Wednesday 27 February 2013

Bird brain, who me?

Bird brain, may generally be considered an insult, but I am here to tell you that I am learning from the birds.



You may recall that after Christmas I started putting out peanuts for the birds; I expected jays but got crows, very faithful crows. I feed them a few whole peanuts and then when they are gone I put a few more out. I sometimes stand by with the camera but the crows usually outsmart me and grab the nuts when I am not looking. But not always ...............



Then one day I was a little late putting out the second serving of peanuts and there was suddenly a loud chorus of cawing; I was so surprised I got up immediately (I was at the computer) and fed the crows. OK, so they are smarter than me, but I seemed to learn fast so they give me reminders regularly now, LOL.

But a couple of weeks ago I was surprised and pleased to see that a Steller's Jay was also lining up for peanuts.


Then two, then six...... They often take the time to pick up each of the nuts offered, shake each of them and then go back to the "best" nut (heaviest?) and disappear with it.


The Steller's Jays are not shy. They don't even wait until I get back inside before they arrive to get the peanuts.


Now the crows are not amused by this. They found them first and now the Steller's Jays often take all the nuts while the standoffish crows watch. He doesn't look amused does he.


So more reminders about nuts from the crows. I went out and found a much bigger bag of peanuts too; had too.




Then the other day I was working in my studio, when a Steller's Jay came to look in at me and remind me more nuts were needed. Again I was so surprised that I got up right away and put out some more nuts.

So there is another thing I learned from the birds, I am a slow learner, but they are persistent.













They are such beautiful birds, I can't resist, and I still feed the crows too.



But they don't look happy at the prospect of sharing, do they?

At my house "bird brain" is definitely not an insult. I aspire to be as smart as my birdie friends.

Last week I promised more of the teddies and tigers series, and here they are:

First,"Are We There Yet?":

 And lastly, "Storytyme Magic":

The four pictures in this series are now on display at "Image West" hair salon. For more details follow this link: GillianOlsonArt

Thank you for dropping by, happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week .....................