Coming soon ...

Mexico City to make abortion legal

Mexico City is about to pass a law making abortion in the first three months legal. The bill would make this city one of the largest entities in Latin America to break with a long tradition of women resorting to illegal clinics and midwives to end unwanted pregnancies.

The Mexico City bill would make it legal to have an abortion during the first trimester for any reason. The procedure would be free at city health facilities. Private hospitals would be required to provide an abortion to any woman who asks for one, though doctors with religious or ethical objections would not be required to perform abortions.

Catholic leaders and church officials have denounced the proponents as “baby killers” and have warned that the law could provoke violence against doctors who agree to provide the service. A group of Catholic lawyers are pushing for a citywide referendum on the issue, hoping to avert the vote in the city Legislative Assembly.

How curious that Catholic leaders would use as a reason not to pass this law the threat of violence against doctors who provide abortion services.

Leftists and feminists, meanwhile, have accused opponents of turning a blind eye to reality. They say millions of women here, and indeed throughout much of Latin America, already ignore the law and choose to abort fetuses, often in dingy underground clinics or the private homes of midwives. They risk infection, sterility and sometimes death.

“Women are dying, above all poor women, because of unsafe abortions,” said María Consuelo Mejía, the director of Catholics for the Right to Decide. “What we would like is that these women never have to confront the necessity of an abortion, but in this society it’s impossible right now. There is no access to information, to contraceptives. Nor do most women have the power to negotiate the use of contraceptives with their partners.”

Women must have the right to make this decision for themselves. Good for the progressives in the Mexico City government to recognize this.

Ducks Unlimited!

On my way to pick up Kat at school this afternoon, I took a chance and stopped at the Duck Pond on College Ave. again. First, I SAW THE "FREE-ROAMING" BUNNIES! There were five big giants of some sort (Flemish? they were a medium nutty reddish-brown)--I would've gauged their sizes from very large to huge--like a medium-sized dog. They were not exactly, however, roaming free as that sign had indicated. They were in a hurricane-fenced enclosure that was probably 40x40ish. There were all sorts of little bushes and stumps and rocks and things to vary their terrain, along with some pretty well-worn paths. Interesting. I saw a sign on the enclosure that said something like, "Absolutely no dogs or cats beyond this point." Good idea. Those rabbits might hurt a mere cat or dog!

So I turned away from the bunnies and went to see what was going on at the pond. Lo and behold--a lifer. Along with the 25-30 mallards, those two big black-and-white ducks, 5-6 Canada geese, and a tufted titmouse, I saw a ring-necked duck! I wasn't sure at the time what he was, but I took some notes and made some little drawings of his most distinctive features--his oddly pointed head with dark purplish feathers, very distinctive bill pattern with ring at base of bill tracing down sides to prominent ring around end of bill, dark gold eye, black body with sharply defined white pattern on each side. I came home and checked a few web sites, BT3's Identify Yourself, and my Stokes guide, and I'm confident of my ID. WOW! A lifer! I really had only ever seen the kind of ducks you see on farms (like the black-and-white big couple) or mallards, so this was a real thrill! OF COURSE I didn't have the Nikon! That would've been too simple, and I do mean simple; the ducks at this pond are rather used to road and human traffic. The ducks pretty much stayed right along the edge of the pond next to the back road alongside the pond, so I didn't get out of the car, for fear of spooking them. I had my tiny monocular (8x20) from Surplus Shed, so at least I was able to get a good view. But if I had had the camera--gees!

So I watched the ducks for a while, then got Kat, then came home. Roana Fuller had told me that someone had seen a green-winged teal on the marsh yesterday, so I got out the binocs and the scope and started looking. I was watching some mallards when I saw the red and green head--lifer #2 for the day! A green-winged teal male! I was viewing from the porch window, so I was up higher than usual; still, a photo was next to impossible due to grass, trees, and a setting sun. I'm hoping he's there tomorrow--I'll try to get him on camera! The other birds on the marsh:

Great blue heron--as I was oohing and aahing over the teal, who should float gracefully into scopeview but this heron! HUGE adult. Swept over the ponds and landed among the tall grass, disappearing from sight very near to the tree I saw him perched on several times early last summer.

Belted kingfisher--only one today

Mallard--six

Red-winged blackbird--a million

Eastern starling--just a couple here and there, among the red-wings

Cooper’s or Red-tail? couldn’t see because of branches; he was in the crook of two branches in a tree at the back of the marsh on Penns Creek's banks.

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal at the feeder, along with some grackles, mourning doves, song sparrows, and red-winged blackbirds. Roana advised that I leave the feeders empty for a couple of days, to try to get the grackles to move on. Keep your fingers crossed.

Wow, what a day! Two lifers to add to my list, and a new bird for the marsh list. I don't believe I've posted the marsh list yet; I think this is everyone, not counting the usual songbirds that hang out at my feeders:

Red-winged blackbirds
Green heron
Great blue heron
Mallards
Cooper's hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Belted kingfisher
American bittern
American black duck
Sora (ID'd by Roana Fuller)
Green-winged teal*
Hooded merganser*
Eastern bluebird

The ones with * are 2007 first-sightings so far. I'm sure there are many more species out there, and I'm hoping to ID them this summer. I was discussing with Roana the idea of erecting a sort-of temporary blind out closer to the ponds, but we decided that a viewing tower might be better. So I might be able to get this by Kat; I'm not sure yet. Either I'll make a tower, or I'll make a treehouse-like platform on top of the crazy uncle house! I need to do a study of just how much wood I have in my workshop; I'm hoping I have enough for some sort of platform. Building it on top of the little house sounds pretty easy, especially given my knowledge of carpentry AND trigonometry! I'll view the whole project as one big word problem, with angles of elevation, 45-45-90 triangles, and a2+b2=c2 (pretend those are exponents--superscript 2s, okay?). Only I'll have to try to keep the words "fell off the roof," "put her foot through the roof," and "several hundred dollars later" OUT of this word problem. I can't see Kat approving of any of those. . . .

So--off to do some trig homework and revel in the glow of a two-lifebird day. As Birdchick would say, WHOOT!

Bill Maher to George Bush: "Don't question my patriotism"

New bunny disapproval, yard ponds, and bluebirds

I'm only now adding photos to this post from earlier today. I'll start out with our newly bloomed daffodils, who took advantage of 80-ish degree temperatures yesterday to show their stuff:


NEWS: Birdchick has posted a new disapproving rabbits page!
http://birdchick.com/adventures/rabbit/index10.html

All the pages are hilarious, and page 4 includes a photo of Niblet from last summer, when we took him into our enclosed veggie garden! Sweet boy!

All this melting snow and rain have created quite the soggy mess on the marsh and in the backyard, but my backyard is nowhere near as bad as Neighbor Ed's, whose yard now features a nice big pond. This morning, some ducks decided to give it a try. First, the pertinent section of Ed's backyard, then a zoom onto the mallards, whom I didn't want to bother.



Meanwhile, the trig continues. . . . Still, it's easier than algebra was, strangely enough.

This weekend, I'm going to try to go to the upcoming Pennsylvania Bluebird Society Conference! The description states that it will be an "Excellent source of information and advice on Bluebirding for both beginners and those that already maintain Bluebird trails. Lots of tips, ideas and sharing." I'm pumped! I hope I can find some time to go. It's going to be a full weekend, what with Em and spring shopping and Easter bunnies.

There's also a birding club meeting tonight, plus there's something else going on in town called "Strictly for the Birds" -- "The Woodland Owners of Centre County are sponsoring a program on bird calls, bird habits and characteristics, stories of bird watching and tracking the bird's place in the ecosystem. Doug Wentzel, naturalist and program director at Shaver's Creek is guest speaker." Unfortunately, both these events start before I even get out of trig class. I may try to bolt out of there and hit the birding club meeting, arriving not-so-fashionably late. . . .

I just found out about these last two events this morning; I really need to get on some kind of listserv or whatever to keep up with the birding events, so I can plan better.

UPDATE: I didn't get out of trig until about 7:30 (had some questions on double-angle something or others), so I didn't want to interrupt the presentation at the birding meeting. I ended up having coffee with the editor of the community paper I used to write and edit for, Voices of Central Pennsylvania. It's a great little bastion of progressive and responsible reporting on important issues that impact this area, and Suzan Erem taught me a ton about writing and thinking in the time I was editing the environment section of the paper. However, between work and school and family and birding and woodworking and home improvement, something had to give. I miss it, but I'm just too busy to put in the time that paper needs. Still, I made some good friends there, and I helped the paper continue its life in this community.

So--no birding stuff tonight. BUT there are two great things that happened today regarding my birding:
1. A guy in my trig class is a farmer in Penns Valley, and he told me that all the farmers will be putting cow manure on their fields in the next week or so! That means BIRDS! I'm dying to see a horned lark, and I hear they're attracted to freshly pooped fields.
2. I got some great information on local birding hotspots from the State College Birding Club's web site, and I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend looking in some new places. Maybe I'll even spot some warblers--any warbler I see will be a lifer!

One last blog-related note; perhaps you've noticed that this post contains embedded links, which I hadn't been able to use since I switched browsers and computers (PC to Mac). However, I realized that I could just input the html by looking at other embedded links on my old posts, and voila! embedded links! I feel so computer programmy!

Blogswarm Against Theocracy Easter Weekend

Hey, if you're not doing anything over Easter ... or even if you are ... why not join in the "Blog Against Theocracy" blogswarm! Read more about it at Blue Gal and Neural Gourmet, and thanks to Tengrain at Mock, Paper, Scissors for the cool logo!

It's no secret that I'm a BIG FAN of First Freedom First -- a joint project of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation. So if you would like topic ideas for your posts, simply go to their web site and look under the "resources" section. OR, click one of the issue buttons under the photo at the top of the home page for info on that topic.

Join the fun!



Technorati Tags:blog against theocracy

A must read from Feministe

Why Feminism Is Still Necessary

Because when women speak up and voice their opinions, men feel entitled to do things like this (serious trigger warnings).

The threat of violence, particularly sexualized violence, is a favorite tool for insecure men, usually safely anonymous themselves, for trying to push women out of the public sphere. Women targeted by AutoAdmit found themselves wondering which of the men they knew were posting updates on their locations and making rape threats; last year, Jill missed several days of classes. Melissa McEwan dropped out of the Edwards campaign after receiving increasingly credible threats. Amanda Marcotte’s been threatened. Pretty much every feminist blogger has, at one time or another — and you should see some of the stuff that turns up in our moderation queue.

I encourage you to check out the rest of the post!

Important marsh updates!

First off, I realize that I've been really neglecting my blog of late; my apologies. I've been busy with my trig midterm, a three-day snot-fest that refuses to give me back my good health, and all kinds of other things. I will try to do better and get on the blog daily, which was my original goal.

Now, to the birding news of the weekend. First, yesterday, I was finally able to get down to this little pond right along College Ave. near downtown; I've passed that pond a million times, but never when I've had a moment to stop. The pond is next to some university housing just east of campus, and the first thing to catch my interest was this sign posted as you drive into the little "complex" (one little apartment structure and some mechanical-looking buildings):

Wow! I'm not sure just where these rabbits came from, or why someone would release domestic rabbits to run wild in an area right near the woods that lead up to Mount Nittany and other wild areas around the city, but I pressed on--slowly!
I was hoping to see something a little more exotic than Canada geese and mallards, but that was pretty much all I saw. Here are some photos I took:

There were two black-and-white ducks, which I'm guessing are "domestic" ducks found on farms and stuff. Note the size differential:

The big guys' quacks were much more like the "quack" you'd hear on a See-and-Say toy than the mallards, whose gentle "mahps" are always kind-of soothing and sweet.
This mallard seemed to be having an irridescence malfunction; perhaps he's not quite mature enough to have all the green head feathers? Or maybe he's very mature and this is what grandpa ducks look like?

There were a few Canada geese as well; it looked like a chiropractor's waiting room here:

Later, on the main north-south street through town, I saw this on the lawn of a local small business:

I guess he'd probably been hit on the street, then had just enough energy to get about 4-5 feet up to safety. Sad. Strangely, though, there was no smell. Maybe he wasn't hit that hard?

Today, the sun was out and the temps were in the 60s! It was a beautiful spring day, most of which I spent napping on the couch while trying to stay awake enough to do my trig homework. Did I mention I got an 80 on my trig midterm? Whew.

About 5:30 I went outside and sat in the backyard, just soaking in the sounds and sights of the marsh in spring: the peepers' insistent calls for mates, the Canada geese's perturbed honks, the distant knocking of a woodpecker searching for food. A lone turkey vulture flew over the marsh, gliding silkily on the wind. As the sun lowered in the sky, the ducks began to appear, coming in low and landing on the marsh ponds. I decided to get a better look at the ponds, so I walked along the road that fronts the marsh.

Last year, all I'd seen on the marsh in the way of ducks was the usual mallard and maybe a few black ducks. This time, however, I saw some mergansers! Now, forgive the photos; it was late in the day, and I was shooting through the binocs while sitting on a guard rail, trying not to get myself killed by passing traffic:

Red-breasted merganser? I tried to get a closer look:

I saw what I believe was a hooded merganser as well, though I couldn't get a shot of him at all. But his little swooshy-back headdress was evident through the binocs.
Next, I watched a belted kingfisher diving after (I'm guessing) little baby frogs and stuff; he's there in the middle of the frame:

I even got him as he was returning from a food-dive, though the focus is pretty bad:

I watched long enough to see a second kingfisher in a nearby tree! Last year, I only saw the one, so this is definitely exciting news! First some mergansers, then two kingfishers! Wow. I can't wait until more species come back; last year, we suspected there might be a rookery of green herons, and we had an American bittern. I guess it's still a little early to see them.

All in all, it was a great day on the marsh. The temperature fell quickly as the sun set, but still--it's obvious that spring is making her grand entrance!

Sunday Funnies

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

BUSTED! Tom DeLay clearly didn't write or READ his book

Gays of Our Lives

I've decided to "out" myself ... but not for what you think. Yes, I'm a lesbian ... but if you've visited Yikes! before you probably already know that. What you might NOT know is that I'm a closet "Days of Our Lives" fan. Yep ... watch it every day when I get home from work.

The program starts with a recap of what you just saw the day before, and then a hint of what's to come. I'm not familiar with other soaps, but the hint is usually enough for Day's fans to know the story line -- almost line-by-line -- for the rest of the show ... but I digress.

As the shows signature graphic appears you hear the voice of Dr. Tom Horton -- actually MacDonald Cary, who passed away about a decade ago or so (no actually dies on Days, unless they die in real life ... but I digress once again). Anyway, Dr. Tom says ... "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of our Lives" ... music UP!

Over the years I've sort of adopted this as a way to reference things that take place within the LGBT community. You know ... the Gays of Our Lives!

Like the story of two lesbians kicked out of an I-Hop for kissing. Not the type of lesbian kissing seen in really bad B movies ... the kind of lesbian kissing where if you didn't know they were lesbians you might think it was someone kissing their sister. I'm sure there is a joke in there somewhere, but it's getting late.

“It was a kiss I would share with my uncle,” Blair Funk told me. Except it wasn’t her uncle she kissed. It was her honey, Eva Sandoval.

What makes me crazy about this is WHO CARES if two women -- or men -- exchange a peck on the cheek. Did the earth suddenly stop revolving? That they were tossed out of a public venue also makes me crazy, because in Grandview, MO -- as in most states -- there is no legal protection for lesbians and gays from this type of discrimination.

These days it’s rare for gays and lesbians to be denied service in restaurants for acting like who they are. Blair assures me that she and Eva did nothing that wouldn’t have been appropriate for a man and a woman to do at a dinner date. No heavy makeout. No groping.

However, incidents like this one are not unheard of, and the people affected often can do nothing about it.

There is no federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Neither Kansas nor Missouri are among the few states that protect gay people from being discriminated against in areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.

Kansas City does have an ordinance protecting gays, as do St. Louis, Columbia and University City. But if you’re anywhere else in Missouri and you’re gay, you can legally be denied service in restaurant. Landlords can refuse to rent you a place to live.

You can even be canned from your job on the suspicion that you’re romantically inclined toward members of your own sex.

“Many people are shocked to hear that people can be fired from their jobs for being gay or being perceived to be gay,” says Julie Brueggemann, executive director of the Missouri gay rights group Promo.

There was an incident a few years ago in Indiana, my home state, where an employer fired one of their employees, the employee tried to challenge the firing, and the employer said the person was fired because he is gay. Who knows whether or not the person ACTUALLY WAS gay, but the employer knew that if he made that charge the person fired would have NO LEGAL RECOURSE.

These incidents point to why we need a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

++ Size Matters

They say everything is bigger in Texas. Well guess who has the BIGGEST GAY CHURCH in the country? You've got it ... TEXAS!

... the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes one Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state -- it says it is the world's biggest gay church.

"I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humor," said senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson.

On a more serious note, she says the church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, is a spiritual refuge for gay people of faith in a region associated with more conservative brands of Christianity.

"Because we are in the Bible Belt we have a lot of people of tremendous faith," she said in an interview.

"But a lot of them have been alienated and rejected by their faith community, which is fundamentalist, so they hanker for a place where they can encounter God," she said.

The United Church of Christ -- one of the 'good guys' -- has 1.3 million members in 5,725 U.S. congregations. UCC is known for its traditions of diversity and pioneering action on social justice.

The Republican party and their Religious Right supporters, on the other hand, have a "gay agenda" of their own. Groups like Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition and Falwell's (im)Moral Majority have all used gays and lesbians to demonize for dollars. And you can tell it's about time for another election when Republicans roll out state and federal marriage amendments. (It's amazing that evangelicals haven't realized that Republicans only care about the sanctity of marriage in even numbered years ... 02, 04, 06, 08.)

But enough of all this, what I really want to know is will Shawn and Belle ever get back together? Is the evil Stefano really alive? And, where's John?

God and His Gays

Those wacky religious right evangelicals are gonna hate me for this one ... but I couldn't resist. It seems that science might be about to take the steam out of one of their biggest obsessions. And, they are finding out about it from one of their own! Yikes!

Consider the dilemma of the Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and a leading figure in the Southern Baptist firmament.

Writing in his blog this month, Mohler acknowledged that " the direction of the research" increasingly points to the possibility that a "biological basis for sexual orientation exists." Should sexuality be determined in utero, Mohler continued, that still wouldn't justify abortion or genetic engineering.

Well THAT'S good to know, because I kind of like me! And besides, if some one is going to do any genetic engineering on me I'd rather it be -- in the words of my mother -- to "make me a size 10 with lots of hair."

... as Mohler noted in a later blog post, his admission that the data suggest that homosexuality may be as genetically determined as hair color produced a torrent of irate e-mail from his fellow evangelical Christians. Up to now, the preferred theory among Christian conservatives has been that homosexuality is behaviorally induced and thus can be unlearned.

It's easier to hate the sinner if you think the sinner could change, but is choosing to remain a sinner just to spite you.

The thought that being lesbian or gay could be genetic does create a theological dilemma for the Mohlers among us. People like, say ... Peter Pace?

... as the data confirming this thesis continue to mount, that could confront even those of Pace's persuasion with Mohler's conundrum: how to reconcile a God who creates homosexuals with a God who condemns practicing homosexuals to hell? A mysterious God may be well and good, but a capricious or contradictory God can inspire so much doubt that He threatens the credibility of the entire religious enterprise.

For an evangelical community fighting about global warming and war, could this be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back? Guess time will tell.

Faces of the Fallen

These four men were chosen for two reasons, they are from my area -- and none of them had voting representation in Congress ... oh, and one more reason ... all of them are dead.

By State or Territory / District of Columbia

Spec. Darryl T. Dent
21 years old
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Died: August 26, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.



Lt. Col. Paul W. Kimbrough
44 years old
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Died: October 3, 2003 in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald
29 years old
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Died: June 25, 2003 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Maj. Kevin M. Shea
38 years old
Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Died: September 14, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

It's important that we keep faces attached to this terrible war, if only to remind us that we must continue to do all we can to stop it. These men didn't have voting representation in Congress ... so if you do, call them immediately and tell them you want this war stopped. Do it for Darryl and Paul and Gregory and Kevin ... and all the men and women from your area who have been lost because of our idiot president.

Which sports car are you?

I'm a Lotus Elise!

I believe in maximum performance and minimum baggage. I like to travel light and fast, hit the corners hard, and dance like there's no tomorrow.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Fertility and the Religious Right

"Should teenage girls be taught to recognize the physical signs that indicate when they are most likely to become pregnant?" Seems like a good idea, but this is about sex, teenage girls, and comprehensive sex education -- so of course it's controversial.

Health educator Toni Weschler, who wrote "Taking Charge of Your Fertility", received hundreds of letters from women who read the book and said they wish someone had shared the information with them sooner. Imagine, empowering women and girls about their sexuality -- run for the hills!

Weschler's response was to publish a teens version of her book titled: "Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body"

"You can't imagine how challenging it was to do in a way that respected the intelligence of teens," Weschler says. "All I can say is, I will never be a politician."

Reaction to the book tends to fall along the expected political lines, and how the person/group views comprehensive sex education vs. the abstinence-only approach.

Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, takes the line that better-informed teenagers make better decisions: "Time and again," she says, "research has shown that giving information to adolescents about reproduction and sexuality will not lead to promiscuity and will only arm teens with information that they need whenever they decide to become sexually active."

But Janice Crouse, senior fellow at Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, disagrees. "I think it is inappropriate. Instead, I think that we need high ideals for our teenagers, to teach them the value of self-control because those are disciplines that you need for your whole life. Providing this type of information says that teenagers are hostages to their hormones."

In what I think is a surprising response, Carrie Lukas of the Independent Women's Forum -- a fake feminist organization -- says:

"Any time you give young people information, there is the potential for them to misapply that knowledge," Lukas says, "but that is not a reason to warn people away from this book."

I'm sure she will take heat for her comment at the next IWF meeting.

--------------------

And speaking of controversy, it seems there is more than a little controversy brewing among religious right activists. It seems the big debate is about whether or not to keep the movement's focus on abortion, marriage and sexual chastity -- or scrap that approach as too narrow.

The founders of the religious right, now in the twilight of their leadership, see even the suggestion of expanding the agenda as a dangerous distraction. In public, and sometimes in personal ways, they are trying to beat back the challenge.

Reminds me of the song "What's the matter with kids" from Bye, Bye Birdie. Can't you just see Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson singing it as you read this!

Pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren got a slap on the wrist for inviting Sen. Barack Obama to speak at an AIDS summit at his church. Obama does, after all, support abortion rights.

And Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, and other conservatives, pressured the National Association of Evangelicals to silence its Washington director, the Rev. Rich Cizik. What had he done that needed to be silenced? Cizik tried to convince evangelicals that global warming is real, and something they should be concerned about.

Dobson's tactic not only failed, it seemed to backfire. The NAE not only stood by Cizik, but it endorsed a critique of U.S. policy toward terror detainees called "An Evangelical Declaration Against Torture: Protecting Human Rights in an Age of Terror."

This is kind of amazing when you consider these are conservative evangelicals speaking out against the policies of a Republican president when the country is at war. No wonder Bush's approval rating is so low.

If religious right evangelicals keep this up presidential hopefuls like McCain, Giuliani, and Romney are going to have to visit every mega-church in the country just to have a chance of winning the nomination.

Don't count Jerry, Pat or James out completely. They still hold sway with politically active evangelicals. And we all know that once the Republicans select their nominee, that person can pretty much count on evangelical support.

Sunday Night Music Break

I love this!

Sunday Funnies

Put a Corona in the freezer for 30 minutes or longer,
then tap the bottom against a hard surface and see what happens.

Bird Bonanza and two lifers!

What an exciting day at the feeders! We're under about six inches of snow, but the sun is out and the sky is a brilliant blue. I'm still stuffy and coughy from my recent cold (which kept me home for three stinkin' days), but I sure could use some sun. Let's go do the FeederWatch count!

The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.

Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?

He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:

Not so great focus, but still cool!

And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?


The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:

I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!


Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):




I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?

Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?


This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!

Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!

I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse

and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season


And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?

Did someone say birds?

Let me at 'em!

Leave the bird; take the cannoli.

Bird Bonanza and two lifers!

What an exciting day at the feeders! We're under about six inches of snow, but the sun is out and the sky is a brilliant blue. I'm still stuffy and coughy from my recent cold (which kept me home for three stinkin' days), but I sure could use some sun. Let's go do the FeederWatch count!

The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.

Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?

He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:

Not so great focus, but still cool!

And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?


The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:

I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!


Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):




I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?

Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?


This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!

Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!

I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse

and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season


And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?

Did someone say birds?

Leave the bird; take the cannoli.

Let me at 'em!