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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2011 15:51:37 GMT
Mr Kimby (and his car) met one of the neighbors a couple nights ago... He shouldn't have swerved to miss the deer, cuz he ended up hitting a large landscape rock and telephone post.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2011 15:53:02 GMT
Yesterday before we went to town (in the other car!), I checked the power box to see if "our" flycatchers were building a nest. Nothing. But look what Mr. Kimby found when we got home! I feel so honored that these little birds fly 1000's of miles to return to nest on our meter box almost every year. Seems like good karma to have a bird nest on your house.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 15, 2011 17:49:02 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2011 17:52:04 GMT
Mr. Kimby's pride is hurt the most. (well, after the fender, which was in perfect condition before the wreck)
Have I mentioned that in April he hit a deer with MY new car? Do we see a pattern developing here?
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Post by Kimby on Jun 15, 2011 19:42:57 GMT
From the iciclesoftware folk's list of 230 species: "Cordilleran Flycatcher, Arroyo Guacamaya, Feb 2, 2004" and "my bird" is one of 4 photos gracing the top of the birdingoaxacamexico site:
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2011 15:15:50 GMT
A bigger risk than deer in most of France is wild boars running across the road.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 25, 2011 23:01:32 GMT
(And hunters shooting at the wild boars along the road, too, as I recall!)
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Post by Kimby on Jun 25, 2011 23:02:25 GMT
The flycatcher nest had an egg in it yesterday morning, and a second one this morning.
Up at the lake, we have mountain bluebirds and tree swallows using our new nest boxes.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 13, 2011 21:37:09 GMT
Flycatcher report: Babies hatched. Four of them. Mom still sitting tight. Looks so much like last year that I'm not bothering her by photographing them this year, but pages 2 and 3 of this thread have loads of photos from last year's hatch.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 17, 2011 21:50:32 GMT
I put up nest boxes at the lake this spring. It didn't take long for them to be discovered. Mountain bluebirds are nesting in one and tree swallows in the other. Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird taking a break from nest-building on our deck.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 17, 2011 23:30:22 GMT
That is fantastic! They are such a wonderful blue. Great that you managed to get the couple in one shot.
It's been raining relentlessly here, but was mostly clear today. The hummingbirds are out in force. I usually only see one at a time in my patio, but there were even little hummingbird wars going on today.
I'm wondering if all the rain has shattered some of their usual nectar flowers. They visit everything in my yard, but particularly like the jícama flowers.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 18, 2011 2:41:21 GMT
Great that you managed to get the couple in one shot. (Almost managed, you mean!) The hummingbirds are out in force. I usually only see one at a time in my patio, but there were even little hummingbird wars going on today. Maybe the rains laid the little guys low and after their forced fast, they need the quick energy of your garden flowers to recover. The native flowers may be few and far between, but not in Bixa's garden. Do you have hummingbird feeders, too?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2011 3:16:55 GMT
No feeders, just flowers. Thanks for that explanation, it makes sense. Since I've been trying to dry clothes amidst all the rain, I keep the clothesline up, looks be damned. There is one little hummer who has his/her special spot on the line, in a direct sight line from my computer chair.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 18, 2011 4:03:41 GMT
If you put out a couple nectar feeders, you could have dozens of hummers visiting your garden. Why do you not use feeders?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2011 6:28:08 GMT
Kimby, I defy you to find a feeder for sale around here.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 18, 2011 15:49:48 GMT
Buy one or more on your trip, bixa? I'm surprised that with all the potters there, someone hasn't figured out that there could be a market for clay hummer feeders...
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Post by tod2 on Jul 18, 2011 16:24:03 GMT
I am proud to say that I bought 2 hummingbird feeders on our recent celebratory trip - one for me and the other as a gift to my sister. The 'maker' told me why he only used ketchup bottles to make his feeders - apparently the lid is metal and this allows him to weld the little metal 'tap' in place - maybe I should photograph this ingenious invention!?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 22, 2011 13:01:47 GMT
That sounds interesting, Tod. I'm trying to envision it. Heeeeeyyyyy, Kimby ~~ guess what I bought yesterday!
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Post by Kimby on Jul 23, 2011 3:37:18 GMT
Umm, a hummer feeder?
My feeder at the lake has brought in two species of hummingbird: rufous and calliope. And my bluebird box is very busy with both parents feeding insects to the yet to be seen young. The tree swallows in the other box are doing the same, but they aren't as eye-catching as the bluebirds.
On the home front, the flycatcher babies look almost ready to leave the nest.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 25, 2011 6:04:49 GMT
Yes! Actually, I got two of them.
Lots of action out your way!
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Post by Kimby on Oct 14, 2011 22:13:41 GMT
Another neighbor.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 16, 2011 16:12:18 GMT
I see he's going away. That's good, right?
Is that a young bear, and was this in your woods house?
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Post by Kimby on Oct 17, 2011 15:30:30 GMT
He looped across our lawn and down the path to the creek without stopping to investigate the grill on the deck. Good bear.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 17, 2011 15:39:52 GMT
Yes. Very relieved to see you answering here -- with the use of both hands, I presume.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 17, 2011 15:42:57 GMT
Kimby, do you all have plans to move permanently to the lake house one day? It would be fascinating to see the cycle of wildlife in that area.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 21, 2011 3:47:20 GMT
We are visiting often enough that we are able to observe the cycles in both locales, alternating weeks. This week we have had two moose passing by the lake cottage twice.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 25, 2011 8:07:35 GMT
Took this shot from the bathroom window. And this one from the kitchen window. Now I know why our willow "tree" doesn't seem to grow any taller! (Taken from the living room window - we're surrounded!)
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 25, 2011 15:20:52 GMT
Oh my goodness! What great shots, Kimby. They're moose, right? Lady mooses? How many individuals have you been able to identify?
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 27, 2011 0:23:06 GMT
Going from those very big visitors to something that needs to be inspected with a magnifying glass, here's a visitor to my yard. I first saw it from this kind of angle, with glary light behind it, & thought, "that's odd -- the hummer is feeding with its tail fanned out".
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Post by Kimby on Oct 27, 2011 3:14:38 GMT
Wow, bixa! cool visitor.
We saw two moose, on two different days. Probably mother and near-grown up daughter.
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