This past weekend, I was fascinated watching two mourning doves flying in and out of a bush in our backyard. They would fly up to the bush, sit on a branch and then disappear inside. They were carrying twigs and grass in their beaks.
I got the photo above before scaring the birds to the top of our pergola.
One of the doves kept guard from the top of the pergola before continuing the chore of building their nest.
I wanted to get a picture of the nest, but this is what I saw when I got up close:
Do you see the dove roosting in her nest? Her eye is to the left of the vertical branch. I backed off after snapping a photo. I don’t want to scare them away. That was quick work in building the nest!
Last year, I discovered quail eggs in a large planter next to our garage. The quail must have laid eggs while we were out of town. Once we were home, I noticed quail flying out of the planter whenever I opened the garage. I looked in the planter and discovered quail eggs, but mom and dad quail were scared away. The eggs never hatched.
I don’t want that to happen with the mourning doves. So, I’ll try to stop myself from taking more pictures!
A Gila woodpecker goes in an out of a saguaro nest in our backyard. All the holes were most likely made by woodpeckers. When they leave their nests, other birds move in.
I love watching birds in my empty nest.
What nests have you noticed in your neck of the woods?
This cardinal paid a visit to my Birdbuddy yesterday. He was fascinated by the camera.
I have struggled this week. Maybe it’s because it was a three-day weekend, we had guests and I got really, really tired. I think our eight-mile hike had something to do with that. Plus, my guests are always on the go and don’t stop to relax. Personally, I need some downtime and quiet.
I had hardly anything scheduled this week. Only a meeting about my HOA newsletter and a zoom call. You’d think I could relax and enjoy my days and evenings. Instead, I felt anxiety. I tend to be a worry wort.
Next week, I have a ton of things to do, appointments, lunches, and I’m throwing a belated birthday party for my husband. I spent this week worrying about all I have to do next week.
Walks and birdwatching help me to relax. But I was thinking if I was being present in the moment, I wouldn’t be anxious about next week.
How do you focus on being in the moment?
Watch as the cardinal pecks at the camera. After the cardinal leaves you can turn off the video 😊
Good news! The solar panel roof of my AI bird feeder with a camera arrived. I ordered it in January after a covey of quail leaped onto the bird feeder and it fell off the fence into the wash behind our house.
The tiny metal piece that plugged into the camera from the cord to the solar panel broke. It seemed like it would be an easy fix, but the Bird Buddy folks said my only option was to order a new solar panel roof and they’d give me a discount. I waited until June for it to arrive! In the meantime, I charged the camera every few days in the house.
I’ve been disappointed with my birds because two species are bullies and take over. White winged doves and mourning doves. They literally sit at the feeder and eat until it’s empty. So all my photos and videos for the past few weeks have been of big gray birds. I would get the occasional house sparrow which was a welcome treat.
Sunday morning I was shocked and thrilled to see a Cardinal! YAY! Here’s a video:
Video of a Northern Cardinal. It think he’s quite young.
I’m also enjoying a few families of quail, even though our nest of eggs never hatched.
Here’s a video of quail mom, dad and babies visiting our yard:
Quail family in our backyard.
Here’s a House Sparrow getting a turn at our Bird Buddy
What do you have planned this week to enjoy the world around you?
I have seen several articles the past few days about how listening to bird songs or watching birds is good for mental health. There’s been a number of studies from the US to Finland that back this up.
Maybe that’s why I’ve been in a good mood lately? It certainly doesn’t hurt to enjoy my Bird Buddy feeder with a camera or sit in the backyard and listen to birds.
My phone alerted me to a story about studies connecting better mental health to birds in the Washington Post. It’s behind a paywall so I didn’t read it. But I did read one by Desert News called “Being around birds can boost mental health, studies say” by Britney Heimuli.
The Washington Post said, “In one study, researchers asked about 1,300 participants to collect information about their environment and well-being three times a day using a smartphone app called Urban Mind.”
The Post said the data collected, which included other variants like sleep and air quality, showed seeing or hearing birds had a positive association with improved mental well-being in participants.
“Everyday encounters with birdlife were associated with time-lasting improvements in mental well-being. These improvements were evident not only in healthy people but also in those with a diagnosis of depression,” according to that report.
Another study the Post reported showed that, out of 295 online participants who were asked to self-assess their emotional state, those who were randomly assigned to listen to different kinds of bird songs reported reduced depressive symptoms and a decrease in feelings like anxiety and paranoia.
Not the most attractive bird but a frequent visitor — a curve-bill thrasher. I wonder how he got his name? /s
It does make sense that connecting with birds helps our mental health. I think being outside in nature does that with or without birds.
In an article from Time Magazine called “Birdwatching Has Big Mental-Health Benefits” by Angela Haupt said:
Researchers have long sought to understand the perks of observing birds. A study published in October in Scientific Reports found that seeing or hearing birds improved people’s mental wellbeing for up to eight hours. Nearly 1,300 people used a smartphone app to log their mood several times a day, noting whether they could see or hear birds. People with depression, as well as those without a mental-health condition, experienced significant improvements in wellbeing when they had these encounters. The benefits weren’t explained by other environmental factors, like seeing trees, plants, or water, all of which the study controlled for.
I enjoyed the shadows of the quail as much as the real birds.
I was watching the quail yesterday in our backyard after I threw a few handfuls of seed on the ground.
I began to notice shadows of the quail walking up and down a tree trunk.
I also loved watching the quail sitting on branches. When I first noticed them they were all on the branches. By the time I got my phone out to record, they had mostly jumped down to the ground.
Last weekend we were too busy. We went out with friends on Friday, Saturday I cooked oxtail soup for neighbors, and Sunday we got invited to watch the football games with friends.
This weekend, I’m looking for quiet time to read and work on taxes.
Have a great weekend!
What plans do you have for the weekend? Do you like solitude or being with people?
I’ll keep this short. We have a planned power outage today for an upgrade to our electrical panel. It’s four to five hours without electricity. Who knows? That’s why I’m powerless today. I’m using my iphone as a hotspot to write this post. I want to conserve my iphone and laptop battery until the power is back on — so I won’t ramble on too much. FYI the upgrade has to do with solar panels.
As far as my Bird Buddy goes, I haven’t been posting any photos lately because a covey of quail jumped on it all at once and the bird feeder flew off the fence into the wash. The solar panel roof hit hard on the ground, popped off and the usb-c connection broke in half.
I contacted Bird Buddy to see if I could get a new cord, but they said I needed to order a new solar panel roof. They sent me a code for a discount, but the solar panel roof isn’t expected to ship until late February or early March. Also, we need to find a better place for the Bird Buddy so it’s stable and can’t be knocked over by wind or greedy feeding birds.
If your power is out, what’s do you miss using the most?
When you don’t have electricity, do you find yourself forgetting the power is out and try to use something like the microwave? I found myself hitting the lights in the dark bathroom.
I brought the Bird Buddy AI feeder inside until after Christmas. I found it on the ground one morning after our GIla Woodpeckers were hanging on it upside down and got it to slide with their weight. It’s strapped on the fence with a velcro strap that came with it, but it’s not secure — obviously!
We decided to cement a pole into the ground and do away with the velcro sliding strap. That was the project for last weekend, but I got sick. I think we’ll wait until after Christmas when we return home after spending a few days with family.
In the meantime, I bought some “critter crunch” bird seed and tossed a scoop on the ground. The quail went nuts!
I didn’t get any birds in the yard except for quail!
You can visit my Instagram @e.a.wickham to view quail dancing to Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” I didn’t know how to add music to the video on WordPress or I would have.
I’m not decorating for Christmas this year, so I’m looking to wildlife to make it festive!
Does anyone know how to add music to photos or videos on WordPress? If so, can you share?
If you have an Instagram account, would you share it in the comments so I can follow you?
