Tuesday, November 11, 2008

BIRDS and APPLES

Check out this baby flicker (below)!


In the garden, as the apples on the tree ripened, not only did we enjoy them, but so did some of our fine-feathered friends. We weren't sure if it was the crows, raccoons, or which critters were responsible for the holes we found in many of the apples. In many, there was one deep, gaping, huge puncture. Perhaps these critters did sort of a taste-test, moving from one to the next?

Could this stellar jay have been the (only) guilty party?

There were plenty of apples to share with the birds so we didn't gripe too much!



The day ended with a lovely sunset...

~Aerie-el

7 comments:

  1. That baby flicker is cute!

    Have you seen a flicker use its tongue yet? I recently saw one trying to get into a nearly empty feeder with a tongue that would have impressed Gene Simmons... It reminded me of an anteater!

    Nice that you were able to happily share your bounty with your feathered friends.

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  2. That baby flicker is TOO CUTE! I've never seen one before, just the parents (mostly the noisy dads). I can hear a jay squawking as I type this. Love our NW birdies! Not sure about your apple bandit, the one-bite method could be a lot of those you mentioned (or, ugh, a rat). My folks have apples and they say the raccoons stole a bunch this year, but seemed not to be into the nibbling. Maybe yours are just more discerning?!

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  3. ~Tui...Gene Simmons, eeeewwwwwwww. Thanks for that image...ew.

    ~Karen...me too--NW birdies are the best!
    The holes looked like pecking rather than biting damage this year with this batch of apples. Though without seeing the culprits, it's hard to tell, especially with all those likely offenders you mentioned all around ...just waiting for the opportunity to strike--like the squirrel you blogged about!

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  4. We have a lot of adult northern flickers visiting our suet cages, but I have never, ever seen a baby. So cute!

    And how lucky you are to live near a lake! My family lived just a short walk from a small lake until I was eight. I still dream of living near water again someday.

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  5. Amy,
    In addition to the flickers, do you have cardinals there too? Although we have plenty of really cool birds, I miss seeing cardinals here...
    ~Aerie-el

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  6. Oh those Stellar Jays, little buggers got my apples too, as did the crows!

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  7. ~Sweetgrace...Sounds like this case is coming to a close, with the jays and crows being the guilty parties!
    I was happy they didn't get my blueberries, though I didn't have many this year to get.
    ~Aerie-el

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