I encountered an exceptionally foolish bird, this morning: a sparrow determined to land on my Venetian blinds. Of course, it couldn’t, since the window dressings are on the inside. It only succeeded in wiping itself all over the glass. Filthy thing it was, too: it left great greasy wingprints everywhere. I can’t reach high enough to clean them off. Silly, silly bird. Eventually, it got the memo, and sat on the railing with its friends. Maybe I should put a better perch out, though — something non-slip; something easier to cling to. Amusing as it is to watch crows and sparrows overshoot their landings, and go sliding off the edge, it can’t be good for their little feet (or their little egos).
On a less pleasant note, I haven’t seen my song sparrow, lately, the one with the wonky toenails, that frequented my feeder all winter. Since the house sparrows showed up, it’s been missing in action. They must’ve shooed it off again, much as they did last year. I hope it’s still alive, and finding enough to eat.
Also missing in action: my hummingbirds. Well, those aren’t missing, per se — I still hear and see them, every day. Only, they’re snubbing my feeder, in favour of the flowers that have begun to blossom all over the garden. Who’d have thought they’d prefer the genuine article? Fickle rotters. I suppose they’ll be back in the autumn, when pickings are slim. Till then, I’ll have to content myself with distant glimpses. How annoying! I’d hoped to see more of them when the weather warmed, not less.
A house finch, taking advantage of a lull between cloudbursts, to collect nesting materials.
Why are sparrows so dirty? Look at the dust-cloud around this one!
A wet, miserable crow — or part of one, anyway. Look at the feathers on its back! What a mess!
A wet, unhappy sparrow, sheltering on my balcony. It was so reluctant to face the weather that it didn’t even move when I came out to sweep.
