THE BIRDS PART I
Joey came running up the driveway yelling, "I found a chick, I found a chick!" At first, I thought one of our hens had hatched a clutch of eggs (Wishful thinking. My hens are too busy eating all the broccoli out of the garden to do anything else. But I digress.)
Upon closer inspection, we saw that Joey had a baby killdeer. The fact that both the mother and father were frantically calling and pretending to have broken wings about thirty feet away might have helped with the identification!
Of course, we made Joey put it back where he found it. We're sensitive, earth-loving, people...after we took these pictures. I'm sure that the chick is now happily re-united with its parents, warning all of its siblings about the dangers of the great world beyond the nest.THE BIRDS STRIKE BACK
(Not really. I just thought that sounded like a good second title)
Daniel is holding a hummingbird. I'm not sure what type it is. I'm hoping the family's resident expert on all things hummingbird (Abby) will leave us a comment and tell us what kind it is. We took such a great picture, I'm sure she'll have NO problem identifying it! 
Here is a better picture. They are amazing little creatures. Beautiful, teensy-weensy things. They also have quite a bit of audacity and spunk! And they don't like to hold still, thus the not-so-clear pictures. This is the second time we've caught one in our cabins in the past week!
Well, those were our encounters with our feathered friends today. I guess I could throw in a few pictures of the chickens to go with the bird theme, but I'm holding a grudge against them right now. In fact, I'd better go check the garden and make sure the broccoli is still standing.
Posted by: Mama
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7 comments:
Oh, that is so neat! Yes - Abby will be terribly jealous! I will have her look at the pictures and post her professional opinion later :)
I enjoyed your comments about your grudge against the chickens!
We have kildeer here as well. They are one of Abby's favorites!
Thanks for a peak into the Miller's day!
Love,
Molly
Oh, what sweet pictures! I thought it was a chick at first, too. Sorry your hens aren't producing the next generation for you. I went outside the other day, and there was a black auracana mama and 18 little biddies following her -- 18!! What a blessing! Agriculture is truly wealth and increase.
Speaking of birds striking back . . . Jacob, the jr. engineer, was out feeding the chickens for us when we were on a trip recently, and he said a mama hawk swooped down and clawed his head! There is a hawk nest in a tree right by the chicken house (of all places!) and the mama didn't like his intrusion. It gashed him pretty good, but it's healed now.
He had to keep his eye on the hawk the rest of the week -- if he didn't, she would swoop down. Well, at least she didn't get any chicks!
Here's hoping your broccoli makes it to the kitchen.
Love,
Mother/Grandmother
Thank ya'll for the post!! :) :)
Ooooh! Lil Joe!! He's so sweet!!!
And all those hand pictures....well, I can't say they were sweet or pretty, wonderful or adorable, but they sure were interesting. :-P
Hahahaha. Aunt Katie, your wit - as usual - came through with your chicken/broccoli war. :) :) :)
We have 2 batches of little birds that have hatched out in our backyard in 2 SHORT little orange trees, so we can see them. One's a mocking bird nest, and the other is a cardnal nest. Ugly little things without feathers. :-P
Can't wait to see ya'll again! :)
Love,
~Kitty~
Aren't chickens just wonderful little creatures? They're wreaking havoc around here, too, but as long as they're are giving us something in return,like 80 eggs a day, we'll have mercy. When the egg distribution stops, the mercy stops:)
Love the hummingbirds, they're my favorite. We've had a few birds in the house lately. We find surprising nests in the process of being built, in the strangest places, IN the house, of course.
Thanks for updating. I know you have nothing else to do on the farm but computer updates, right?
From the Nature loving, earth friendly Pollocks
How in the world did you catch a hummingbird?! The Millers are a very talented bunch ; )
We have seen a very interesting bright yellow bird in our yard here in OK. I'll post pictures of it on our blog when I get a chance.
Thanks for updating your blog. I know how busy you are, but it is so nice to hear from you.
Mrs. Franklin
Funny title, Katie. I assume you're referring to Mr. Hitchcocks work or "art". ha ha
Are you feeling a little invaded? I can relate. Sarah's chickens think she plants broccoli and greens just for them - they're so special. Sometimes the plants don't even come up. The chickens had too much fun digging up the little treasures she buried just for them :)
We also get birds in our back porch. Sometimes the kids catch them (see the cardinal picture in Sarah's last post. They've never caught a hummingbird though! Of course the birds are not quite as cute up close in my opinion.
Love you!
Beth
Well, here goes.
You wanted my "professional opinion" and you shall have it.(even though it isn't very "professional")
I think that particular species is of the genus " Trochilidae"
(I'm not sure if that is even the right way to say it but it sounded good)In other words it's a Hummingbird. A female Ruby-Throated one to be precise.
Love,
Abby, who, by the way had to go to Google just to find the scientific name for that bird. (See how "professional" I am.)
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