Morning Coffee - National Curlew Day!

“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.”  

Doup Coupland

Today is National Curlew day.  The Curlew is the large shorebird also known as the “sicklebird” or the “candlestick bird”.  March 16 is the traditional day that 500 curlews return from Mexico to the Umatilla National Wild Refuge in Oregon to court,  mate, nest and raise their young.

An interesting fact is that Candlestick Park was named after this odd looking bird as the stadium took its name from Candlestick Point in San Francisco.

Celebrate the birds today!

~~~

A "sound heart and merry throat"

 

"When piped a tiny voice hard by,

Gay and polite, a cheerful cry,

Chic-chic-a-dee-dee! saucy note

Out of sound heart and merry throat."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The chickadees are becoming my favorite bird. There are certainly birds showier in color but nothing beats the spunk of a chickadee.

When I fill my feeders, it is the chickadees that jump right in and start eating the fresh seed before I’ve even finished. Most other birds stay at a safe distance and don’t venture near the feeders until I am long gone. But not the brave little chickadee.

And when he finds the seed he wants, it is very often a huge find. How he is able to handle those large seeds and nuts with only his little beak and the branch of a tree is beyond me. But he does.

What a fun – and very motivating – little bird!

~~~

My Feathered Friends

This little chickadee did flit down to the feeder a couple of times but never landed. Maybe next time.   Although just watching them from that close vantage point is very fun!

~~~

At the Feeder Today

I filled the bird feeders a bit ago.  It's sunny outside and the temp is almost 40 - a beautiful Minnesota day!  The best thing about being at the feeders today was listening to the birds sing.  They have begun their spring songs and it sounded so wonderful.  I stood out there for quite awhile just listening.  I put the feeder on the ground not too far away and waited.  The friendly chickadees always come.