Oooops

Yes, I missed last week. There was not a whole lot to talk about, though. The feeder has become just as popular as the bowl was, and we even have two or three Western Scrub Jays that have become regular visitors. It is fun to watch them land and shovel in just as much as they possibly can as quick as they can and then fly off. They like to hang on to the vertical part or the shepherd's hook and try to reach over to the feeder. They never stay very long, but they come by between about 8AM and 9AM just about every morning. We can usually hear them well before they appear at the feeder.

While the jays are fun, watching the sparrows can be quite interesting as well. They hang out in the bushes at the side of the house or by the neighbor's yard and just kind of scope the place out for awhile. Before long, one will fly to the feeder and then it is not long before they are all taking turns. I have seen as many as 12 birds near the feeder, with as many as 6 eating at the feeder at one time. They don't seem too concerned with us looking at them through the window, but they are easily startled by activity outside. The tabby cat that has been skulking around out there since just after I started feeding the birds still hangs around, but has yet to have any success as far as I can tell.

We spent some time today just sitting in the car and watching the sparrows in the bushes near the feeder. One would fly up and eat a little bit before flying back, but they seemed extremely cautious and there was never more than one at the feeder as we watched. In the past, they have been all over the feeder while we watched from the car. Maybe the tabby was lurking nearby and we just couldn't see it. Anyway, someone upstairs seemed to be wondering what we were doing just sitting in the car. We saw curtains open a bit and then close again, as if someone was looking at us trying to figure out what we were up too. I am sure they have noticed the feeder, but I don't think they realize how much we like watching the birds as well. Besides, Merilee was enjoying the warmth in the car, as well as the sunshine falling on her side. It was fun to see the sparrows and they hung out in the bush.

After watching the sparrows, we took a drive up Provo Canyon and then the South Fork just to get out in nature a bit, but there was understandably no avian activity. We had a lot of snow yesterday, and even though the day was sunny today, the canyon was obviously not the place to see many birds at this point. I was hoping for a possible Wild Turkey sighting, but that will have to wait I am sure. Still too much snow and too cold.

No recent photos again this time, I am afraid. I did take a few of a couple of sparrows and the feeder, as well as some House Finches I saw up in the trees a couple of Wednesday's ago, but I have not taken the time to download them and get them ready to share. I will get those up next time. In the meantime, I will share this photo of a Western Grebe with a couple of Pied-billed Grebes that I took back in the autumn.