Let me blow up the important part:
I feel a little bad showing Chuck without his crest. He's bald in this photo, molting I suppose. He was much less demonstative without his head feathers but no less endearing to me.
I starting feeding him last Spring. We went through two litters together. His mate nestled their eggs while he searched for food. (She built her first nest in a white azalea bush right outside our window, weaving big white azalea blooms throughout. What a sight!) I called him Charlie. When he twerped, my husband would say, "Chuck's here." I was at Chuck's beck and call.
A hurricane passed through in August. The day after there wasn't a twerp or peep to be had. Where do birds go during storms? I feared for Chuck. Then in the windy, rainy birdless silence ... "twerp! twerp!" Chuck made it through the storm! I was deep-down joyful. I gave Chuck some organic walnuts (I usually gave him really old millet). I bet he thought he died and went to heaven.
Oh wonderful! Prince Chuck! (That's what I call Prince Charles.) Obviously this is a prince of a bird, and a damn good Dad too!
ReplyDeleteSo happy he's back--thanks for the photo.
He's since grown a whole new coat of prince-worthy feathers. But now he's so aggressive and jumpy it's had to get a photo.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he's okay! I can share with your joy - I'm a birder so I have a tendency to get a bit attached to my birds, too. Try and get a new pic of him :)
ReplyDeleteBirds must have a season. Chuck has been absent of late. In his place there's a new bird ... a blue bird. Not a blue jay, of which we have several. These are small round birds with beautiful sky-blue backs and reddish-brown bellies. They fly in families, with one bright blue one and several smaller grey ones. I think it's a male with a harem. They bring the kids too.
ReplyDeleteAwww, we have cardinals nesting near us too, along with some smaller brown bird that builds their nest kind of like a mud dabber, whose little baby sounds I thought were baby mice at first and freaking me out till I found the nest haha.
ReplyDeleteWhere do birds go during hurricanes? Not sure, but guessing either they sense the incoming pressure changes and migrate to safer pressures, or hide out in attics?
You think they can sense pressure changes? I bet you're right. There's so much going on in the bird community. I'm riveted.
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