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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

World Bird Wednesday LXXII


Nesting


God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.
                                                           P. D. James

   And He doesn't build the nest either!
   I think one of the very fine things human beings do is to set up bird houses and feeders. The payoff is that we get to closely observe our feathered friends as they eat and raise their young. Not all birds care for our charity and remain fiercely independent, but others, like Bluebirds, actually need our attention when it comes to housing. The invading armies of aggressive European starlings and English sparrows out compete bluebirds for the naturally occurring cavities and holes that the pretty blue species depends upon. Between 1920 and 1970 there was a sharp decline in the population of Bluebirds, and this icon of happiness, once as common as the American robin is today, began to fade from the scene. Like death from a thousand tiny cuts, it seemed everything conspired to diminish the Bluebird's light. The near eradication of beaver, and in turn the elimination of their left over stumps, had the unintended consequence of limiting nesting opportunities. Even the change over from wooden to metal fence posts on farm boundries took it's toll.
    That humans have a conscience; an inner voice that prods us toward an enlightened end, is an essential mystery. All the great thinkers, both religious and secular have struggeled to explain it's origin. The Bluebirds fate hung on this instinct to do good.
   So it was the human community led by Dr. Larry Zeleny,  intentionally began to build millions of bird houses specifically to save the Bluebirds, and it has helped, populations have rebounded at the estimated rate of 5% a year since the alarm was sounded in 1978.
   I have never been so proud to be human.



His soft warble melts the ear, as the snow is melting in the valleys around.
The bluebird comes and with his warbles drills the ice and sets from the rivers and ponds and frozen ground.
                                                                 Henry D. Thoreau, March 2, 1859




   The young Snow owls of the 2012 eruption continue to fight for survival. Here is the second of this group I have seen. I spotted this beauty deep in Nayanquing Point Wildlife Reserve, what fantastic luck!
    Is the idea of a Wildlife Reserve an oxymoron?



Fast


Beautiful

  

    This is the home of World Bird Wednesday. A place for bird photographers from around the world to gather and share their photographs and experiences as they pursue Natures most beautiful treasurers, the birds.

     You don't have to be a Bird Watcher or expert photographer to join in, just enjoy sharing what you bring back from your explorations and adventures into nature!


#1Simply copy the above picture onto your W.B.W. blog entry, it contains a link for your readers to share in the fun. Or, you can copy this link on to your blog page to share WBW. http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/


#2Come to The Pine River Review on Tuesday Noon EST North America through Wednesday midnight and submit your blog entry with InLinkz.


#3Check back in during the course of the next day and explore these excellent photoblogs!


The idea of a meme is that you will visit each others blogs and perhaps leave a comment to encourage your compatriots!


Come on it's your turn!

48 comments:

  1. as always, your images are superb!

    i have built several bird houses which get utilized by the bluebirds, here. although my carpentry has been compared to 'trailer trash' living, the birds don't seem to mind. :)

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    1. Always first, TexWisGirl, You must set a WBW alarm!
      Growing up we were so poor we thought trailer parks were gated communities!
      My BB houses are a disaster. The sparrows won't even nest in them.

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  2. Interesting ... you suffer from an over abundance of our House Sparrows and we are encouraged to provide them with communal nest boxes as their natural nesting habitats are in short supply PLUS it is on the RED list due to its continued declining population. Its a topsy turvey world!

    Super images as usual, particularly the colourful Turkey.

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  3. I will bevery excited the first time I photograph a bluebird. I have never seen one to capture with my lens! Very sad. Maybe this year as I do see numerous bluebird houses in the countryside.

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  4. The decaying buildings in many of our cities here in the US have made House sparrow and other feathery immigrants happy and prosperous. Lets hope the UK decline is just due to your tidiness. Good luck with your Sparrow houses!

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  5. Dave. The REAL reason has still not been clearly identified but we will continue to do our bit to help.

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    1. "REAL" is so difficult to describe especially given the butterfly effect, how far back can you trace the cause and effect cycle that produced today? Endlessly.
      "Death from a thousand tiny cuts!"(How I love that expression...) sums up the general concept of how many critters are lost to extinction. Sometimes I wonder; if the killer asteroid had missed...

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  6. Wonderful read. I went out to my nearby refuge yesterday for some material for this week's WBW and I came home empty. Similarly our Bluebird house remains vacant. We both need more time.

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    1. I spent nine hours out in the field yesterday. Searching! Funny, four of my pictures this week are from the neighborhood, four are from the field. So when you say "We need more time" I couldn't agree more. Thing is, I am always with camera, every trip to the mall is an expedition. I am on 24/7/365.
      It's tough to come home empty. That makes it hard to go back out. But who's going to stay home an stare at empty birdhouses?

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  7. The bluebird story gives me hope for humanity -- and the earth! Thanks for writing and for sharing and for your beautiful pictures. Again, I have to take a deep breath and re-read your sentence above the links 'you don't have to be an expert photographer' several times before I kinda' hold my breath and jump in to link my amateur efforts.

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    1. I too have that same hope for humanity and the Earth it belongs to!
      The 'you don't have to be an expert photographer' sentence was written by Sondra on her blog to invite people to participate in WBW. I asked to borrow her perfect declaration of the WBW spirit.
      For anyone wavering on adding their post to WBW I'd say...
      Hold your breath, jump anyway, and enjoy the deep end.

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  8. Those shots are wonderful! That first one of the goose building its nest is a definite wall hanger, and I love the wild turkey. We have several bluebird houses, and my favorite real estate broker gives one to everyone who buys a house. That could catch on...

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    1. Brilliant marketing! It seems our positive vibe from bluebirds is cross cultural...from wiki

      The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird.

      In magical symbolism, bluebirds are used to represent confidence in the positive aspect and egotism in the negative. A dead bluebird is a symbol of disillusionment, of the loss of innocence, and of transformation from the younger and naive to the older and wiser.

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  9. The birds are busy nesting here too. Lovely photos.

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  10. Bird and hike.com in vegas ....

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    1. Am I being talked into a trip to Las Vegas? You bribe me with birding my dear?

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    2. Love-There is birding, what more do you need?
      The Snowy is Beautiful David,congrat's on the discovery.

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  11. That gull attempting a moon landing is superb! I think your career of exposure to fire and ice has sharpened your understanding of human foibles. I try to be optimistic, but worry about future generations of people as well as wild creatures.

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  12. The bluebird is such a sweet bird. I am glad it is improving in numbers. :)

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  13. Springman, your images are stunning! I built a bird house in the late sixties in north eastern Manitoba. To our surprise it was occupied by Bluebirds. An unheard of bird at that time! And that was the last time I saw a BB!
    It's high on my list to see a Mountain Bluebird.

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  14. Wonderful photos! The most of them I have never seen in real. So great to see the snowowl, its really beautiful! and very nice to get to see so many different kinds of birds. / Susanne

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  15. Delightful photos! Loved them all! I wish I could watch fledglings from close quarters but the crows here do not let any bird nest in my yard.

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  16. As Frank has already said House Sparrows are in serious decline in the UK... hard to believe but true.
    It sounds to me like you are starting to enjoy your retirement.
    Take care.

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  17. Gorgeous photos, Springman! The Snowy Owl is fantastic! I can't remember the last time I saw a Bluebird. I used to see them all the time as a kid. There are definitely lots of House Sparrows around, though. Since they're in such decline in the UK, I wish we could ship ours over there.

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  18. Always outstanding images Springman! Love seeing the Bluebird here ... I have yet to see one in real life!

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  19. The snow owl is just gorgeous and the mid day moon shot fantastic.

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  20. Dave your post and the comments to follow give me great joy! As you probably know, I have three bluebird trails and they are my favorite passerine. Nothing brings me more joy than finding nests and eggs in my nest boxes except, of course, baby birds! As a matter of fact, I just added 6 new birdhouses to one of my trails, doubling the number of available nest sites.

    I believe this is my fifth year monitoring the trails and we have Western Bluebirds in our yard where there were none for years. I see them now in town where people said they had never seen them! Needless to say, putting up monitored bird houses for bluebirds and other native species works.

    Thanks for this post especially. After all this time and research, I never knew about the beaver's contribution to bluebird nesting!

    You can look forward to many posts from me this season on cavity nesting birds. I currently have one Oak Titmouse and one Western Bluebird pair nesting with Tree Swallows looking at homes ;-)

    Needless to say, your images are excellent! The Killdeer in flight is a great catch!

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  21. You always have such wonderful sightings to share. I've been seeing a group of turkeys every morning on my way to work. I wonder if I'll soon be seeing some youngsters as well. better start bringing the camera to work ;)

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  22. what an amazing experience to see a goose actually building a nest!! your pictures are outstanding, saving the best for last!!

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  23. great header photograph Springman, and fabulous photos for this weeks post, but my fave' is that lumescent turkey.

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  24. What a great job that goose does to build her nest high and dry! Wonderful captures all!

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  25. Great sightings, Springman! My favorite will always be the Snowy owl. They are gorgeous!

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  26. Love all your bird pictures, the bluebird and the wild turkey are my favorites today, such beautiful colours.

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  27. They are so great all photos in this weeks post!
    Happy WBW to you!

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  28. Your pictures are pristine ... I would love to be so talented. The Turkey colors are mind boggling ... who would have thought, a turkey? The rest are beautiful as well. This meme is my inspiration. Hopefully I will improve when I see what can be done with the camera. Thank you ...

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  29. Very interesting about the European Starlings and Sparrows taking over from the Bluebirds. Those two birds seem to have been taken all over the world - unfortunately! I was surprised at the numbers we saw on a recent trip to New Zealand.

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  30. The bluebird is such a sweet little bird. We inherited a couple of boxes when we moved here. For four years they've nested. Last year I was lucky enough to be out at the right time to see the babies fly from the nest.
    I still think the turkeys you find are so much prettier than mine. :)
    Love the owl!
    All great captures!

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  31. Springman,

    Greetings from Oman.Great images you capture and participating for the first time here is a pleasure...Happy WBW to you!

    Shantana

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  32. Hi Springman, back on line again so will have some catching upto do - enjoying those extra free days that you have erned?? I hope so

    Regards
    Dave

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  33. I've never had any luck attracting bluebirds. The houses we have put up were always invaded by others. We have super aggressive starlings and swallows that try to take over our purple martin boxes also.
    Love your photos- very nice!

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  34. What a good thought he had to save the bluebirds! Here, we are trying to save the fast dwindling sparrow population.Your pictures are superb!

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  35. SO much information - thank you for the educational bits, as well as the wonderful photos! I have some bluebird photos I am using in my post tomorrow...the only ones I have ever been fortunate enough to capture with the camera!

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  36. Thanks for the uplifting story about the bluebird boxes. And that is a wonderful photo of a killdeer.

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  37. Hi Springman. It's great to be back after a month without linking with WBW!!
    Another great series here. I love the Snow Owl & the Bluebird is gorgeous. I've never seen either. Thanks for hosting and always bringing a smile to my face on Wednesdays :)

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  38. That Snowy picture is just great. Wish we had them closer to us.

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  39. Beautiful birds. I am seeing snow owl first time.

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  40. One could add... "Exquisite"...

    Made me think of that wonderful article which appeared in Outdoor magazine a long time ago under the title "My Name is Orange Band", about the last dusky seaside sparrow... if you can find it, track it down, a treasure...

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  41. That turkey is simply beautiful!!! A couple of weeks ago, a customer came in and said she had watched a big turkey walk across the road, then fly over a house to get to the back yard!!! People have been feeding the deer, less than half a mile from there, and the turkeys have gotten into the feed. Being inside city limits, they can't be hunted...

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