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Blue and serene
Right now there is the most incredible variation of blue in the sky. It is amazing.
Meanwhile the view at the desk remains serene, especially with its snow cover.
At the feeder we are seeing now a variety of birds.
First, before the last snowfall I was getting zillions of these. I am not sure what they are.
I think they are a kind of starling. They flock very closely and noisily chatter a lot. They are a nervous lot, forever flying up into the trees and then back down to the ground to browse. They behave like starlings I saw in Rome, the storni who flock so densely.
Meanwhile the chickdee is ever present as is the nuthatch with whom they hang out in the winter.
Since I started mixing in some thistle seed with the black sunflower seeds I am getting lots of finches again. Small groups of house finches, about four or five together are around.
And the gold finch eating team is still about in good numbers. I wonder if I should put out the thistle sock again.
I think this would be a "yes" vote.
I’ll take up a collection. These guys are going to eat me out of house and home soon! The feed for these feathered beggars ain’t exactly tuppence a bag.
They have all kept me company today as I hammered out another article for the paper and my coffee got colder and colder.
A yes, the starlings of Rome
http://www.4marks.com/videos/details.html?video_id=752
Comment by Tom in Columbus — 3 December 2008 @ 5:20 pmthose sure look like the European starling to me. Interestingly, a group of starlings has many collective nouns, including “a constellation of starlings,” “a filth of starlings,” “a murmuration of starlings,” “a scourge of starlings,” and a “vulgarity of starlings.”
Comment by mwa — 3 December 2008 @ 5:27 pmThose do indeed look like starlings. I think this part of the country only has European Starlings. They are in their winter plumage, as their beaks are black, compared with the bright yellow they will be in summer.
Comment by James Garrison — 3 December 2008 @ 5:31 pmHow can they be European? Come on!
Comment by Andreas — 3 December 2008 @ 5:47 pmhehe “tuppence a bag”, nice Mary Poppins reference, or was that unintentional!
[What do you think? Intentional? Not? o{]:¬) ]
Comment by Matt Hardesty — 3 December 2008 @ 6:24 pmI’ve been noticing how beautiful and interesting the skies are also at this time of year, now that I have a puppy—and view the sky more frequently on our walks. Beautiful pictures of the birds—how amazing the creative powers of God!
Comment by Tara — 3 December 2008 @ 6:57 pmI have always wondered why a not particularly attractive bird would merit a name like starling while a black /brown irridescent bird such as a grackle would merit that name. It alwys seemed it ought to be reversed.
Comment by JPG — 3 December 2008 @ 7:14 pmJPG
Andreas, they rode over on sailing ships and some were imported on purpose to remind english of “home” now they and the english sparrow (brought here the same way) have driven out many native species especially swallows and the purple martin
Comment by David Osterloh — 3 December 2008 @ 7:17 pmIn magnitudine sua posuit nubes et confracti sunt lapides grandinis. Ecclesiasticus 43:16
Comment by Tomás López — 3 December 2008 @ 8:39 pmYep, dems Starlings – the bane of my bird bath.
They’re like crows with an accent.
Comment by Mark G. — 3 December 2008 @ 9:16 pmYou might want to check out Costco for bird seed.
Comment by Adrienne — 3 December 2008 @ 9:46 pmOh – and the starling was brought here as a natural enemy for the Japanese Beetle. BIG mistake!
Comment by Adrienne — 3 December 2008 @ 9:48 pmDavid Osterloh:
I was joking at first, but now … thank you, interesting bit of information.
Comment by Andreas — 3 December 2008 @ 9:49 pmNice images, father. What camera & lens did you use?
Comment by Jim — 3 December 2008 @ 10:12 pmBlue sky – there’s a song by Stan Rogers called “45 years” that talks about the sky being a “painful blue”. I always think of the blue skies of Autumn and your pics show it so beautifully – a sky so clear, crisp and sharp. I wonder where that phrase originated?
Comment by Jennifer — 3 December 2008 @ 10:34 pmSuch amazing pictures, Father! You should be the official photog for the Holy See!
Comment by John Enright — 3 December 2008 @ 11:22 pmSo, not a turkey to be seen after Thanksgiving?
Comment by Father George — 3 December 2008 @ 11:31 pm[What do you think? Intentional? Not? o{]:¬) ]
hehehe…hmmm…now, I wouldn’t want to underestimate your vocabulary prowess Father, so in that sense I’d say unintentional. But then again, hey, what’s there to be ashamed of, a self-respecting fellow can appreciate the skills at play in a well-made musical :)
Comment by Matt Hardesty — 4 December 2008 @ 12:52 amI would say Fr Z’s writings follow the model of the liturgy, where NOTHING is unintentional.
But he has more Disney references and is a lot funnier than the liturgy (well, perhaps not the liturgy as it is performed in some churches, come to think of it).
Comment by Christabel — 4 December 2008 @ 4:53 amAnother term for starlings, at least out here in farm country, Winged Rats, gads are they filthy, they get in you buildings and cover everything with crap, even the cows, they perch in the rafters and just bomb everything, pestulance.
Comment by David Osterloh — 4 December 2008 @ 8:40 amI’m with you Father! I put out a bird feeder in my yard a couple of months ago
Comment by Mike D. — 4 December 2008 @ 9:37 amhere in sunny Florida and the 25-30 sparrows and 5-6 doves that visit every
morning are about to eat me out of house and home!
Stan Rogers (God be good to him, the hero!) probably originated the phrase. He was gifted in figuring out the right word or description.
Re: “grackle”, apparently that’s from “graculus”. The dictionary further notes that Indo-European bird names often start with cr- and gr-, and suggests that it’s a little hidden onomatopeia for birds’ cries.
Comment by Maureen — 4 December 2008 @ 11:11 amIsn’t part of the unnatural presence of starlings in the USA due to some fellow on the east coast a century or more ago who thought his city should have representation of every animal mentioned in Shakespeare? Any that couldn’t be found, he imported.
Comment by Charivari Rob — 4 December 2008 @ 12:14 pmStarlings – so that’s what they are! Each Fall we get a veritable cloud of them stopping off on the property – flitting about in the trees, chattering loudly and never staying in one spot for long. However, they don’t approach the feeders (just as well!).
However they look smaller than the starlings I remember years ago in Ireland. Probably lost weight on the long flight over…:)
Comment by GOR — 4 December 2008 @ 1:08 pmLovely…I’m wondering too, Fr., what camera & lens did you use?
Comment by my kidz mom — 5 December 2008 @ 7:52 am