Well here in Portland, Oregon you have to be very careful in the spring. Crows are nortorious for "divebombing" the unwary who get too close to a nesting site. Though not really attacking, perigren falcons in our downtown area have sideswiped a few people in their feisty persuing of pigeons.

Zita,

I have a wonderfully wacky 16 yr old lovebird named Halley. She had a mate up til last year when 17 yr old Cirrus died. I had others in the past, cockatiels and budgies and finches. I called the finches my "beep beeps". Had to pare them down due to traveling.

Amelia

Amelia, beeb beebs are a very accurate description of finches! I am really enjoying my 4 new ones.

Today we started to build the new lovebird cage inside the avery. It is being carefully inspected by the winged overseers.
I can hardly wait for it to be finished as I know how I am going to decorate it for them, and make it a more interesting place for them to enjoy.It will be large enough for them to have little flys.
I am so fortunate in having a handyman husband. I only have to tell him what I want, and it's made.

The new Love-bird cage was finished today. What fun we had making it together.
Because we built it into a corner, we used the existing back and side wall which gives one side with birdnetting and the front, which is the door as well. Top is enclosed, making a nice landing spot for the other avery birds.
I made a swing by taking a short piece of a branch 1 inch thick. Inserted a small cup hook each end, and attached a medium size peice of chain.It hangs from a cup hook in the centre.Freshly cut weeping willow gives them an instant bush.Sawdust on the floor makes it easy cleaning.
The lovebirds took a few minutes to leave their cage, but once they had, the squeels of delight was as good as a thank you. Now they will be able to fly.
Happiness is having a new cage.
Cost? about $15 all up. Amazing what one finds in a garage and garden shed.

Zita, I found your description of the walk around the hills very interesting. I have read in other places about some of these walking tracks - but I still have some questions, if you have the time for more descriptions. Are these walking tracks through private properties or public lands, and are they fenced off or open? Is the land open pasture or bush land? Your description of the birds was great. Thanks. Perhaps we could start a thread in the nature forum where others too might like to describe favorite hikes.

Hello Mikk,
don't mind the questions at all. It is great to share our respective lifestyles.
I like the idea of a thread for walks/hikes.
Would you like to start it Mikk?

The hikes that I do are on Crown Land.Sometimes they cross through private land. Farmers allow us access through their gates, and we respect that by closing them behind us.
Any fences on the walking track have styles over them with a post to help you up. The style usually has 3 steps up to make it easy.
The main tracks I hike on are open hills, covered in native grasses with pockets of Bush.
Like this morning I climed to the top of the hill and then took the track left that dropped down into a small bush area. This overlooks the harbour.But I will tell you more on the new thread.

I just wanted to say that on this first day of 2002, the baby magpie took food from my hand for the first time. It looked at me for a long time, but more from not knowing what to do than fear. Then after its parents took something, it took a tiny piece of meat, then flew off after its mother. I was absolutely thrilled. It's so cute. It is still with its parents - the long-suffering mother has the back of her head all feather-picked, so I hope I haven't disrupted their diet. I think, though, that it's not simple feather-picking, but persecution of some sort. Anyway, all three are still a family unit, but not nearly as hungry as previously. Our long, hot, hot days are noisy with insect sounds, so their diet is full. They don't seem to visit as much, though nothing wants to go into the hot sun. The crow baby is big and fat and sleek. I thought for a while that it had been killed. The male crow, who ate from my hand quite a lot, has now become wary again, and I don't mind, after seeing what they do to the possums. I want them to be afraid so I can chase them.
We see new birds around a bit, because the trees are in blossom. I always leave water - just in a bucket under the tap - out for birds, and this certainly attracts them. They perch on the edge of the bucket to drink and bathe. We have a privacy fence on two sides of our yard, so the local cats don't get to watch much. Kookaburras wake me sometimes at dawn with their raucous "laughter", but it's a nice sound, and I don't mind.

The macadamia tree and pecan tree are loaded again. I haven't finished last year's bounties! The birds find great shelter in the macadamia. The possum box we put up there has no possums, but I bet we'd find a big brown hairy spider if we put a hand into it. It won't be me doing this, I assure you! I hope something makes a home in it.

Zyph, that was a delightful post, I could just picture it all happening.It sure gives so much pleasure feeding the birds.

Yesterday we drove to a popular country picnic spot, and on the way came across a dead rabbit on the road which had already claimed the lives of two magpies. I asked our son to stop the car so I could remove the bodies, as other magpies were still their feeding off it.
I can't stand to see the dead creatures being run into the road, so I always keep a plastic bag in the boot for the purpose.

I also enjoyed zyph's wonderfully descriptive post.

We are in the colder part of the winter now with some snow on the ground.

The chicadees (I think I spelled that right) are appreciative of all the black oiled sunflower seeds we are feeding them from their feeder.

Now and then the squirrels invade them as they also love sunflower seeds.

Even our dog loves them as he often eats what falls onto the snow from the feeder.

Keep them posts coming.

It seems that everything in the neighbourhood comes to "snack" in our front and back yard. I have 6 feeders, 5 for birds and 1 for squirrels. Though the squirrels tend to take over the other feeders when theirs is empty. This winter we've had more juncos than ever. They come to the feeders in flurries looking like falling leaves and always at the same time of the day. I also have chickadees and flickers, robins, crows now and then and starlings. My hubby shoots the starlings though. Nasty birds that have thoroughly torn our attic apart. Then there are the chucker who like the cracked corn. All the neighbours cats come to stake out the birds....hoping. Coopers Hawks also come for the birds and they score more often than the cats. My baby opossoms have all grown up and the one resident who lives under the deck comes out every night for his/her kibble. And it makes for a raucous meeting if the racoons are also out. The other animal who meets the stinging end of hubbys gun are the Norwegian water rats that populate our area. YUCK! they are big and mean to the other animals. Soon as spring arrives the only birds that will leave are the Junco but then all the other pretty babies will come back.

Amelia

Amelia, it is lovely to feed the birds in wintertime. As I have 2 averies, I throw the food up on the roof. My 2 dogs are always underneath hoping that I will miss!

Isn't it a pity that sin has made some birds so destructive that they are not nice to have around.

Water rats...........now they are something else.
We had one in the shed last year having a lovely feed in the birdseed. I found it's nest in the woodpile in the spring. Fasinating arrangement of materials so carefully woven together.

If you have any squirrel stories Amelia, I have a place in the Nature site especially for them.