The Bird Whisper

I've a friend and I think he might be a Bird Whisper. Well, he is good bird-luck! He's a neighbor who also feeds birds, though like me, he's not sure which birds he sees. We've spent several hours at my kitchen window now...it's quickly becoming the place to dine. The very first time he came over, I saw the FOS Indigo Bunting; only the second one I've ever seen. I like that he was as stunned over that blue as I was. Lordy what a color...and such a tiny little thing. Those dark eyes remind me of juncos, but they are much smaller and more slender. What a joy to see.

We watched all three grosbeaks: Evening, Black-headed and Rose-breasted come and go for hours. I thought it was pretty neat that the next day he sent a note to say he'd seen the first ever Rose-breasted Grosbeak in his yard.

Last night, while talking with him, I thought I saw a mouse with it's tail straight up, disappear into a crack between the sidewalk and the siding on my house. It was a very small crack; less than an inch and a half (yes, I measured). But watching it for several seconds after it re-appeared, I could see it was a very tiny little bird with it's tail cocked over his back. It had little to no eye-marks and was pretty much all-over brown with a lighter belly...like a mouse. The baring on its tail was the give-away, however. I'm liking my friend, he must be a very powerful Bird Whisperer!

Speaking of friends, Paul and Polly got the Baltimore Oriole this year, as well as another rare visitor to Colorado: an Orchard Oriole. Oh my, what fun it is to sit on their deck and watch these two come and go...all the while dodging the feisty Bullock's Orioles that seem to have exploded this year. I probably have nearly 20 in my yard at any one time; they love the orange halves and cups of grape jelly I put out for them. They're everywhere!

Both the new orioles are more shy, and the Orchard Oriole...a stunning bird of black and chestnut coloring, is the smallest of it's kind. But what a beauty; and so shy! I'm lucky they've been hanging around and I got to spend time watching them. What good friends...and they share photographs!

As usual, I add their name to their photos...the others are from Wikipedia or BirdFreak's free Flickr site. You can find more of Paul & Polly's photos on Colorado Birder.

Click any photo for a larger view...