Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Babies And New Eyes!!

I still don't have a camera, but I have a new pair of binoculars which have thrown my window wide open! It is amazing what is there that I have been unable to see with my old binoculars. Red-bellied Woodpecker babies and Cardinal babies! Fledgling stage, out of the nest and following parents around to be fed. Their muted colors made them disappear into tree bark with my old eyes. Now I can see them doing their wing-quiver "feed me" dance as they wait on a nearby perch. While the parent cardinals have bright orange beaks, the babies are a dull brown/black. The red-bellied woodpecker babe makes us laugh, he's been making it to the bird feeder and clinging but can't seem to figure out how to get the seed, so he'll wing quiver on the feeder waiting to be fed. Heron babies are another story. The ice storm made the path around the swamp impassable and from my "perch", I think I need a telescope to see what's happening. I can see herons when they are standing in their nest, but for the life of me I can't really see how many birds are in the nest. If it's just two adults, or one adult and two young. Oh well, for now the birds that come to the feeder are keeping us entertained.