Last week, Mr. Zen saw 4 or 5 bright birds in the garden. They were yellow, with sharp curved beaks, and black and white wings. They were very interested in the ponds, landing on the zebra reeds and walking out the make them dip towards the water, or as in the case of this one, perching on the fishing pole the ceramic cat is holding.
In my garden, with his brothers and sistersI was not here to see them, more’s the pity. i would love to have been able to. We had no idea what kind of birds they were and none of my searches turned up the picture that you see in the opening. So I put the question to a bird watching friend of mine of FaceBook and a friend of hers answered with that picture on the title page, which matches mine and a link to the site: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide, and the news that they were orioles! Hazzah.
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care! IAN is a great group to join, and a good place to learn to write diaries. Drop one of us a PM to be added to the Itzl Alert Network anytime! We all share the publishing duties, and we welcome everyone who reads IAN to write diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news!
Monday
Crimson Quillfeather alternate with
Tuesday ejoanna
Wednesday Caedy
Thursday art ah zen
Friday FloridaSNMOM
Saturday Alexandra Lynch
Sunday loggersbrat
Well, apparently, they will fly to Central America, become adults, and return here to nest. It would be lovely to see the next generation.
Now, I had wondered if they ate fish because they were so interested in the ponds and when I was cleaning them yesterday, the middle pond had only one fish left where there had been 6. But, no, orioles do not eat fish, even thought that beak looks perfect for spear fishing. So, one mystery is solved, they are orioles and another mystery deepens, what is eating my fish? Tomorrow I will have to go get a new batch of feeder gold fish and give them a chance to live much longer lives in my pond although there is still something lurking. Their chances are better with me than with snakes or lizards or larger fish that they were meant to feed.