Happy National Bird Day!

JackVSage's webcam video January 5, 2012 07:15 AM
Welcome to Jack V. Sage's first video performance, and what you're seeing through the camera is the view through the picture window that I sit in front of while I write. The star you see is not a staged thing, it is actually the natural way that the branches outside the window grow.

There is a nice, dense cover of mesquite right in front of the window, surrounded by what are some aloe plants on the ground area. And then out front, there is a huge Cereus peruvianus or Peruvian apple cactus, and we have visits from the Arizona state bird, the cactus wren, we have a broad-billed hummingbird that has a tendency to come right approximately where I have the camera aimed every day, we have Gila woodpeckers curve-billed thrashers and white-winged doves, among other birds. We also occasionally have grackles.

The reason that I'm talking about birds today is it does happen to be National Bird Day. That is not an official national holiday; it has not been declared by Congress. National Bird Day is a created day by bird activists, to draw attention to the fact that the caged bird trade has resulted in a huge loss of native populations of birds. And rather than watching your caged bird every day, my suggestion is to do like I do: find a picture window or patio window in your home, or install one, because installing one doesn't cost a whole lot more than the supplies and materials for keeping a caged bird. And then watch what is actually in your area. Plant native species out in front to create a natural screen like we have here, and sit back and enjoy the show.

I have the camera aimed where a broad-billed hummingbird usually will arrive at some point during the day. He's very curious about who we are and what we're doing, so he has a tendency to come up to the window and hover, and stare at us. There's also a thrasher, a curve-billed thrasher that loves to come and stand on the branches and stare and try to figure out why, what we're doing in here. So it's kind of funny because we think of ourselves as watching the birds and around here the birds watch us. So, enjoy, and come back again soon and we'll see if hopefully later today whether or not we can catch our little broad-billed hummingbird friend on camera.

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• JackVSage
• Ultimate Blog Challenge
• birdwatching
• National Bird Day