Birders' Nest

[Kalevala]

He's a natural! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg

I've watched that one before...very clever! 

Years ago, I ran across ads for something called the Yankee Twirler.  You can guess how it works.

K

[Iota]

And a photo from Sweden, only because I like that the reflections in the water echo the color palette of the bird:

Yes, a beauty!

Since countries that start with S and rufous coloring have been mentioned, is it okay if I share this Eurasian Red Squirrel in Switzerland, just for general cuteness, even though it's not a bird?

This is a great example of why I find your photos so distinctive. Squirrels are very photogenic - cute, playful, crafty etc - so they get photographed an awful lot. Yet I've never seen a photo as characterful as the one above, you seem to give it an inner life and a whole life story all with one click of the shutter. I know that's a very anthropomorphic interpretation, but nonetheless you certainly do seem to have the knack for finding the perfect moment. Great one of the gymnastic bird feeder thief too!

He looks as if he's about to address an assembly of fellow squirrels on the Nut and Acorn Crisis.

Excellent! 

( .. because I know you'll all be fascinated to know ..  .. when I put the laugh emoji before the 'Excellent!', I got the Forbidden alert, when I put it after, all was well. What a highly capricious and picky set of rules we seem to have play by!

[Iota]

And while I'm here, as I'm unable to post any photos, I thought I might post one of my favourite poems, which seems vaguely on topic.


The Darkling Thrush

I leant upon a coppice gate
      When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
      The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
      Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
      Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
      The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
      The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
      Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
      Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
      The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
      Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
      In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
      Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
      Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
      Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
      His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
      And I was unaware.

Thomas Hardy

[Elgarian Redux]

hahahahaahahaha!!! (Someone must speak out on this important topic!!)

You can tell from his nervousness that he's staking his reputation on this.

European Pied Flycatcher
I love them!

I'm sure I would too, if I ever saw one. Only ever saw spotted flycatchers - we even sometimes had one in the garden (great fun to watch) - but that was many years ago. Now, they seem to have disappeared up here, along with the willow warbler.

Fabulous photo, Owlice.

[Elgarian Redux]

This is a great example of why I find your photos so distinctive. Squirrels are very photogenic - cute, playful, crafty etc - so they get photographed an awful lot. Yet I've never seen a photo as characterful as the one above, you seem to give it an inner life and a whole life story all with one click of the shutter. I know that's a very anthropomorphic interpretation, but nonetheless you certainly do seem to have the knack for finding the perfect moment.

Hear Hear! Also QFT.

['It's ART, I tell you!' he cried, as they dragged him away.]

[Elgarian Redux]

Tried to see the little egret on the way back from my daughter's house this morning. It was there sure enough, but oh so far away, and very windy. Here're the best of a bad lot.
From top to bottom: Little egret, redshank, redshank, turnstone. (I think - I'm not great on identifying waders. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) There's a curlew in the other pic, but don't look too closely or it will dissolve into blur.

[Elgarian Redux]

Yesterday's walk produced no birds - far too windy, but I can never really separate the birds from the landscape, any more than I can separate Elgar's music from it. So here's a bit of context, you might say:

[Elgarian Redux]

And while I'm here, as I'm unable to post any photos, I thought I might post one of my favourite poems, which seems vaguely on topic.


The Darkling Thrush

I leant upon a coppice gate
      When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
      The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
      Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
      Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
      The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
      The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
      Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
      Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
      The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
      Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
      In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
      Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
      Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
      Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
      His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
      And I was unaware.

Thomas Hardy

The Poetry and birds connection is good in my book! And mostly there seems to be more of hope in them, than otherwise:

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

[owlice]

Yes, a beauty!

This is a great example of why I find your photos so distinctive. Squirrels are very photogenic - cute, playful, crafty etc - so they get photographed an awful lot. Yet I've never seen a photo as characterful as the one above, you seem to give it an inner life and a whole life story all with one click of the shutter. I know that's a very anthropomorphic interpretation, but nonetheless you certainly do seem to have the knack for finding the perfect moment. Great one of the gymnastic bird feeder thief too!

You're very kind. Really, the squirrels do it themselves; they have several superpowers, and one of them is looking adorable! Case in point:

Variegated Squirrel
It might be turtles all the way down, but it might also be bananas all the way up

Excellent! 

( .. because I know you'll all be fascinated to know ..  .. when I put the laugh emoji before the 'Excellent!', I got the Forbidden alert, when I put it after, all was well. What a highly capricious and picky set of rules we seem to have play by!

Wow, that's weird. Thanks for sharing the rule!

And while I'm here, as I'm unable to post any photos, I thought I might post one of my favourite poems, which seems vaguely on topic.


The Darkling Thrush

I leant upon a coppice gate
      When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
      The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
      Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
      Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
      The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
      The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
      Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
      Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
      The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
      Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
      In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
      Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
      Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
      Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
      His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
      And I was unaware.

Thomas Hardy

One of my favorite authors.

Thank you for sharing this lovely poem.

[Iota]

Variegated Squirrel
It might be turtles all the way down, but it might also be bananas all the way up

.

[owlice]

Elgarian Redux, thank you for your kind words.

You can tell from his nervousness that he's staking his reputation on this.

hahahaha!! Making me laugh here!! 

Only ever saw spotted flycatchers - we even sometimes had one in the garden (great fun to watch) - but that was many years ago. Now, they seem to have disappeared up here, along with the willow warbler.

Oh, I love Spotted Flycatchers, too! They can be ... not quite bold, but not as skittish as some birds. They will fly a bit away when approached, but then will often fly right back to where they were once the person who approached has stopped moving. (That could be expressed more clearly, I'm sure, but I hope you get what I mean.)

Spotted Flycatcher

I have seen a Willow Warbler only once, and have only this one photo of it:

Willow Warbler

In looking at other photos (not mine, of course, since I have only one) of this lovely little bird, its softness reminds me of a Warbling Vireo:

Warbling Vireo

The first time I saw a Warbling Vireo, a guide described it as "soft," and indeed, that is how they look! It is the perfect description.

And now I wish to see Willow Warblers; once is not enough!!

[owlice]

['It's ART, I tell you!' he cried, as they dragged him away.]

hahahahahahahaha!!!

But there'd better be no one with the audacity to drag you away; that would surely unleash the birds of war!!

[owlice]

Tried to see the little egret on the way back from my daughter's house this morning. It was there sure enough, but oh so far away, and very windy. Here're the best of a bad lot.
From top to bottom: Little egret, redshank, redshank, turnstone. (I think - I'm not great on identifying waders. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) There's a curlew in the other pic, but don't look too closely or it will dissolve into blur.

Fabulous!!! Your Panasonic does you proud!

(I think - I'm not great on identifying waders. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

To me, waders are almost always USBs: Unidentifiable Shore Birds. The only thing more confusing to me than shore birds is all the other UBs out there...

[owlice]

Yesterday's walk produced no birds - far too windy, but I can never really separate the birds from the landscape, any more than I can separate Elgar's music from it. So here's a bit of context, you might say:

So beautiful! How wonderful to have such beauty so near!!

The Poetry and birds connection is good in my book! And mostly there seems to be more of hope in them, than otherwise:

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

The birds care not for the petty lives of humans; they sing on.

[Elgarian Redux]

Oh, I love Spotted Flycatchers, too! They can be ... not quite bold, but not as skittish as some birds. They will fly a bit away when approached, but then will often fly right back to where they were once the person who approached has stopped moving. (That could be expressed more clearly, I'm sure, but I hope you get what I mean.)

Spotted Flycatcher

These photos ... wow. That flycatcher is fabulous.

I have seen a Willow Warbler only once, and have only this one photo of it:

Willow Warbler

We want them back! Time was, you could walk among the trees around here, and the air would be filled with that plaintive descending trill that they make. Now - never.

In looking at other photos (not mine, of course, since I have only one) of this lovely little bird, its softness reminds me of a Warbling Vireo:

Warbling Vireo

The first time I saw a Warbling Vireo, a guide described it as "soft," and indeed, that is how they look! It is the perfect description.

As you look, you can 'feel' the softness of the downy feathers.

And now I wish to see Willow Warblers; once is not enough!!

I can assure you that hundreds of times is not enough ...

[Elgarian Redux]

So beautiful! How wonderful to have such beauty so near!!

I'd say that this is the first time in my life - these last few years - that I can feel that I belong in the landscape, even though we've lived here for decades. I'd love to say I felt as if I belonged in the Malvern Hills, which I love beyond anything, but no - it was Elgar who belonged there, and I just responded to his music. I'd like to say I belonged in some of the prehistoric places like Avebury, but though I'm profoundly moved by them, I'm only a visitor. No, this is the place, and these are my fellow creatures. This land, here, in these photos, just a few miles from where we live, this has inexplicably become really special.

[Elgarian Redux]

You're very kind. Really, the squirrels do it themselves; they have several superpowers, and one of them is looking adorable! Case in point:

Variegated Squirrel
It might be turtles all the way down, but it might also be bananas all the way up

The Stairway to Squirrel Heaven.

[Iota]

The Poetry and birds connection is good in my book! And mostly there seems to be more of hope in them, than otherwise:

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

The birds care not for the petty lives of humans; they sing on.

Indeed, but what serenity they leave in their wake.

We want them back! Time was, you could walk among the trees around here, and the air would be filled with that plaintive descending trill that they [Willow Warblers] make. Now - never.

You make me miss what I have never known.

The Stairway to Squirrel Heaven.

.

[Iota]

I'd say that this is the first time in my life - these last few years - that I can feel that I belong in the landscape, even though we've lived here for decades. I'd love to say I felt as if I belonged in the Malvern Hills, which I love beyond anything, but no - it was Elgar who belonged there, and I just responded to his music. I'd like to say I belonged in some of the prehistoric places like Avebury, but though I'm profoundly moved by them, I'm only a visitor. No, this is the place, and these are my fellow creatures. This land, here, in these photos, just a few miles from where we live, this has inexplicably become really special.

That's lovely, Elgarian! 

[Kalevala]

Oh, no!  O1 died on August 7th.  A necropsy will be performed to see what it died from.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/red-tailed-hawk-fledgling-o1-admitted-to-wildlife-hospital-after-apparent-illness/

K