Georgia is experiencing a drought, one of the worst we have ever had. The birds, in particular, are noticeable to us in their search for water. The small trays of water that we have out on our tiny patio must be advertised on the bird highway as the cleanest, most perfect water for miles around!
We saw a bird yesterday drinking water that we have never seen before. We believe that it was an ovenbird. (It is called this because the bird nests on the ground, in a nest that looks like...you guessed it, an oven!)
You can look back on an earlier post and see that it somewhat resembles the state bird of Georgia, the Brown Thrasher...but the ovenbird is much smaller and the brown thrasher is more of a chestnut brown, and the eyes of the brown thrasher are not as rounded and the beak on the brown thrasher is longer. (I really do know the Brown Thrasher!)
Now, there is also a wood thrush...it looks similar but it is...well, it is the wood thrush, look it up! We heard it singing when we were walking on the trail at Stone Mountain one time, and the song of that bird was outstandingly beautiful.
Don't believe me? Listen, this is Henry David Thoreau had to say about the song of the wood thrush...
Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; wherever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of Heaven are not shut against him.
May I just say...if you don't have close access to birds. these birds might look all the same to you, just brown birds. However, if you look at them closely and if you are lucky enough to observe them from just a few feet away, you will see that the color of brown is strikingly beautiful and the streaky pattern on the feathers is as distinctive as the stripes on a tiger! Ah, there I go again, showing my love for birds! These creatures are free for anyone to enjoy. You only have to have the eyes to see them!
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Hey! Guess what! We have had computer problems, so for a while, I won't be able to put many photos on here. Hope to get it sorted it out soon! I know it is popular to say computer "issues" but it feels more like "problems" to me!
I am in need of something cheerful, how about Glen Campbell singing (and playing the bagpipes!) to "Mull of Kintyre". Hope you will like this as much as I do. Glen Campbell should be honored much more than he has been. I know he is very ill just now, he is in the last stages of Alzheimer's. So sad. All the more reason for more people to know his great talent, I think.
(I loved his show on TV which ran from 1969 until 1972...The Glen Campbell Good Time Hour.)
I have had this video on here before, but it is worth watching again and again! The song "Mull of Kintyre" was written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine in 1977. It was not a hit in the USA but it SHOULD have been!
Take care everyone! Look out for birds...and bagpipes!
What an interesting bird. I have never even heard of that one.
ReplyDeleteI have loved Glen Campbell since I saw him the first time. I watched the documentary on him that he participated in to show what Alzheimer's was like as it progressed. It was so sad. He was such a talented man and from everything I have heard a really GOOD man. I will never understand why good people have to suffer and lose their lives bit by bit by bit. It just seems so unfair that someone that gave joy to so many has had their joy taken away.
Blessings-have a wonderful weekend- xo Diana
Yes, I so agree with you, I like him even more because he is a good person. I wish that the network that had his TV show "The Glen Campbell GoodTime Hour" would repeat them again.
DeleteHope you have a great weekend. x
I like M's version so much. Have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcZVRiB9AQk And the thrush - such a beautiful sound. I wonder if the one visiting you was in our woods this summer. Nice thought. Do you know Robert Frost's The Ovenbird? https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44269 I love, love the birds, too, and have a post planned.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I think I have even had that YouTube clip of Mull Of Kintyre by Sir Paul before on my blog! I really do love it, I didn't know of it until 1985, but I fell in love with that song that year!
DeleteAnd I did not know the poem by Robert Frost until I was looking up pictures and descriptions of the ovenbird and I found it then. I did think of you Nan since I knew that the ovenbird was in your area! :-)
Will look forward to your post about this lovely bird.
Next time I see the ovenbird, I will say, "Say hello to Nan for me!" :-)
DeleteActually my post to come isn't about the ovenbird but about birds in general. (if I ever get it out of my head and onto the blog)
DeleteI find birds so fascinating. I can imagine myself flying and soaring on waves of air.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to observe them at such close range, they are free to fly away at any time! And I feel as if I am as free as they are, the flutter of their wings as they fly away makes me very happy.
DeleteIt is a beautiful bird, and I am glad for him/her that it found its way to your backyard to quench its thirst! Poor birds and all the other animals who can not as easily just move from one place to the other to find water.
ReplyDeleteYesterday morning, a jay landed in the mulberry tree in front of my bedroom window. It was aware of me and looked at me, but wasn't worried. I was careful not to move too close to the window. Eventually, it went off to do whatever jays do.
I remember from my childhood that jays used to be much less visible, and more shy. Over the last 30 years, their behaviour has adapted to their changed circumstances; to survive, they had to learn to live closer to humans, nesting in their gardens and parks and not just in the woods, further away from human dwellings.
You should try to get a photo of your jay! I find them very difficult to photograph! Birds most certainly do adapt, good thing too!
DeleteAnd I do hope that the rain will come soon, it is getting so very dry, we have had several wildfires.
I love birds too, and enjoy the different varieties on the North American continent. I would love to hear a wood thrush - do you think they are up in Canada too?
ReplyDeleteI don't see why the wood thrush would not be in Canada. Maybe one of my Canadian bloggers would let us know?
DeleteOur birds are even different from the West Coast/East Coast of the USA!
I'll have to look out for that bird around here.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you see one too! And let me know of any others too!
DeleteWe've noticed some different birds around here as well. We have three beautyberry bushes in our yard and this year catbirds came to eat the berries. We were so excited! It's been especially wonderful to see all the birds (and other wildlife) come back after the hurricane! I wish you a wonderful weekend!! xoxo Silke
ReplyDeleteLucky you! We only have one beautyberry bush and the birds loved the berries! The cardinals, the mockingbird and the rose breasted grosbeak, both male and female were the birds that we saw eating the bright purple berries!! Hope you have a lovely weekend too, dear Silke! xx
DeleteThat's a pretty pink blouse. Love that photo of the bird, too.
ReplyDeleteHa, that pink shirt is an old thing but it is very cool so I have worn it for several summers now!!!
DeleteIt's fun to watch birds, even when i don't know what kind they are. Their very movement fascinates me.
ReplyDeleteIt is so much easier to identify them now by looking up descriptions on the internet, much easier than looking at photos in a bird guide!
DeleteIt's always enjoyable to watch birds. And photograph them. That last image of you is great!
ReplyDeleteWe love our birds! And that last photo was me SKIPPING down that path! I was so happy when they built that boardwalk, it goes down to an outcrop that looks out upon Panola Mountain.
DeleteGlen Campbell is much loved and it's so very sad that he's succumbed to this devastating ailment.
ReplyDeleteI love Glen Campbell and I am so very sorry that he has this terrible disease.
DeleteSorry to hear that you're going through a drought. Seems a few places are going through them right now. It's nice you're getting to see a lot of wild and wonderful birds though.
ReplyDeleteThe drought is a very serious one. It is so very dry. At least the birds know they have water here.
DeleteIt's the Clemson girl again! We have been feeding and enjoying the birds our whole married life(50 yrs). I saw a new bird earlier this week, and I'm wondering if it was an oven bird. It was blending in with the leaves on the ground, so I couldn't see the breast markings, but it had the stripes over the eyes. We have a lot of wrens and I know it wasn't that. Maybe we'll see him again.
ReplyDeleteHello Meg, the Clemson girl! Congrats on being married for 50 years! It can be tough to identify the birds when they are scratching around in the undergrowth, believe me, I know! Let me know if you find out the bird that visited you! And thanks for your comment.
DeleteI do hope your drought will end soon. Such a terrible thing. I have never really seen an oven bird, though I heard one on a ranger led walk once. (It was pointed out to us.) A lovely thing on the internet it that one can look up different bird songs and listen to them. Finding the joy of connecting to nature is a very healing and happy making part of life!
ReplyDeleteI love to listen to bird songs on YouTube! And I also hope that our drought will end soon. I dreamed that I heard rain on my window last night but it was just a wishful dream.
DeleteGosh I hope you get some rain soon so that the birds and other animals and plants will be alright.
ReplyDeleteI really hope for rain very soon. The weather forecast does not give us much chance of it.
DeleteThat's the first time I've heard that song. It's wonderful. I had no idea he could play the pipes. I used to watch his program all the time!
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand why this song was not a hit in the USA, I think it would have been had it had played on the radio! I know I really like it but then, I love Paul McCartney's songs! And Glen Campbell is a very talented man, just amazing, he also had the best people on his show, even as a kid, I could tell the joy he felt being around his talented guests.
DeleteThrush songs are the best in the world!
ReplyDeleteMull of Kintyre is no bad either.
Ah, someone from Scotland commenting on the Mull of Kintyre song...thanks for that, Ad-Man!
DeleteBirds of any kind are just great.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked Glen Campbell
I like that last photo ...
Take care
All the best Jan
Hey Jan!
DeleteI couldn't really get any photos on here because my computer died, but I had some old ones and that one of me skipping down the path was from a few years ago.
We have a new computer now and I have to get used to the new way of doing things! :-)
Still in a drought? I'm sorry to hear it. The poor birds and animals. That is a very beautiful little bird in your photo, and a very beautiful quote from Thoreau. I do hope you'll get some rain soon.
ReplyDelete