One, birdfeeders shaped like cute little bears make great snack bowls. And two, I really need to clean my windows! Actually, this was a common sight at my house this spring. It didn't happen everyday, but it happened. I lost quite a few feeders. It got to a point where I had to bring them in at night. Since summer, bears haven't been coming into the yard as much, though they are still seen in the neighborhood. Now that berry season is ending, I'm sure they'll be looking for those last good meals before winter, so I'll have to be more careful. And just so you know, I was sitting less than 3 feet away when this bear was here. I was typing on my laptop and didn't even hear her come up behind me.

Today, however, is a completely different sight out there. My husband just stood up from the couch and when he looked outside he said, "Oh my God!" I swear, there had to be over 100 finch birds out there. And maybe 100 is a low count. They are everywhere! We have a fountain out back, next to a birdfeeder, and the birds are going absolutely nuts. I have never seen so many birds in one place. The sad thing is that our house has a funny shape to it and has a great room with 8 big windows and 3 door panels made of glass. You got it -- thunk, thunk, thunk! I can't even count how many have crashed into the window today, but it's a daily problem. Sometimes they fly right off, but other times they sit on the deck stunned for a long time. Sometimes they hit so hard and don't survive. It was like this in early spring, but the number of birds mellowed out in summer. Now it's absolutely crazy again. It must be their migration time. Either that or they just love my house. "She bought the good seeds this time!"

We drive around for hours in national parks looking for wildlife. Our main goal is to find something rare or unique, aside from the commonly seen elk, bison or deer. We're usually looking for bears, wolves or something we never see like mountain lions, badgers or porcupines. It's kind of funny though because even with all that driving around, all we really have to do is look out our living room windows. Bears aren't a problem in our neighborhood and we haven't had any real issues. Most of our neighbors love seeing them too, which is why they moved here. This picture is of a mama bear and she has two yearling cubs. I've gotten some amazing pictures of them right here in my own yard. I've never gotten as good of bear pictures in all the national parks we've visited. This, of course, isn't one of the better ones, but it's pretty spectacular in itself.

8 comments:

  1. We live on the mountain so we see bear, deer, turkey all the time...but I still get excited when a bear gets close to the house...once I was in my lawn chair reading and I got up to get something to drink...when I looked out the window there was a bear right beside my chair...the one that I had just been sitting in! It had to have been right behind me, but I never heard it...I don't know what I would have done if I had still been sitting in the chair!

    Gotta love that wildlife! grin...

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  2. Yikes Brenda! That would be scary. I haven't laid out on my deck too much because of that. If I lay in the sun, I usually put a towel over my eyes. I tried to, but kept freaking out that a bear would come onto the deck. They are amazingly quiet!

    Your house sounds a lot like mine with bear, deer, wild turkey, etc. I love it.

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  3. When I look at this picture, all I hear in my head is, "Nom, nom, nom". Heh.

    That finch story is crazy. Poor little guys. They probably think they're going to fly into some kind of small, secure cave, then THWACK, right into your windows. :(

    Gale

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  4. Although there are tales of bears being seen around here, I don't know if anyone actually has. But what CAN be seen and heard upon occation (because they still migrate through) though it is rare, are mountain lions.

    I have not actually seen one, but I have heard, more than once, their spine-tingling yowl, which sounds just like a woman screaming. One night it was VERY close to the house. The next morning we saw prints and found where it had slept under a cedar right off the end of the porch!

    My husband is sure he saw one while walking the dog one late afternoon. It just wasn't a deer, you know, and it was too big to be another dog running low to ground. Knocked his socks off!

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  5. Gale -- LMAO @ "nom, nom, nom". How true is that. She wasn't too happy when we tried to chase her from her num-nums. In fact, she was a little grumpy about it, but she eventually moved on.

    Bish -- Your mountain lion story is amazing. We have those too in our neighborhood, but I have yet to see one. My neighbors say they've been seen, so I'm always keeping my eyes open. They're one of my favorite animals. My husband has seen two in the wild, back when he worked for the sheriff's department. Driving all night long, you end up seeing a lot of things, even mountain lions. I'd love to see one sometime!

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  6. Um...no bear issues? THERE IS A BEAR ON YOUR DECK! And not a little one!

    Okay, now that I said that I have to say how ABSOLUTELY cool that there is a bear on your deck. I know from WMB that this is normal for you and all living in the Whoolies, but...wow. Very wow.

    And the mountain lion? Good Lord.

    :)

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  7. Oh my goodness. That is a little too close for comfort!
    How thrilling though to see them up so close. Hope you have strong glass !
    BTW, my windows are in the same state of cleanliness as yours. Must be something to do with being creative!
    PS. I'm adding a link to your blog from mine!

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  8. Sunshine -- thanks for stopping by. BTW, I absolutely LOVED your last post with all the pictures of what you couldn't live without. LOL @ coffee being the most important meal of the day. Love it.

    Doda -- thanks so much for adding my blog to your list. I haven't put up a list on my site yet, but I might have to do that. I do have a bunch in my favourites that I check on, so I've added yours as well. I hope to get back to it later today when I get home. :)

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