Nice to see you stopped by . The weather is awful here. I saw 2 whooping cranes and their young bird at the Crane Foundation in Baraboo July of 2007. They had about a dozen different types of cranes, some from the Orient. 
Happy Easter ! 
Sugar was our 8 year old pit bulldog and she gave so much joy and comfort to everyone who knew her.She was known for her loving personality with humans, greeting all with big strong tail wags and giving kisses to anyone who would let her (hence her name Sugar). Although she was not physically able to have a family of her own, she was known for taking in any needy critter under her wing and mothering it as her own. and she was a trooper through many health problems, but having breast cancer, artheritis, and asthma, eventually became to much for her to bear ...Bless her heart.
She is in our hearts and missed very deeply.
In memory of my cherished friend and loyal companian
ßïrÐß Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Yep, Spring is sprouting and popping out all over around the habitat! In my preveios blog I shared some of the wonderful spring happenings going on around here now, but I forgot to include some nature photos .... so here are a few nature shots I have caught lately:
Moma squirel says "welcome to our habitat!"
pomogranate tree shoots and blooms
blooms of the aloe vera 
lantana 
prim rose wildflower
purple wilds
candis lilly
corn plants 
wild grass
lizzard comes out for a drink 
blending in ... 
sunset through the trees
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest."
~A Land of Plenty ~Douglas William Jerrold
Happy Spring Adventures!!!
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Most of the Goldfinches have moved on , as have the flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. They have been replaced by new birds. Like the hummingbirds, water thrush, Pyrrhuloxia , hooded warbler, Oriole, a flock of boat tailed grackles, and a flock of red-winged blackbirds.
We have had up to five "Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and one Buff-bellied Hummingbird comming to the nectar feeders and buzzing all around in the blooms of the red- Salvia that grow wild here. They also like the blooms of the yellow- Aloe vera , pomegranate , Lantana, and the Cactus. The orange- Trumpet vines will be in bloom for them soon, and it is definately one of thier favorites.
The Black-headed Oriole has tried to sneak drinks from the feeder with the hummingbirds , but they are not interested in sharing and they try to persuade him to move back to his own ( Oriole) feeder, by making repeated sky dives all around the Oriole's head. It is quiet funny to see but makes me sort of feel sorry for the Oriole ... maybe he just doesn't want to eat alone... ( big smile)
The Northern Waterthrush is a funny site to see too, the way he bounces his tail up and down constantly. He waddles around the borders of the pond all day, and snatches up all the insects he can find along the top of the water. Since these guys are usually found close to rivers and streams it's a real treat to think our tiny pond has tanspired into a make believe river for the lil' guy. At least temperarily, anyway.
Another amusing visitor has been the Hooded Warbler, which is sooo tiny and sooo quick, that it is really hard to keep up with. He is bright yellow with olive wings and patches of black on his head and throat. He is partial to a piece of vine fencing that stands in a back corner of the habitat . Since the vines haven't grown in yet , it is easy for him to dart in and out of the little squared wiring and swoop up mouthfuls of tiny flying insects along the way.
But the rarest bird visitor has got to be the Pyrrhuloxia ! I had read an article in the local newspaper that a small flock of Pyrrhuloxia's were sighted about a hundred miles north of Corpus Christi, at Choke Canyon Nation Park and lots of folks had been gathering up over there to try to catch a glimpse of one, but with my busy schedule lately, I knew there would be no way to make it over there. So imagin my suprize when I first caught a glimpse of a male Pyrrhuloxia at one of the feeders here in the habitat!!
I had to do a double... and tripple -take just to be sure of what I was seeing. At first it looked like a female cardinal with faded colors, but then I noticed the large yellow (parrot -shaped) beaks. And when I zoomed in closer , on the camera, I was able to see the red triangular markings around his eyes and down his breast. He comes almost everyday to the hanging feeders and water, but he is a very evasive guy and scares easily.
Have you ever heard a flock of red-winged blackbirds? They seem to sing constantly, all at the same time , but not nessesarily all in the same key. Some just blurt out a sharp , short whistle, and some sound like they are saying "purple peeee-ple", in very shrill, high- pitched shrieks.
Well a flock of more than a 100 have been visiting the habitat and there are so many of them that they over-run the feeders and waters. They like to puff up thier breast and flare thier wings open to show the bright red shoulder patches, and they have scared many of the other birds away with this aggressive behavior.
The Boat-tailed Grackles are here too but they usually only come in the mornings for a short drink before heading out into the field to scavenge for food. Soon all the blackbirds will spread out and start to claim thier territories, and many will move on, and only a few will be left here. At least that is what they usually do...
But for right now , the habitat is full of Spring Celebration, with non-stop birding action and I find it hard to sit here and write with all the joyfull bird songs echoing around me, 
So I think I will join them and keep my eyes open for any new species to pop in. Because ya just never can tell what may stop by the habitat this time of year...
Birdbits Habitat is certified through the National Wildlife Federation.. Check out their site for some great tips and resources on gardening for wildlife .
I hope that you all have the opportunity to get outside and enjoy some of the wonderful Nature and Wildlife adventures that only spring can bring!
See some photos I have taken around the habitat below ....
ruby throated hummingbird
oriole comes to the hummingbird feeder
black hooded warbler
black hooded warbler
water thrush
Pyrrhuloxia 
Pyrrhuloxia 
redwinged blackbird flock 
red winged blackbird 
boat tailed grackle 
boat tailed grackles on the line
Happy Spring!!!
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Well it's been five long days and still no sighn of papa Pritty, so the chances of his returning back home are getting very unlikely, despite all of our efforts to lure him back. I tried everything I could think of , driving around the nieghborhood looking hi and low, even got my nieghbors to help in the search.
Put up flyers on the community bullitin board, this is a small town so it was pretty easy to get the word out. I sat his mate, (mama Pritty), outside in thier cage to call for him, and I sat one of thier other cages out , with the doors open and food and water waiting inside. I Also put some of his food out on the roof and other high places that he may spot from above... but still no sight of the lil' guy.
The last 3 days of rain didn't help in the search much, but the trees and other plants drank it all up and used it to produce plentiful, green, foilages which will provide better food and shelter for him. I went over to the palm tree that has the nesting monk parakeets, thinking that even though the monks are quiet a bit larger , they are most simular to his breed, so maybe he decided to hang out with them awhile ... but there was no sighn of him there either.
However, I did notice that there was a pair of tiny chicadees sharing one of the bottom nesting holes with them. And to see the big monks sharing thier tree and enormous nest with those tiny birds, makes me think they perhaps may tolerate papa pritty if he did drop by. They are very loud and sound simular to him so I figure this will eventually draw him to them. Who knows maybe one of these days I will look up in the sky and see my lil blue birdy flying solo with a flock of them green monk parakeets.
All I want is for him to be safe healthy and happy. He has always wanted to be free every since the first day I got them so maybe it was meant to be, and maybe he is happly hopping through the trees and tasting every new plant he comes across , just having a great ol' time . At least that is the way I like to picture him now.
Mama pritty is missing her mate and lonely so I may eventualy try to find her another companian, but it is much too soon for that now. But I did find a link that may help when that time comes...found some helpful links about this if you want to check them out.
suite 101- finding a mate for a lonely pet lovebird
http://pet-birds.suite101.com/article.cfm/finding_a_mate_for_a_lonely_pet_lovebird
mama and papa right after we first got them...
mama and papa pritty
papa
I want to thankyou all for your support and encouraging words, I never could have gotten through this with out ya'll
Safe and Happy Pet and Critter Journies to you all!
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Little Bird Lost!
As some of you may know already , I have pet birds. I had a set of lovebirds for about two years now, my sister gave them to me as mature birds that had rarely been handled and although they were relocated from west Texas to South Texas, they settled in and seemed to adjust to thier new environment just fine.
Last year they even decided they were comfortable enough with their surroundings to call it home and raise a family. Unfortunately , maybe because they were young and inexperienced, the babbies never made it to hatchlings. For some reason the papa bird- (papa pritty), aborted the eggs from the nest just before they were to hatch. Up until then he devotedly tended to mama bird- (moma pritty), taking beakfuls of seed to her in the nest ,mouth feeding her, and warming the eggs if she ever left it. But she rarely left the nest at all when there were eggs. But for some reason right at the very end of the incubabation period papa pitty turned into a "meanie" and kicked out all the eggs.
Before long they started breeding again and this time I seperated them, putting him into a smaller cage beside the mamas'. But once again the babbies were kicked out right before their hatch time... this time it was by moma Pitty, and despite the fact that she had sat on them diligently for days , barely leaving the nest for a quick bite or drink once in a while.
She left small beak marks that punctured the fragile shells, just as the papa had done previosly, while trying to abort them from the nest. I have done alot of research on this and still have no real answer as to why, so if anyone has had similar experiences with thier birds , or has any information on this I would be very interested in hearing about it .
Papa Pritty was always the curious one and a great escape artist. He had gotten out of his cage several times by sliding through the bars or jarring the doors open with his beak. And when we tried to pin or tie the door shut, he would chew through the clothespin or wire. He even chewed through the screening we had tried to use as an enclosure to the cage. Nothing could really detoure hime , he just always wanted to be free. Usuauly he only escaped out into another area inside the house, then later, when he was ready to be caught, he would let us put him back in the cage...
But unfortunately two days ago he got out of his cage and out of the back door! At first he just investigated the porch, so thinking I may could catch him before he flew far, I grabbed the towel to catch him with, but by the time I turned back around ... he had flown up to the trumpet vine and over the roof and then over the top of the roof... in a fash he was gone and although I have looked high and low ...there is no sighn of lil papa Pritty.
I am just heart broken. I feel terrible , my stomache is all tied up in knots because I am terrified of what will become of him, not being used to the wild , having to find his own food , and even worse ... his ability to avoid predaters. I have searched the whole nieghborhood , calling for him and spoke to my neighbors to alert them incase they may spot him.. And I left his cage out with food and water and left moma out in her cage on the porch to call for him as well, but no luck... I cannot tell you how sorry I feel that this happened and how important it is to protect your pet birds from escaping out into the wild.
Since I do have a wildlife habitat and many birds are attracted to it , I am hoping he will be drawn back here for food and water. But there may be a chance that he has decided to join the other parot type birds , namely the wild "monk parakeets" that fly over the habitat several times a day on thier journies around town. The flock of over a hundred live in a nearby palm tree that they have built a community nest in. If he did take up with them he would sure stand out , being the only blue bird in a flock of greens so it would be pretty easy to spot him.
I have had visits to the habitat from fisher lovebirds, very simular to mine, and from a yellow parakeet, wich really seem out of place in the wild like that, but they were healthy and surving well so there is always a chance that papa Pritty can make it out there in the big wide world all alone . I think If any bird could, he could, because of his persistant personality. But I am not giving up hope on him returning to the only home he has ever known and back to his life long companian who is missing him so deeply.
In my personal oppinion I think birds should not be caged , and all things that are meant to be free should be. I only excepted the birds to give them a better environment than they were living in at the time. There are far too many unwanted pet birds already out there so if you do decide to get one , please consider adoption. Many birds are given up by their owners for various reasons and are in search of a good home. My mom has adopted two birds for just this reason and I adopted a set of parakeets about 6 months ago because the owners had bought another pet and tired of caring for them.
While I was looking for more information on losing a pet bird, I found some useful links that may be very helpful in preventing anything like this from happening to yours:
escaped pet birds
http://www.suite101.com/blog/rdrisdelle/escaped_pet_birds
when your bird escapes outside
http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/birdinformation/escape.php
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Early Monday morning I had to take my dog, Sugar (an eight year old pitt bull ), to the vet where she was scheduled for surgery. Two years preveious she had a tumor on her mammory gland removed. The vet thought they had caught it early and removed it all , but unfortunatly it came back, which was the reason for the early morning vet visit and repeat surgury.
The first time this was done, she had complications and lost alot of blood so they had to keep her an extra day, but this time she was out and ready to come home in just a few hours. She came through it all fine even though I was a little worried because of the problems before, and also Sugar has other health issues to consider, like artheritis , she is just like me, we don't heal and boost-back as easy as we used to when we were younger... (big smile)
Here's some photos of Sugar and her ordeal...
This is why she had to have the surgery
This is after the surgery ...
and this is how she looked when I told her she had to have another surgury!
Yyou can find out more about Dog Breast Cancer and how to prevent it from the links below:
mammary glands
http://www.webvet.com/main/article?id=159&med=1
how to care for a Dog Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
http://www.ehow.com/how_2050606_care-dog-diagnosed-breast-cancer.html
Mammary Tumors (Cancer) in Dogs
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1638&aid=460
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Yep this time of year is always full of new critter activity. Some of the birds just drop in for a short visit to grab some food, drinks and a short rest before continuing along the migrational journies, like the cedar waxwings I showed you in my previos post. The winters here are very mild, almost like summer and the tropical climate provides lots of natural food resources so some birds hang out here all through the winter.The local birds that are here year round even change thier habits and start comming in small flocks instead of individually. With all the new and old bird visitors now the habitat is like a crouded restuarant , and very enteraining to watch. So I thought I would share a few more photos ...
yellow rumped warblers
are still hoppin' all around! 
yellow warbler
two pairs of them buzz through the branch tips cleaning out all the lil' bugs and spiders for me 
goldfinch
I love hearing their dainty songs echo all around . The flock is huge this year and I say " the more, the merrier!"
titmouse
these lil guys are great big comedians, hanging upside down and doing flips along the branches. And the way they hammer through the seed nuts with thier beaks to get to the heart of the nuts is pretty amazing 
wren
loves to hop along the garden boundries, plucking goodies out from under all the stone and wooden borders
woodpecker
They gather up mouthfulls of seeds and nuts and stash them in every lil' nook and cranny they can find. They have so many hiding places I don't know how they keep up with them all ! 
robin and woodpecker
A few robins have started trickeling through, this one shares a drink with the woodpecker
greenjay
These guys drop in two to three times a day and they are the loudest and most colorful birds on the scene right now. They make repeated trips down to the feeders, grabbing large mouthfulls of seed and nuts then fly back up into the tree to eat and tuck away any extras for a later snack.
female cardinal
Although the cardinals are here year round, I never tire of their beauty 
Squirel
Squirells are just so fun to watch, like a little child - they must explore everything!
squirel
If I forget to leave them out a peanut treat they will come right up to the back door to remind me ... 
lizzards
there are alot of these guys hiding amongst the old vinages and shrubberies. These are "anos" and they have the ability to adapt thier skin colorations to their surroundings, so they can be brown like these one minute... and bright green the next. I think these two are blending in with thier surroundings pretty well... 
It's a beautiful day here , the air is full of happy bird song ... I think they are asking me to come out and join them so you all know where I will be...
Happy nature and wildlife trails to you all!
ßïrÐß
Çhêrï§hïñg WïlÐlï£ê åñÐ ñ况rê êvêr¥ Ðå¥
Bravenet Blog 
Blog Community
Get a Free Blog
Manage your Blog
bravenet.com