Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Birds From The Balcony

One of my favorite things to do on a good weather day is bird watching right from our balconies.  Fortunately, we do have trees around us and in the morning and late afternoon the birds are quite busy chasing each other, singing their songs and flying from tree to tree.  To me it is a very peaceful time.  Of course, it's also a chance to use my Canon to get up close and personal without them expecting a thing.
 

When I first looked at the above pictures I gasped.  The red stains made me think that somehow the birds had gotten hurt, but when I realized they all had the same sort of stains, it finally clicked.  I had recently been finding berries on the balcony and wasn't sure where they were coming from.  Sometimes the boy upstairs throw things from the roof so I suspected it was from him.
 It finally dawned on me that directly off our bedroom balcony is a tree filled with berries.  I hadn't paid much attention to it and don't ever recall it being loaded with so much fruit before, but the birds are obviously having a field day with it.  Turns out it is a mulberry tree.  





 I've also noticed in the past few weeks a lot of baby birds.  Even though they are about as big as their parents, they are still being beak fed and learning how to fly.  So sweet!
Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. I will have even more time for bird watching.
Spring Break begins.
10 days of blissful freedom.  
I'm so excited.
Hope you are having a great week.

30 comments:

Linda said...

Hi Tammy,
It's neat to see what kind of birds you experience there across the world from me. Much different than ours and equally fascinating. :) I love bird watching, I was just doing some myself from my sunny 70 degree patio, soaking in the sun rays and enjoying every minute of the warmth of spring that's finally regularly occurring here (though we do have very cold nights in the 30s and will for some time. A pair of House Finches have made a nest just off our patio so that will be fun to watch in the weeks ahead.

Spring break is now long gone for us and instead, we're planning for Easter, Senior Prom, Graduation Meetings, my Mom's Birthday, Sarah's Washington DC trip with the band, final band concert of the year, awards night, college meetings and scheduling, a wedding in Canada in May, directly followed by Graduation week with many activities and mostly planning for the gigantic graduation party that will be held at our house (expecting upwards of 80+ people!). After that, we are heading to Virginia and once again Canada in June. All of my time right now is thinking about and planning for these events. :)

Enjoy your spring break!
Linda

Teresa Kasner said...

Hi Tammy.. I thought it was blood on the birds, too! I'm glad it was mulberry. I bet you're going to have a wonderful vacation, I hope you share the fun you have. I'm home from my trip.. tired but full of memories. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Betsy said...

Tammy those are beautiful pictures. How nice that they posed so sweetly for you. :-) I can't blame the birds for eating the mulberries. We had lots of mulberry bushes around our yard when I was a child and spring and summer had red-stained hands and face most of the time. Yum!
Enjoy your spring break!
Blessings,
Betsy

June said...

I love these beautiful photos T! I am fascinated by birds. I love watching them too. Not many of our birds have returned yet, but I have noticed so many doves on the lines. It seem we have more than most years, which is great with me :))
I hope you are having a wonderful Spring!
sending hugs...

Marilyn said...

such fabulous shots of the birds. I'm still learning how to get them up close and personal!! so glad you figured out the red stains... messy eaters!! look forward to your sharing your 10 days off!!! another trip perhaps??!!

Susan said...

Hi Tammy...Gee, I think your bird shots are absolutely wonderful. What a treat to see them so close up! Glad they are enjoying the berries!

Congratulations on spring break! I know you will have fun. Wonder if you are traveling. Susan

Wanda said...

Oh you are such a good bird watcher and your close up and personal shots are great!! My little cannon will not focus on those zoom in pictures. How cute the berry stains... I love berries too. HaHa.

Lorrie said...

Beautiful photos of the birds. They are so softly colored. Glad you solved the mystery of the stains!

linda said...

I love your bird pictures Tammy, I love bird watching too, the best time for me is early morning, I love to watch them at the bird table in my garden. How nice to have 10 days of freedom enjoy!. :)

Dagmar said...

Lovely to have birds singing where ever they might be. Hope you have a great week and fine weather.
Xo

Createology said...

Tammy I am so glad you explained the red on the birds...I immediately thought they had been injured. Berries do stain so well. Birds and Spring and you having Spring Break are wonderful this time of year. Ten days of Bliss for you dear...

Jennifer Hays said...

That's really interesting about the stains. I would have worried too, but it makes a lot of sense. These photos are great, the birds are beautiful and it's fascinating to see the different types you have there. Have a great break!

Debby said...

Great pictures. That one type of bird looks like a penguin. He is so cute. You do have different kinds. Is the one a morning dove. Thanks for sharing your great shots.

Sheila Rumney said...

What beautiful pictures of your lovely birds. I too love bird watching. Have a great spring break!

Diane said...

Your bird pictures are so pretty. Some of the shots they're watching you, too. Have a wonderful spring break, Tammy.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Tammy,
You captured some precious photos with your camera! Congrats and yes, that is a mulberry tree and those berries look very large and juicy. We got one in our wood garden as well.
Enjoy your time off during spring break!
Hugs,
Mariette

Pearlin J said...

Beautiful birds n pictures. I love bird watching in our neighbourhood too

Claudia said...

Tammy, these are great photos! Such wonderful detail!

xo
Claudia

Kate said...

Terrific photos, Tammy! I love the one where the bird is looking down at his feet. No wonder they like hanging around; mulberries are delicious. Enjoy your birding and spring break :-)

Mereknits said...

Your bird photos are fantastic. Enjoy your wonderful break my friend.
Meredith

Mistea said...

Enjoy your break and keeping an eye on those birds.

Mosaic Magpie said...

What great photos you captured. I love listening to the birds as much as seeing them. In the evening as twilight begins I love to listen for the last chirp.
Enjoy your break!

~*~Patty S said...

Thank you for your lovely "bird's eye view" ;) of what you get to enjoy Tammy!
Your photos are great and I quite agree about the joys of nature and bird watching.
Have a wonderful Spring break...
Enjoy * Enjoy
oxo

Sherry said...

Your bird photos are wonderful. I could use a little bird watching time when I work a little in our garden today. Have a wonderful restful spring break.

J9sHappiness said...

Oh its so lovely to see the photos of the birds around you. I love bird watching myself. I'm not very knowledgeable but so enjoy taking the time to listen to their calls and watch the different varieties. Thanks for sharing those that are near you! J9 x

Yarni Gras! said...

I love bird watching too. I have a camera to take better photos but never seem to be in the right place at the right time. Enjoy your break! We go on ours starting Good Friday....I am really looking forward to it.

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Tammy,

Your birds photos are wonderful - we also enjoy looking at the birdlife from off our balcony.
Yesterday I went out and there were two big fat wood pigeons sitting up on our spouting.
Happy weekend
hugs
Carolyn

Sam I Am...... said...

That was my first reaction too! So glad it's just mulberries but boy can they be messy! What plans do you have for your Spring Break? Enjoy!

Julia @ Vintage with Laces said...

Hi Tammy, The birds are sweet and nice to watch. We predominantly have sparrows in the garden. I wish there would be a greater variety but I enjoy the butterflies a lot as well as the turtles.
Have a great spring break!
Julia

Gracey is not my name.... said...

I love bird watching, the hubs feeds the birds in the back yard and they gather quite often. We also have 3 birds in the house...a pionus parrot, a Rosella, and a parakeet.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...