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Fish and birds and . . .

First of all, thanks to those of you that tried to help me identify those birds at my feeders last week.  The large, blue/purple/black one was a Boat-tailed Grackle and the others were red-wing blackbirds.  And now.....look who I found out there last evening............

 

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This one I can identify........it's an Indigo Blue.  When  first moved here three years ago, one week in March I opened the blinds to see about 20 of these on the ground below my bird feeders.  At first I thought they were parakeets, but when I got out my bird book I discovered they're Indigo Blues.  Apparently, they stop here while migrating further north this time of year.  Last year I'm not sure if they just didn't come to the island or I missed them, but I didn't see any.  And last evening I saw this guy at the feeder all alone.  Isn't he gorgeous?  Such a vibrant and vivid blue.  I'm not sure if any more will come, but I'm glad this guy stopped for a bite to eat.

 

My fish arrived last Tuesday and they all seem to have settled in very well.  I'm enjoying them so much!  It took a few days but when I now go out to feed them, they all come swimming down the pond to the sound of my voice.....and food.  Here's a few of them here that I caught with my camera last night.  That big fellow on the right......I've named him Hemingway.  He's the largest of all of them and when I was acclimating them, he got out of the bag too soon and proceeded to swim around the pond having a jolly good time.  A bit feisty and adventuresome.  Being an author, I thought Hemingway was appropriate for him.

 

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It's Arts Festival here on the island this weekend, but this year I haven't ventured downtown at all.  I had to run down to the PO Friday about 5:00 and already the downtown area was packed with people.  Cars, golf carts, bicycles and people strolling everywhere.  I decided not to do the crowds this year.

 

Plus, I've had a busy and different kind of week.  Ray got sick Monday night.......started off with intense abdominal pains and progressed from there.  When he was no better by Friday I called the dr. and drove him there on Friday morning.  The dr. seems to think it started off as a GI viral infection but turned into a bacterial infection.  So he's on an antibiotic and they did blood work.  We won't have the results till tomorrow or Tuesday.  I'll be glad when we get that and then know for sure what's going on.  In the meantime, he's beginning to feel a little better and is at least now eating.

 

Ray and I share chores around here and I've been doing double duty all week, so I've been kept pretty busy.  Another reason why I decided to stay put this weekend and just relax.  Watching my birds and fish helps me to do that and it's nice to have that right in my back yard.

 

Oh, for those of you that mentioned the larger birds coming to eat my fish.  I don't think that'll happen.  I suppose it could, as anything is possible, but........in the three years we've lived here we've never had one heron or ibis touch down in our yard.  The birds that do come all want the bird seed and the fountain to splash in or drink the water.  They're not fish eating birds.  So I think we're okay with the fish surviving.  But my motto has always been.......never say never.  So I do keep an eye on that fish pond.

 

Hope your week has been good and I'll see you here next time..................

Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 10:06AM by Registered CommenterTerri DuLong in | Comments11 Comments

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Reader Comments (11)

Oh gosh, hope Ray is feeling better soon!
Love the bird pictures!
April 13, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMaureen
Hoping Ray is much better very very soon, my dear!
That Bird is gorgeous, Terri...! Thr colr is incredibly vibrant...It must have beem fantastic to see twenty of these stunning birds all at once...Very Magical, I would say!
April 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterOldOldLady Of The Hills
Hope Ray is doing better! I never saw one of those beautiful birds in my bird feeder. Only doves and cardinals. Maybe I need to get one of the feeders on a pedestal like you have. What type of bird food do you use? Nice fish, I can hear you fountain in the early hours of the morning, very soothing.
April 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJoyce
Let's hope that they are not bird eating fish !

Hope all goes well with Ray.

BTW I will not be in France until the very end of May and then I will be way down south on the Bay of Saint Tropez for much of June.
April 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterJohn
That blue is amazing, Terri! I didn't think such rich shades existed without some sort of artificial assistance! I guess Mother Nature has her way of setting me straight, then!

My birdwatching adventures these days mostly involve trying to control our very excited dog when he sees them on a walk. Hunting is in his genes, I guess. Happy sigh...
April 15, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterCarmi
What a paradise you're creating there, Terri. It's a metaphor for your life; you've hammered out a remarkable identity for yourself, at an age that gives us all hope. Middle age is for flowering, right? And late middle-age, oh what a joy.
I hope your dear Ray is recovering well.
April 16, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterML
I am glad to see your fish have arrrived and are thriving in their pond. You will really enjoy them. Maybe no birds will hurt them, I wouldn't think they would come into your backyard to get them. Let Duncan stand guard for you!!! We did catch several trout that had Heron pecks in their sides. I was surprised. Those herons must be very fast!

I can't wait for the Indigos to get here. They are one of our favorites to have around. Certainly the prettiest. I just put out my hummer food today. They should be here shortly and then the Indigos, maybe May?
April 16, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterDeana
My best to Ray - hope he is feeling better.
April 16, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterMarge
That Indigo Blue isn't one I'll find at my feeder here in Michigan. I'll occasionally get a goldfinch or a cardinal, but nothing with tropical colors.
April 18, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBig_Dave_T
Hi Terri: please tell Ray that I hope he gets well real soon. I love the Indigo Blues and we see them quite often.
April 18, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterginnie
We had a large pond in Tennessee and started out with 10 goldfish from a dime store, the kind they called "feeders". After only a few years, we probably had more than a hundred. They used to come swimming to the edge every afternoon when I went there to sit just like you described. But a heron finally showed up one day and he wiped out most of the bigger ones. But the small ones that presumably swam faster and hide more quickly on the bottom survived to start the process all over again. Guess that's nature, and we have to take it as it comes. Good luck with the fish and the birds. They sure are pretty.
April 25, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAlice
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