My little Chickadee...

"Hmmm, this one is just right!"

October 1st, I miss summer already, but I am excited that we are only 6 months away from spring migration! You have to put things in the proper perspective every once in a while, to keep one sane as I watch the leaves fall, waiting for me to rake them up, and pick them out of the little ponds before they clog the pumps, and clear them from the gutters...and...

The White-throated Sparrows are back en masse today! I watched them under the feeders and bushes in the back gardens upon my arrival home from the 'grind.' I went for the camera to make a feeble attempt at hand holding "The Beast" and getting a few shots of our feeders. Those little buggers sure can hide in the foliage when they spot a camera! Put it down and they continue to feed, lift it up and adios! I nabbed a couple before the sun began to set in our jungle of a yard.

The good thing about having a heavily planted(that's what I call it!) yard and gardens is the number of birds and wildlife that you can attract, even in an urban area like ours. The bad thing is, with all of the landscaping the birds have too many places to hide, and who knows what other feathery friends are lurking within!

After he picks the perfect seed, he whizzes within feet of my head to his favorite branch to open and savour his special treat.

Our birdies know that when I get home I'll be filling the feeders for them, and they wait in the bushes and low trees calling back and forth.
Very impatient...

This poor little House Sparrow, newly on his own and being ignored by an adult.

He just wants a little help getting started!

My buddy the White-throated Sparrow.

Of the half dozen or so out this evening, this was the slowest of the bunch.

Either that or he was just so hungry after travelling from Canada(Hi Susan!) he didn't care if I was watching!

Yak-yak-yak!

Our White-breasted Nuthatches are the noisiest eaters around!

As you can tell by the leaves in front of the camera, I was trying to hide so I could sneak a shot of Mr. Downy.

He doesn't like paparazzi...

If anyone needs any Eastern Chipmunks, we have WAY too many! They don't even care about our attack Squirrel anymore.

It has had a bad effect on the Squirrels ego...

I'm-a Goin' Fishin' and My Heron's Goin' Fishin' Too!

"I spy with my Heron eye...a little fishy with my name on it!"

We were out birdin' with our buddies from Western Cuyahoga Audubon at the Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation a couple of weeks ago. The weather was gorgeous, as opposed to today's wind and rain and temps falling into the forties. On that fine day a number of folks were dipping their poles in the canal hoping to catch something good for dinner.

Being a big fan of Taj Mahal (the singer that is!), I thought of his song "Fishin Blues" when I saw this Green Heron doing better than the fishermen with their vast array of store bought poles and fancy lures.

This babies gonna catch more fish than you...

With a stab quicker than my feeble reaction time, he snapped up a squirmer!

"First, ya gotta let it wriggle in yer chops and savour yer catch."

"Then ya gotta aim it in the right direction."

"Then ya gotta snap him back, and down the hatch!"

Om-nom-nom!

"Impressive, eh?"

Great legs! Woo-woo!

PS- Be careful if you take NyQuil while bloggggginnnnngggggg.....zzzzzzzzzzzz....you'll forget where I am..or is it where you are...or...where am I...anyway, you'll see more photos than you have actually posted, I think, then again maybe not, but it will make you more talkative at least until you realize that you're babbling and no one really cares nor are they reading this any longer and if they are they are probably taking NyQuil also and think this is their blog and can't figure out why the d'delete' key isn't working zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzz zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzhuh, oh, goodnight...

Thomewhat Themeleth Thunday...again...

AAARRRGGGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, that photo isn't from today, within the next month or so, it could happen. But it is now autumn, the leaves are falling(hence the term "Fall"...clever, eh?), the temps are falling as well and the birds are migrating through the gardens.

This week we've had a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler (number two!), Yellow Warbler, a group of six Red-winged Blackbirds and just this morning the first White-throated Sparrow of the season. He's a sure sign of the change coming our way very soon. Brrrr....

American Robins are a sign of spring (not really) and the White-throated Sparrow is a sign of fall (really).

Of course my buddy the Gray Catbird is still watching over me in the backyard.
I'll be sad when he leaves for the winter, but he'll be back in the spring again!

The Doodles brother, Jeff and his wife Uma and their son Jett have returned from Thailand.

Not on Elephant...they took an airplane...it's a little faster...

Remember this.