Watch the birdie

Posted on February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Birds, Cat, Feeding, Fun, Inside cat, Life3 Comments

I just went into the kitchen, the cat had been sitting on top of the tub of Bird food but he had moved and had his paws on the window ledge, crouched down and looking out. So I crept up behind him and saw what he was looking at. We just got a really large bird feeder and the birds love it. I guess there will be a lot more birds in the garden.

I’m glad he’s an indoor cat. …

He also likes scratching his claws on the settee although he has two scratching posts. Being the cats mother is an interesting job.

Parrot

Posted on February 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Birds, Design, Digital art, Digital drawings, Fun, Life, Parrot, SquawkLeave a comment

Squawk,

My plumage is a rainbow

My voice is a scream,

My life is caged

behind golden bars.

I sing in whistles

and talk and trills

My life is long

with many skills.

I can use tools

to eat my food,

Play with toys

and learn your words.

Pretty

Active

Ready

Raucous

Oddly

Tremendous.

Feed the birds

Posted on January 30, 2019January 30, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Barlaston, Birds, Bread, Duck food, Ducks, Food, Moorhens, Staffordshire, SwansLeave a comment

We went out for lunch today at Barlaston in Staffordshire. We stopped at a lovely pub next to the canal. There were lots of hungry ducks on it as we pulled up. I decided to have a meal that would include bread so I could feed them when we came out. I got a crusty bread roll with my starter and put it in a napkin for use later on. After a delicious lunch we came out and went back to the canal. Now a couple of Swans had joined the ducks and moorhens.

Out came the bread roll. I broke it into tiny bits and tried to share it between all the birds. My hubby went off to buy a loaf of bread (by now the gaggle of birds had grown to around 20). When he came back we started feeding them. There were birds flapping and chasing each other everywhere. We kept breaking the bread up into small pieces so that it would get wet and not swell up when they swallowed it. Some of the moorhens skidded across the frozen ice on the canal when they tried to catch the bread. We finally managed to get rid of a whole loaf!

Recently signs were put up telling people not to feed birds with bread to stop them choking… Now there is news that birds are starving to death…..

I’m glad we fed the birds, even if it wasn’t the correct stuff. It was at least brown bread and they seemed healthy.

Old writing 7 years ago….

Posted on January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Birdsong, Blog, Blogging, Cat, Dawn, Life, Mars, Morning, Sky, Sunrise 2012Leave a comment

This popped up in my Facebook memories today. I have removed my partners name….

Another Sunday morning, my partner went off about 15 minutes ago, and me and Molly cat are here waiting for the sun to rise. The sky had gone from coal black to a dark shade of Paynes Grey, in fact in the few minutes since I sat down it has lightened considerably….. The cat is happily lying on the desk next to the computer, turning over to have her tummy tickled, she doesnt like being ignored and keeps trying to sit on my drawing tablet that also acts as my mouse! that knocks the text off so I have to reposition the cursor every couple of minutes…The blackbirds were singing in the garden at 6.30, hubby went out to listen and one carried on while the other Pink, pinked its alarm call… the song continues high and beautiful, shapely whistles that vary over different combinations of notes…. I am staying up in case my partners bus does not arrive,. One last look at the sky, only slightly lighter, blue grey, no glimmer of sun yet and overcast with lowish cirrus? clouds…thank goodness for the prospect of a warm bed and a book if hubby does not come back. (It has happened in the past when the bus driver forgot to get up!).

(I think the photos were taken a bit later on the same day.)

House sparrows

Posted on January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Birds, Blogging, Design, Digital art, House sparrows, Stained glass2 Comments

We saw some house sparrows in a hedge today “little brown jobbies” as I heard someone call them.

They were perched above us as I pulled the car into a car park. I wanted to get my phone to take a picture but its was on the back seat and the handle was caught in the rear door.

I carefully got out of the car, quietly shut my door and dragged my bag out. I got the phone, it was switched off! Help I had to switch it on and wait for it to warm up. Then a quick look. Four of the sparrows were still there…..

Camera on, click, click, click, (I took three incase of camera shake). Used the zoom option which pixelated them a bit but it was better than trying to creep towards them.

So when I got home I checked what I got. Not bad. I liked all the twigs and branches criss crossing and protecting the birds.

I decided to use the rainbow flood fill option in sketcher to make the sky more interesting. Like stained glass.

In the meantime I have a bad sore throat and feel rough.

I might not be around for a few days.

Canada geese

Posted on January 6, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Geese, Lake, Walk, Water, Westport lakeLeave a comment

img_20190106_004721 I’ve seen a lot of Canada Geese on the lake this weekend. They fly to Britain to overwinter where they can rest and survive over the winter .

I think they are smart looking birds with their black, white and brown markings.

They are certainly pushy when it comes to feeding them. When I was feeding the ducks yesterday the Canada Geese grabbed a fair share of the food. They are certainly bold!

I love the way you can go for a walk and see lots of birds at the lake. We saw small birds as well, Robins, a blackbird and a couple of wrens. Not close enough to get photos, but still close enough to see them.

Afternoon walk

Posted on January 5, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Cold winter, Photos, Staffordshire, Staffordshire wildlife, Stoke-on trent, Westport lakeLeave a comment

It was grey and cold, but after visiting a hobby shop for train track for my partners model railway we decided to get a warm cup of coffee then go for a walk.

The local lake (actually a canal reservoir) is around a mile in circumference and nice and flat. We picked up some duck food and strolled around in the cold..

The light was fading but the birds were still around and raced across the lake to get the food we were throwing out for them. My hands were getting progressively colder as I fed them and then took photos of their antics. The images were a bit blurry, but I also took pictures of the trees. Their empty branches and twigs reached up like fingers to the sky. I’ve taken too many photos as usual but I was able to make some interesting patterns from them. Glad to be home and warm again.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Birds