Cool. Way cool! My co-conspirator and I dusted off the binoculars last Sunday and checked out a nearby nature preserve for the first time in the 20+ years I've lived here. Didn't see much but the usual waterfowl. The trails are urban and except for a couple of side spurs are pretty much jogging/biking territory. However, on the way back to the main trail from a blind we got a good look at some kind of weasel on the path! It was too big for a mink and too small for a fisher but I haven't looked it up yet. That was kind of a thrill.

I'd love to live where there are more birds than the usual urban mix. My parents live in the country on a lake and I counted over twenty species in just the few hours I was there at easter. We're planning on getting out more this year, right now even, to try to catch some of the warblers passing through.

Love has nothing to do with this, eagles will pursue osprey relentlessly hoping to get the osprey to release it's fish, so the eagle can catch the fish before it hits the water.

We are fortunate to live where this is a common occurrence right in our backyard. The birds get so caught up in what they are doing, they pay no attention to people. I swear sometimes they swoop down low enough I could touch them. Once I even heard an eagle hiss or growl at an osprey. That's how close they get. In the 2 and a half months we've lived here, we've shot over 10,000 pictures.

{{gwi:134103}}

That's awesome Orrin! Since I have moved way out in the country I have so many birds coming to my yard! Don't you just love it!
I had a Sharp-Shinned Hawk swoop down and grap one of my bluebirds on Sunday, and then proceed to eat it in my Elm tree in the front yard! That perturbed me a little...but I still love that I got to see one so close!

Hey guys! How are all of you? I'm back! And getting my collection back into order (lost a great deal of plants after my move due to shock and condition changes).
Let's catch up! Oh yeah, and I got married too...in case you guys were wondering if I ever did...almost 2 years now!
Patty

Yeah, I'm loving the current housing situation-the yard next door has three mesquite trees that are currently blooming, which attracts bugs, which in turn attract birds. Four species of warblers, Bullock's Oriole, Hammond's Flycatcher, Western Tanager, two hummingbird species. I've seen thirty-seven species so far, which I'm pretty sure is my best yard bird list, and I'm maybe a ten minute walk from downtown Tucson. Not bad for 'urban birds'.

Hey Pattycakes! Belated congrats on the marriage thing.

-O-

Hey Orrin! Thanks!
Just have to share that I saw my first pair of Bullock's Orioles last night! I was so excited! They were so close! Came right up to my livingroom window (so I had an excellent view), and fed from my hummingbird feeders. They stuck around for a few minutes and checked everything out, and then were gone...:( I went out and put a cut orange out there in hopes of luring them back sometime soon! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! They were awesome!
I am amazed at all of the birds that I see here! Bald Eagles, Opsrey, Woodpeckers of all kinds, Finches of all kinds, Great Blue Heron (at the pond), Geese of all kinds, Ducks of all kinds, Cedar Waxwings, Hummingbirds (Anna's & Rufus mostly)...I could go on and on...but I won't! Don't want to bore you! ;)
I just LOVE watching the birds! My Dad doesn't understand the fascination...but who cares! :D
Patty