Well, 2008 has started out pretty mild but as the days go on, it's getting colder and wetter. Jan and I were in Houston this week, and we were "treated" to rainy, cold conditions that made us wish for December again! I had a few minutes before we were off to the doctor's appointment, so I decided to brave the cold and see if there were any birds about. In David's back yard is a tree that the small birds found to be some barrier to the wind. The sparrow above didn't move even as I banged about trying to get a better view.
I found a comfortable spot and got very still, to see if other birds would come by. I could see them flying all around, some singles and some in groups, and I was hopeful that they would come a little closer to get their picture taken. I think the bird above is a chickadee, but it is just a guess. I will have to find a wild bird identification website to confirm that. This one seemed pretty comfortable with the surroundings, and eventually flew on. The next visitor was a dove.
She started at one end of David's fence and walked gingerly along. I don't think she found what she was looking for.
When she got to the end of the fence, she flew away.
Eventually it got too cold and wet to take any more photos. I was pretty happy with the ones I got, as I was experimenting with manual focus due to the many branches in the trees that confused the autofocus too much.
We are back in Austin now, and it is still cold and wet. Thanks again for visiting. don't forget to sign the Guestbook and leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from everyone.
Hi Michael. First off, thanks for your support and kind words. I feel better today. Mickey has bounced back once again. And I spoke to my Dad on Friday. I think he's doing better with all of this than I am. :) Sorry to hear about your cancer troubles too. Sounds like you're doing well though. I hope your health stays like that.
ReplyDeleteLove the pics of the birds. The Dove is beautiful. No, that's not a Chickadee. We have tons of Chickadees up here. They're much smaller and plumber with different colours and markings. I think the first two are both Sparrow's. The second one is definitely a House Sparrow. If you go to Google Images and type in Sparrow, you'll get lots of image results. I'm thinking one is the female and the other a male.
We finally had a blast of winter here. Lots of snow the past couple of days and colder. Kind of nice. Keep warm!
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteglad to know you're feeling a little better, and that the patients are doing better as well. Thanks also for the kind words about my cancer. It's not something I lead off with when talking with folks, but it is something that pretty much dominates my thoughts if I am not careful to think about something else!
I really appreciate you letting me know about my "chickadee" and some ideas about where to go to track the birds. I guess I should have said "my memory of a chickadee" that would have been more accurate.
I have some new pictures of the aquariums at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Check them out if you'd like.
It's hard to imagine what a "blast of cold" would feel like to a Canadian! Certainly different that what it would mean in Texas.
Tell your dad to keep his spirits up. that is definitely helping me, and most of the folks I speak to who are in my situation. Never give up! That is MD Anderson's motto. I will have to send you a photo of the cartoon that goes along with that. It's pretty cute.
More later, and thanks again!
Mike