Bird Thought of the day...

"Uh ohhh!"

*Posted by Pocohantas

The Lizard Whisperer

This morning when I went to feed the birds this tiny gecko scampered across the kitchen floor. It was such a tiny little fellow. I was too scared to pick him up with my fingers. At least not without screaming and waking up the kids. Then, I accidently flipped him over on his back. He stopped wiggling after a few seconds. At first I was confused because I was being very gentle with him and I knew he surely wasn't dead. Then I remembered seeing a young girl on television that dressed lizards after flipping them on their backs. Evidently it puts them in a sort of trance for a few minutes. As "Pocahontas" is showing in the picture below. The kids were fascinated by all the little lizard's insides and kept asking me, "What is that?". Looks like we've got some lizard research to do.

I've added a link to to Lily Capehart's website also known as "The Lizard Whisperer".

Animals That Visit Us

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

This little guy looks like such a scruffy! He is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. He is a baby without all of his feathers as well. His parents have been here since last fall and we are excited to have two babies visit daily. They come out later in the day around lunch time or a little later. We never see the parents. Just the babies trying to hobble up on their splayed legs. Their legs are spread apart much wider than all the other birds. I'm sure this helps them with clinging to the trees to eat their main food source, insects from decaying trees. So much for cutting down the small trees that have died! Less work and more habitat for these beautiful birds.

Blue Jay

The little baby Blue Jays are adorable. Notice the thin feathers around it's neck. We have two

that visit regularly and they both look much thinner than their parents. Their little feathers are still growing in. One will come in, land on a branch and scout the area. If the coast is clear he will call to his sibling. Then, one will swoop down, land on the edge of the bowl, quickly grab a piece of dog food and fly back up to their branch. Once on the branch they chip away at making the piece of hard dog food into more manageable bites. The kids are enjoying watching their feathers grow in as they slowly begin to look more like their parents.

Adult Blue Jay's keeping an eye on their babies.

Top:Common Grackle

Middle: Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Bottom: House Sparrow

Baby Northern Cardinal...one of the 1st

to arrive every morning. He's like the

scout all the birds send in to check and

see if the coast is clear.

Finally we have Mr. Gray Squirrel. He definitely rules the roost. I think we need to put some pants on him!