It was supposed to attract Purple Martins but the Sparrows got there first.
Many generations of Sparrows have taken their first flights here over the years, but eventually the harsh weather took it's toll, the roof fell in, the plywood buckled, the paint peeled, and it had seen better days. Not many of the 27 apartments were still warm and dry, and the birds decided to look for more suitable accommodation.
Then The Space Cadet came along and magically rebuilt it. And the birds moved back in.... still no Purple Martins, but lots of Sparrows.
The rings around the holes are repairs made after an enormous black squirrel climbed the post last summer and made a meal of some of the babies, and tried to make a meal of the birdhouse too.
Ha! Damn tree rats!
This year we've enjoyed watching lots of families grow up and take flight. This hardworking mum spends all day feeding 4 hungry bossy squawking noisy chicks. And it's mum doing all the work, I've only seen dad there a couple of times.
I suppose he's busy at the office.
Try to imagine this: these pictures were taken by balancing a chair on the small patio table, then balancing binoculars on the chair with the left hand, and holding my little Nikon Coolpix 2100 digi camera zoomed in to the binoculars right lens with my right hand, and trying to hold the whole contraption steady without wobbling until there was a picture worth taking!
Congratulations on your 100th post-day. It's an accomplishment to be proud of. I'm so happy to have met you too.
ReplyDeleteYour way of taking that photo was quite interesting. Perhaps I'll get out my binoculars and see what I can come up with.
Congratulations, hmmmm! i think i have a long ways to go.
ReplyDeleteBy the way did you happen to see my woodpecker babies on my blog?
I love your bird house too, your hubby did a good job.
Ta ta ta taaa ta ra rata - 100
ReplyDeleteThat's great and thanks for sharing so much and all your flattering comments.
Congratulations on your 100th and keep it up!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of Mother bird feeding!
Congratulations on the 100th post.
ReplyDeleteAnd am impressed with your acrobatic skills to bring us such beautiful photos.
What a labour of love that bird box must have been, it is great to see something which a loved one as spent time and effort to make doing the job it was intended for still going after all those years.
ReplyDeleteEach spring must be like the sparrows paying you back for your kindness, being able to watch the parents making nests and rearing young is a joyous thing and one I always look forward to.
Great pictures and a great post for your 100t, very well done.
It's YOU who deserves the present! You should write in to Camera Monthly, or whatever with that camera trick! How to photograph birds through the binoculars while balancing . . . Happy one-hundreth post to you; you always have something interesting to say!
ReplyDeleteI would have commented anyways ;)
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you were such a young blogger! Congrats on the 100 posts!
What I was going to say, was I can't believe you took those pics through a binocular!!
Congratulations on your 100th post!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your story of the sparrows.
Yes, happy 100th!
ReplyDeleteThought I'd come visit at your blog since you were kind enough to ask about grandchildren.
Noah, 9 and his sister, Amina 7, I get to go see them in a few weeks, YAY!
Thank you for the wonderful bird pictures. I have a couple of birdhouses that a friends husband made but no birds have taken up residence...maybe I should put them in a tree or something.
CONGRATULATIONS on your 100th post, AND, CONGRSTULATIONS on those wonderful pictures,...I know how difficult it is to do what you did...lol....My Hummers are far awat and fast fast fast...but it is so very satisfying taking photos of these wonderful birds, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMay you have at lesst 10,000 more posts!
Happy blog #100. You have done great and i have enjoyed your postings and getting to know you.
ReplyDeleteI must say...Well done on capturing those babies and their Mom. What we won't do to get just the right picture.
lovely bird house!
ReplyDeleteGoody, put me in. Maybe a freebie flight to Ontario!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 100th post!
ReplyDeleteClever girl! 100 posts today. Do we sing happy hundred posts to you!
ReplyDeleteNote your comment on Martin's blog about clouds. I was once in an areoplane when the clouds got all mean, but we managed to skirt round them and watched London being zapped by lightening!
Love Lorenzo.
Congratulations on 100..!!
ReplyDeleteThe bird photographs were worth the effort !
REPLY ALL:
ReplyDeleteSo, have you all tried taking photos through binoculars yet? It's not easy, let me tell you!
The babies are almost ready to leave the nest, mummy bird is encouraging them to fly but they haven't taken the plunge yet.
And thanks to everyone for the congratulations on my 100th post. It's been a blast doing it so far, although Blogger can be temperamental at times. Right now I'm having difficulty saving changes on my sidebar page. Anyone else having the same problem?
All your names will go into a hat and someone will be lucky... and NO, Dogbait, it's not a trip to Ontario!!
I guess I came to late to be in the hat, but anyhow...
ReplyDeleteFirst; congratulations!
Amazing bird cage and story. Happy you managed to take the picture without accident! Could never have guessed that birds like to live in appartment houses like this one!
Congratulations on 100!! Great picture!
ReplyDeleteTheresa N.
High rise living wow!! lucky birdies!!
ReplyDeleteWell, as I picked you out to be the lucky winner of Sue's 100, I now have the right to put myself forward to your 100th post. Many congratualtions on your posts, I am just a beginner and just getting my head around it, a few false starts but I think I am now getting there!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are fantastic, I am am am an avid reader now.
Best of luck in the future and may we have many more conversations.
Love Gillie xxx
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
ReplyDeleteThe birds are wonderful....look at their hungry little mouths. That space cadet is pretty handy. I suspect you will be keeping him around for a while, right?
I had to smile at the mental picture of you balancing on a chair on the patio to take these photos! Worth it though...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on reaching 100!
Marie x
The only photo missing here is; yes you know it: the one of you taken the pictures of the birds. That would have been a sensation.
ReplyDeleteThe other, not a sensation at all is: congrats with post 100.
PS. I did past 100 and 200 without even notice it myself - - -
What a great post, and it's your Century Post, too! superb photos of the birds.
ReplyDeleteTree rats. That's funny. Down here we have grays and reds. The reds are a little bigger and more sensible creatures. The gray ones are, for lack of a better term, squirrely.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 100. I'm eager to see you kick off the next hundred... not with your sore foot, of course. ;-)
I didn't get in on all this 100th-post hoopla but I must say you were pretty perky to be doing that derring-do with a bum foot. Glad you're still in one piece after those incredible pics!
ReplyDeleteLooks like all your hard work and balancing act on taking those photos really paid off, they are fantastic! That bird condo is really cool, too.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 100th + posts!