just passing through

Yesterday and today it has been dark and rainy.  For the past couple of weeks it has been hot, hotter than is normal for the month of August or September – kicking back the covers in the night type of heat.  The heat seems to have finally broken with the start of rainy season.   Generally we don’t have this type of warm air up here in the mountains except in February or March and the birds are loving it. The parrots are back from wherever they go in the winter months. This week they sat two by two up in the pines deciding their mates for this season and how they would get back into our attic to have their broods. And as of yesterday morning they were definitely back, squawking and chewing and probably doing their worst to our attic space.

In compensation, the show at the bird feeder at lunch has been great. This week I saw three robins. No photos, they stayed to far away from the feeder to catch them with my little 55-200 lens but I know I saw them and that is good enough for me. They come through here twice a year and stop over for 3 or 4 days each direction, so there is always next year. It is interesting that they used to do the same in Houston and I always watched for them there also, feeling pleasure and connection from catching their visits.

This year we have watched several newcomers to our feeder. We added a board below the feeder to put fresh orange slices and papaya pieces which the small birds seem to love. Yesterday I added pieces of pineapple that so far have been ignored. This fresh fruit, though, brought us a male and female (assuming) that are baby blue on the underside with ranges of turquoise to midnight blue on the wings. What I think is the males have dots of bright yellow on each wing. (sorry forgot you like to see…..)    

 

 

 

 

 

 

I make an assumption that this is a male (upper) and female (to the left) of the same family because they come together to feed, one will sit on an upper branch and watch, then they switch places…. rarely do you see birds of different families eating together at the feeder. These blue birds are very aggressive little buggers, we left a whole papaya (mamao as they are call here) on the veranda rail to ripen in the warm sun and before we knew it they had eaten the whole inside and left Camillo and I only the skins for our breakfast.

 

 

 

 

We have had squirrels, two big, one little and, of course, the parrots. The parrots usually come in groups of 3 or 4. Two at the feeder and the rest waiting patiently on the branches above. They scare away all of the other birds, then sit and daintily go through the seeds, greedily eating the sunflower seeds. They are very systematic - popping the seed and spitting the shell out on the ground. Maybe there is hope for our attic if they are this neat in their habits. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year we have also had a very small, very black bird. I haven’t noted any differences that might distinguish male / female between the ones that come to the feeder. During the 5 visits or so that I’ve noticed, they seem to be the same bird.

We have also seen a small brown morning dove, a beige and turquoise bird with black eyes and one yellow breasted with black and white chipmunk like striped head.    We

also have routinely the big gray and brown forest pigeon and a small sparrow. We’ve really been enjoying our pre summer heat and dry and in no way look forward to the confinement of the rains to come…..