Bird Crazy

Or, should I say "Crazy Birds"?

There has been quite a bit of unusual activity around here lately, so I thought I'd take the time to share some recent entertainment.  Just be sure to keep in mind that it doesn't take much to amuse us, which you may have figured out on your own if you are a regular follower of my blogs.

Not too long ago, I was busily involved in a project when I realized that I could hear birds chirping, rather loudly, somewhere nearby.  Now, that isn't out of the norm around here, and, at the time, I didn't bother to investigate as I was engrossed in my work, and , as evening fell, I became distracted and the noise was quickly forgotten.

Until....the next day....when I was sitting at my computer in the living room and I would have bet money that I had birds in my house, the chirping was so loud.  Curious, I slowly turned my chair around, and lo and behold, I saw this just a few feet away from me.

I'll admit that I did have to stealthy tip toe to another room to grab my camera, but I managed to do so without disrupting mama.

Now, I don't know about you, but I thought that was pretty cool.  Don't think you can get much closer than that!

One thing I learned about little baby birds.  They don't chirp until mama bird shows up.  They keep quiet, nestled down in the nest, and when Mama shows up, those little mouths can make quite a bit of racket!

They were around for a little more than a week, then, one day....the chirping was gone...and when I peeked, there was no sign of them.   Once again we were empty nesters.

I diverted my attention by keeping a sharp eye on the garden to be sure that potential invaders weren't scoping the place out.  I did manage to spot this little guy hanging out suspiciously near the entrance:

But once he figured out that his means of entry had been thwarted by the addition of a metal fence, he set his eyes (or should I say teeth?) into better things.

If there is one thing that we are NOT lacking, it's apples for the taking.   He must have a sweet tooth, because I've spotted him and a friend many times in search of the fallen fruit.  I'll bet he puts a few pounds on by the time the summer is over.

But this blog is supposed to be about birds....

I bought a new feeder for the goldfinches as they didn't seem too happy with the old thistle feeder.

Perhaps they like the color of this one because they are suddenly frequent visitors.

As I was enjoying their delightful call the other day,  I was startled by the rustle of feathers, and when I turned to look, I spotted this creature on my  hanging basket.

Now, this wouldn't be the first time that I had a bird show an interest in that plant.  In fact, I had what I call "Crazy Birds" in love with it when I first hung it up outside.

There must be something appealing in there, as these guys had a field day pecking away at the plant.

And this mystery bird actually grabbed a flower himself while scoping out the other feeders. 

Then, quick as a flash, he flew over to the empty sunflower feeder,  followed within seconds by a friend

who landed so fast that it set the feeder into a pendulum motion!

I've never seen anything like it.  They were busy birds, hopping to and fro, as if in desperate need of nourishment.  One of them even attempted a sample from the hummingbird feeder.

But, despite a concentrated effort on his part, he had no luck extracting the elixir that was just beyond beak's reach.

I don't know about you....but I'd say that was crazy!

And, now there were three of them, although I did not manage to get a photo of all three at the same time, simply because they wouldn't stay in one place long enough to grab a photo!

One of them even joined the goldfinch, who was perfectly happy to share.

Within minutes, they were gone.  Apparently they didn't enjoy what was on the menu.

But, this little guy did!

Call me crazy, but that makes me happy!