A love for bird watching starts early…
Well, what do you know…those look like actual birds in today’s Dave’s Bird Watching Blog! Indeed they are my friends, and gorgeous painted buntings no less! They are carefully disguised as evil house sparrows, which, as we all know, are vicious enemies of bluebirds (WARNING: graphic photos) and not to be fed or at all encouraged. Painted buntings, on the other hand, are quite okay to feed.
“Hey, wait a second, Dave…those are house sparrows! And that looks like YOU feeding them!”
Um, yes, that is me at age 13, but I am sure those birds are not HOSPs. Their disguise is convincing I’ll give you, but clearly they are friendly little, um, scarlet tanagers.
“Nope, not buying it. Those are house sparrows for sure. I feel betrayed.”
Okay, they are house sparrows, but that was back in 1985, when our family went over to Europe for vacation. We were in London at St. James’s Park, and an old gentleman was giving out handfuls of birdseed to kids so they could feed the birds. It was the first time I ever fed a bird by hand.
I had enjoyed birds before (my parents still have a little booklet about birds that I made as a little boy), but to have one land in my hand…I was hooked! Just look back up at that very first photo of me, wide-eyed and loving every minute. What a thrill!
“Whew, that’s a relief, especially after you almost gave our nestbox away to house wrens a few weeks ago. By the way, did you see we finally ran those pests off and built a new nest in there? We have three eggs inside…hey, who are those other two people in that first picture with you?”
That’s my younger sister there in front and my mom behind me. My dad took the picture.
Speaking of my parents, here they are. They’re terrific, and boy do they love being grandparents! We are excited to have them living close again, and they seem to like spending time with a certain cute little fella…he’s almost eight months old now!
And here’s big brother and yours truly doing a little early morning canoeing at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, NC. We saw an osprey and a cormorant but none of the pictures were very good. Canoeing together with my oldest son like this is one of my favorite activities right now. Bass lake does canoe rentals for $4 an hour (8am to sunset) if you’re in the area. Great spot for fishing, too!
Lastly, look who showed up again at ye olde homestead…the cute little brown-headed nuthatch that we enjoy so much! I’m hoping we get to see lots more of this fun bird and the two juveniles that were bouncing around with it. That’s all for today! Dave
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Comments
Oh My Goodness, Dave. Your older son looks just like his father!!!! Love the old pictures… Glad your parents are living close-by now. They will love Spoiling the grands!!!!!
Yes, the love of birding starts early in the Heiser home. I thought you were going to show your baby with a birdie… ha
Hugs to you all,
Betsy
Sure glad Mr. BLuebird set you straight about thost Sparrows.:)I can see the love in your parents eyes.But,then what’s not to love about that little guy.
Blessings,Ruth
Nice post.
So that is when it all began for you, huh?
It took me until retirement to really stop and pay attention to the wonderful birds in our area…we finally got bird houses and bird feeders and learned as much as we could and started bird watching.
But no matter what the age, it becomes addictive, very fast!!
And now that I am discovering photography and bird photography I am over the edge…..
Sometimes I long for the days when birds were just birds. When we didn’t care what kind they were…if we saw a bird we were happy.
Hard to believe the little guy is already 8 months old!
Thanks so much for sharing those pictures and stories!! I’m so envious! It must be such a nice feeling to hand feed a wild bird. I’ve never tried, but I most definitely will this winter :)
I hope you have plenty of fun times canoeing with your son!
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Waaaay back then birds were just birds..right! Cute little things that were fun to watch..too young to be held accountable for touching and or holding gently a HS!!!!!!
Funny how an experience like holding a bird will instill a love that we hold on to all thru our adult life…so glad you held a bird tho,..just think if your parents allowed you to hold a baby skunk or ferret! phew! lol! Its nice to see you bonding with the boy, the boat and the lake..nice memories for both of you! Nice post.. You did good Dad!!