Thanks Elaine! Now I get it!


Here are this year's owls...the babies seemed older this year and much more wary of me than the last two years, I couldn't get as close.













Can you find the owlette in this one? He's looking right at the camera!

He really blends in nicely! Great pictures, Patty!

Lots of thunder and dark clouds now. Looks like the afternoon storms are here.

Jim

Thanks Jim....I like photography too (though I'm an amateur!) Blue skies here with a few puffy clouds...no rain in sight, and I hope it stays that way since I fertilized all the orchids this morning...

Too cute, I love that little one!

Awww I love the screechers!!!!! So great!!!

Here is one that was rescued...he had some sutures put in the back of his neck and subsequently had some vertigo issues that made him Upside Down Head Guy.....they resolved and he is upright now but it was pretty difficult feeding him with his head like that!



These are two of my buddies who come see me once in a while. Ted the Heron and Two-Socks the egret. Two-Socks "bill-claps" at me, as if I am a potential mate, but he is not my type. I'll let him down easy, don't worry.

Wonderful pictures Kate!

Jim

I love this!

Aww, your birds are lovely Patty and Kate. I must get my tripod set up next to my desk again. I pretty much have the same birds as Patty, but I let the blue jays have their share and still get lots of other birds at different times. I had a family of cardinals this morning, mama, papa and two babies. The bullies at my feeder, are, surprisingly the fat, dumb mourning doves.

I solved the squirrel problem with a net under the feeder. The birds drop a lot of seed, and what the net catches, the squirrels eat. It's worked out well, and the squirrels rarely even try to get at the feeder any more. I want to keep feeding the squirrels because it helps to keep them from raiding my mango tree, where they drop a beautiful ripe fruit on the ground and eat about a teaspoon out of each one then leave them to rot.

Kate, I LOVE the upside down guy! Glad he's all straightened out, but how cute was that!!

Elaine, Interesting stuff...with my feeders the doves are never ON them, but they are UNDER them (on the ground) all the time. The hierarchy here goes: Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Cardinal, and Titmice.

I try to discourage the squirrels...I like looking at them, but they dig in my orchids (usually red pepper flakes help) and other plants, and they carry fleas (which my cat has quite enough, especially if I'm a few days late with the Advantage!).

This was this morning at my front feeder, (not sure if something happened to the mama Cardinal but I keep seeing daddy feeding his two female babies, but haven't seen mom around for a few days. )

Patty that fern's growth is so neat. Is it a rabbit's foot fern? Cute little birdies!

My sister in law called Upside Down Head "Upskirt Owl." I thought that was very clever!

Here is a pic of the eagle couple that are nesting in the neighborhood. They love sitting and pooping extensively on this vacation home's roof. Here it is, nice and clean after they pressure washed it and left.....not for long! Ha-Ha!



Here's Ted and Two Socks enjoying the pool. It's a salt water pool so I don't worry TOO much about the chemicals...

Ted and Two Socks at the Pool is a sight!!!

Hi Kate, Yes, it's a rabbit's foot fern. I've had it about 4 or 5 years and the 'feet' have totally covered the basket...but lately the foliage has been falling off in droves! There isn't too much green on it at all.... I'm not sure it's going to make it and I have no idea how to re-pot it with all those feet wrapped around it! Not sure what I'm supposed to do with it...but some of the little birds seem to like landing on it and 'preening' it!
Does the third bird at the pool have a name too??

Lovely pics Kate and Patty. Love your pool buddies there, Kate.

On the fern, you might try taking some starts from that old plant and starting a new basket, Patty. Or if you can just take that whole thing and set it in a larger basket with soil/medium around it, it might take off and green up again, too. I've done that with orchids but not a fern.

Thank you Elaine!

Good advice on the fern...I may try it...don't have much to lose....or the next time it's cool enough to be outside and I want to try my patience I may just sit with it and see if I can't pry those little feel lose and re-pot the whole thing!

Here are some pics of it in 2013 when it looked MUCH healthier:

It's a very cute fern. I would try to save it, at least for its bird fan club!

The third bird is a white morph great heron..He wasn't around long enough to get a name! Ted was NOT at all pleased with his presence at the pool and chased him away. Guess birds haven't established any civil rights in their society yet.

Ted tolerates any other bird except other great herons. Interesting.

Yep, I read that herons are territorial so that's how I've kept them away from my fish pond - I have a little tin sculpture of a white heron there. The real, live white heron dined on some very expensive goldfish a few months after we moved in here, so I did the homework, re-stocked with 29 cent fish from Petsmart, and those little guys are now over 6in. long! No more herons fishing on my front porch.