Ahira's Hangar

This weekend we discovered a mother mourning dove has built a nest and laid two big white eggs in it in a little pine tree a few feet from our back door, and maybe about three feet off of the ground! We figured that these were our Easter eggs this year!
Made me wonder how many other people here love to watch birds and wild animals? Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

Tamara has a nest collection and TONS of birdhouses! Right now we have woodpeckers, mourning doves, robins, juncoes and finches bopping around and a roadrunner scoots arcoss the front yard xeriscape everyday, or so. I work down near the Nature Center on the Rio Grande so Canadian geese fly over all the time...when I irrigate the lawns and fields the ducks come by 2 play--usually mallards--I saw a female 2day w/beautiful shappire wedges on her upper inner-wings. One time I saw a herron...sandhill cranes hang in the river alot. There was also a big-fat king pheasant strutting about the corrals 4 a week @ 1 point.

We have 3 feeders, 2 hummingbird feeders and 2 baths. We r crazy 4 hummingbirds! NM gets alot! Almost season, 2! The birdstores say there r orioles around but I haven't seen one. The most beautiful bird in NM is probably the pinon-jay, kind of a cross btween a regular blue jay and a thallow in the Neverness books. They'r big and mean. In the Mts u can usually c lots of hawks and falcons. A good # of eagles grace the state as well... And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 4/21/03 5:15:25 pm
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I have a book on North American birds, and would like at some point, to do some bird photography by going up to the Horicon marsh in Wisconsin, but I need to get a telephoto lens for my Canon.

I've got chickadees building a nest in the dryer vent. Arlel spends her mornings looking out the window at them. I've also seen a couple of cardinals around. I havn't seen yet the bluebird that I saw regularly last year. <i></i>

Matty and Bud have been sitting in the window overlooking that tree and making all sorts of interesting "ack ack" sounds.

We have a cardinal nest in the back of our yard, too, and we love the cardinals, but the mourning dove nest is great because we can look right out of our screen door and into the nest!

I've never seen a chickadee nest, Damelon -- are the eggs tiny since the birds are so small??

Roadrunners are cool Danlo -- you're lucky to be able to see one! Around here you have to go see them in the zoo!
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Ariel does the "ack-ack" sound often while watching the birds. Her tail also twitches fiercely.

I've never seen the chickadee eggs. They nest inside the dryer vent about 8 feet off the ground. There are several of them around. They made a target of my newly washed car a couple of weeks ago.

In the fall I'll have to go up there and clean it out up there. I forgot to do that last year.

Last weekend there were a couple of doves in the driveway when I pulled up. I was suprised because they waited until I opened my door about 6 feet from them before they flew off. <i></i>

yes, Bud and Matty's tails lash back and forth at a furious rate when they are performing their "ack acks".


Tiggy, being much older, just curls up near me and takes a nap. <i>Edited by: Duchess of Malfi  at: 4/21/03 8:23:56 pm
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I just saw the strangest thing, but considering Nature's way I shouldn't have been surprised. As I drove in2 the property I thought I saw this huge bird on the main lawn, I assumed it was "Ms" pheasant giving birth right then and there. After I feed the horses I went around 2 turn on the sprinklers, but I thought I better check "Ms" pheasant 1st. As I came around the huge spruce a perigren falcon was staring right @ me w/a fat robin in it's mouth, It grabbed what was left of the robin in it's huge talons and flapped straight up and out of sight. From the spots and color it def was a perigren, I guess what was so weird is that I've never seen a bird eat another bird b4... And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i></i>

I've never seen a bird of prey take another bird. I've watched blackbirds swarm a hawk to drive it off. <i></i>

They have peregerine nests in Detroit and Grand Rapids on ledges of the skyscrapers and yes, they eat other birds. In big cities their main pray is pidgeons.
We have lots of bald eagles and they eat fish. We also have various hawks and I think they go after rabbits and mice and small animals like that. We also have ospreys, who have nests at one of the big Metroparks, and they also eat fish. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

Our woodpecker seems to have returned. We heard him (or her) all of last spring and summer (though we never saw it). While eating breakfast on our deck yesterday, we heard that rat-a-tat-tat again.
It must have gone south for the winter or something and only recently made its way back to Michigan. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

that mother dove isn't even scared of us anymore. we had stopped using that door so she wouldn't be frightened, but it's the most convenient for letting the dog out, so started using it again...and in the meantime, she's figured out that we won't bother her so she just stays on the nest now...it's pretty cool, you can walk up just a couple of feet away and look at her! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

Doves seem to let you come pretty close. Last week, in Florida, one let me get within 5 ft of it while it was feeding. <i></i>

You two both sound as if you like watching birds so much -- so I must ask if either of you has ever been to Pointe Pelee National Park in canada for the bird and/or butterfly migrations? I've never made it over there fot the height of a bird migration, but made it over there one year in September for the monarch butterfly migration. That was so cool!!! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

No I haven't but Tam and I r going again 2 the Santa Fe Greenhouses 4 the anually butterfly release in 2 weeks---and we went 2 a huge butterfly zoo-habitat in Xcaret (below Cancun, where they have the underground river float and puma islands) 6 years ago And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited. Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i></i>

That butterfly release sounds really nice, Danlo! As does that place down in Mexico.
I just wanted all of you to know that our Easter eggs have become Mother's Day babies! We've had so many bad storms lately, I was a bit worried, but everything appears to be just fine! Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>