The sunlight is low and activity levels in the garden are generally low too, given it is winter. But there are signs here and there of plant life that provides for interest in this season of quiet.
The Bottle Brush bushes have a good covering of “brushes” right now. These bushes are located very close to our house which means the birds fly away swiftly at any approach.
Hmmm I thought why not try a photo or two through the not too clean kitchen window that overlooks this spot?
And here we are.
A female sparrow keeping a close eye on me as I kept a close eye on her!
Spotty window, breeze, bush movement from other feeders and her own subtle movements to maintain balance have not prevented a couple of satisfying images.
It is easy to work at the bench right now with so many birds feeding here at the moment.
I have some waxeye photos taken in the same manner to post about too.
In the warm afternoon sun yesterday this sparrow sat on the fence hoping I would throw out some seed.
After I had finished taking photos I did throw handfuls of birdseed out for the little birds. They deserve some help in this bitter weather that has returned today.
After my post here about offering a very good bird resort for Tuis with full facilities on offer, I discover that my hospitality has been extending further.
The local sparrows who visit the garden in large numbers, some of whom are nesting in under the roof corrugations have been enjoying the” greens” I have growing in three tubs as well as the bread crumbs and titbits I toss out for them.
Pictured above: Male Sparrow (An introduced bird to New Zealand)
I had noticed sparrows pecking at the old silverbeet plants during the winter months and it would appear that they are even more partial to fresh new silverbeet and lettuce plants. The new plants have been pecked down rather dramatically.
Mother sparrows have obviously taught their children well about eating what is good for them before any treats are on offer.
There is no sign of slugs or snails and the size of some of the discarded plucked pieces would indicate something with more strength than a katydid has chomped on the leaves. If only the sparrows would eat the bounty of weeds, puha and dandelions that I have such an abundance of right now.
I have placed netting over the tubs in the hope that the poor plants will revive and provide us with fresh, organic greens.
I’ve completed my annual bird survey today. The instructions were to record the largest number of each type of bird that was seen or heard at any one time – not the total number of each bird over the hour. That was a bit complicated but bird numbers were low in the garden today so it was not as arduous as I thought it might be.
The common sparrow headed the list, followed by wax eyes, blackbirds, chaffinches, starlings, and goldfinches. I could hear a Tui over the road feasting on the red flowering gum trees so that was included too.
Male chaffinch
I blogged about the 2011 bird survey here.
I received an email late this afternoon telling me that a new website is being set up so that I can record any observations relating to nature but it will also be where future annual bird survey results will be loaded. I’m really pleased about that as there are times when I see a new bird in the garden and wish I could tell someone “official” about it.
The other numbers I crunched today were on my blog. WordPress provides a raft of statistical data and I do check my stats regularly. This post will be number 308. My readers have posted 966 comments and I now have 70 blog followers.
Thank you to all my readers. It is very gratifying to know that you enjoy my postings and continue to turn the pages on my blog.
There is an interesting statistic amongst the people who regularly comment on my blog and that is that 4 of them have names beginning with the letter “J”.
I also have a regular group of “likers” and it is always a pleasure to find your “Like” appearing in my notifications.
11 of my blog posts have been “shared” and that seems an extra honour and potentially widens my audience.
Spam wins the day with 1,356 items that have been successfully thwarted at the cyber boundary of my blog and I am very grateful about that.
I began blogging with so much trepidation but now it is almost a habit and I miss the days when I don’t post something. I began writing to satisfy an inner voice but having gathered followers I feel spurred on to provide something that I hope will interest you in some way. My photography interest is proving to be very satisfying to me and that has been a surprise too.
Thank you again for reading, lurking, liking and commenting. You all enrich my days.
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