Yesterday I came up here begging you all to please please post something, anything. From the comments I got, especially Beth's (thank you very much!!), I realised that the problem might be in my computer....OK, so some of us take a while to figure these things out...I erased the history in the computer, and BINGO! there you all are, like looking behind a door I hadn't seen and finding a party going on!
*whew*
Now I've got some reading to do....I hadn't gotten a post since May on most of you, some made it to June 2, but that was it!
.......later..........
Kate has a do it only if you want to meme up to post a picture of your favorite bird from your area.
Well, my favorites are the swallows. We named our boat, and this blog, and to some extent myself Oreneta because that is the Catalan name for a swallow. They are however lamentably difficult to photograph, so let your imaginations soar along with these lovely swift little birds that also do us the favour of eating lots and lots of flies and mosquitoes.
The pigeons and doves here are prominent, indeed there are no gulls on the beach, but there are pigeons. Before I got here I was unaware of their flight and glide abilities, mostly having seen those over-stuffed undernourished street versions. The slimmer wilder versions can actually do some quite credible flying. Their idea of a nest though is a joke. We saw a nest up close in Tarragona before I got the camera...it was a couple of sticks laid haphazardly in a, well a heap would be to dignified, in a clump...a mess.... No they were not even laid in anything. They were strewn about at random on the window sill, and one egg lay morosely in the middle of the chaos.
This nest that I found today on my walk is clearly not a pigeon nest. I have no idea what it might be though except small.
I also love the feral or wild parrots that you find in BCN, they hang with the pigeons, beg, pick, bathe in the puddles, but are a startling green and have the most raucous call.
I also really like the myna birds. I am not even sure that is their name, and I am fairly certain that is not how you spell it; however they are black and white members of the crow family, and have their mischieviousness, cleverness and skill at mimicry. There is one that lives near by who does a very credible cat imitation.
This one seems to have lost a battle of some sort though.
When we first got here in the fall we were distressed by the lack of bird life, especially after being spoiled by Florida which is a bird paradise...over the winter thought there were more. Many of the Northern European birds pass through here or winter over here. Unfortunately we don't have a bird book for here in any language...so life remains a bit of a mystery on that front.
Birds anyone?
So glad that I got the computer out of it's suspended animation and me along with it....
Cheers!
6 comments:
Computer troubles at the Oreneta household?
Parrots are my favourite birds and I would love to see them in flocks in the wild. Any pictures of those to post? I used to have a blue crowned conure that had a screech that would make your ears bleed. He was a sweety tho'
Well, I'm very pleased with myself for helping out. You were feeling lonely - I was wondering why Oreneta wasn't reading/commenting on my blog any more!
While I'm a fan of birds, I'm not so keen on the noisy, chattering at 5:00 a.m. creatures. (And too tired to get up and see which kind are making the racket.)
I have a birds next in our tree outside. It's no longer used. And a group of Whatever Birds (I don't know what kind they are, and I never look), live in my eaves.
This post was for the birds. HAHAHAHA!! GET IT? GET IT?? GET IT?? FOR THE BIRDS??
I need to get a life.
I can't believe I've never before thought about what my favorite bird is. Hmmm. I do like cardinals.
Or some sort of water bird. How about a sandpiper?
I just looked up Myna birds, but it appears they are native to Asia and Australia but not Europe, though their relative the starling can be found here. Also, magpies are very common around here. Though it's possible that a few mynas have made their way here anyway, maybe as pets but then enough have escaped to breed, like the parrots? Who knows. I also looked up swallow to remind myself what the Spanish name was, and of course got a bunch of what were probably soon very unseemly websites (didn't click on 'em, though. Just in case you were wondering.) There are lots of swallows in the village. I love their nests...
Trish: I'll try and get photos for you, usually easiest when there are having a puddle bath...
Beth: I was feeling lonely!
DD: LOL.
Jocelyn: Care to show some bird picks...they aren't rodents anyway.
Kate: I think I meant magpies...we haven't got bird books in any language here, so I am not sure and it is too late at night to do a search....The swallows are lovely aren't they; so agile.
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