Droll Yankees Hummingbird Feeder Leaks

I bought one of these recently on eBay and it leaks where the two plastic halves meet. Looks like I will need to seal it myself. If I can seal it then all will be well. Paid under $10 for it so not stressin'. But had to inform others searching the 'net that these do leak.

New Brown Bird...Maybe

I thought while I was watching it that it was a Carolina Wren, which is quite a rare sight to see here, but now I think it was too big to be one, and the shape and size weren't the same. It had the same colors as a Carolina Wren (brown and tan/gray) but there were gray/whitish lines that curved and went around the eyes, much like a Carolina Wren but looked maybe slightly different. It's still possible it could have been a Carolina Wren, but we'll see.

The Giving Tree

I was thinking of and remembered a storybook I and I'm sure many of us have read when we were younger called "The Giving Tree." I was just thinking how easily one could substitute the boy for a bird, since birds spend their entire lives living in trees and are dependant on them to keep them warm, safe and alive.

Well, I was looking on YouTube for the book in some sort of video/movie form and did happen to find the original movie from 1973 here. I didn't know it until after I watched it but it was narrated by the original author Shel Silverstein. I looked him up and turns out he died a little over 11 years ago. Kind of sad to realize that, especially considering the plot of the The Giving Tree and to hear him still very much alive and "young." And to hear him still inspiring others even after death.

I May Have Seen a...

...Yellow Warbler just now. It was bigger than an American Goldfinch and yellow all over with a very faint black or dark color on the flight feathers. Pretty cool. And at about the same time, I saw a Downy Woodpecker, which is pretty rare to see; definitely not a bird I would normally see daily. A Chickadee just stared at the Woodpecker, then the Chick' went for a seed and, of course, they look like a Woodpecker while they're getting their meat in the seed.

Wasps, Bees Drinking from Bird Bath

I happened to be standing near the bird bath outside and saw a wasp fly over and inch down to the water's edge and drink from it. Then it flew off like I wasn't even there. I also see bees doing it. Kind of cute.

A YouTube Video of Grackles Puffing/Fluffing Up

I saw this video on YouTube of Grackles puffing/fluffing up and it looks like what I see them do at my feeders. It's a shame I can't get as good of video of the Grackles I feed. The video uploader has embedding disabled, so that's why I can't embed it here, so just click the link above. And here is another puffing/fluffing video of a male trying to court a female. So cute and funny.

Working on Several Bird Videos

I have several old bird videos I'm editing together and will hopefully have them uploaded soon. I don't really make as many bird videos as I used to because it's notoriously difficult with my current camera setup. I used to attach my camera to the bird feeder, push record, run inside and wait for birds to come. That is so hard to do and takes up so much memory. When I get a wireless outdoor camera or a camera with a better zoom, I will take some really awesome videos. Recently I've just been taking videos of birds from inside my house. But the videos with my camera on the feeder usually turn out very nice and high quality. I just don't like the autofocus because sometimes the subject/bird is slightly out of focus. I'd like to be able to manually focus so I can get the clearest, sharpest shot. So might look into getting a really nice camera setup at some point.

The Beauty of Evolution

When I see a bird, I think of dinosaurs and the evolution they've gone through. Their legs, feet and talons are so reptilian, but their bodies are very non-reptilian.

Also...

...I am going to make a new blog of a general, anything-goes kind of thing. BTW, I just made this blog's border colors black...OH MY GAWD...DOPE...

Hm, well...

...there is no salt-free peanut butter at the store, or at least at one store. Closest thing was 33% less salt. The tricky thing is not knowing how much is too much for a wild bird. Even though I think it's fine and safe, I really don't like not knowing.