Bluebirds and Bourbon
I haven't always been a backyard bird nerd. It's something I grew into- like aging and snoring. I am fortunate enough to live on a little bayou in Pensacola, so bird watching changes with the season. Even in the dead of winter, there are wonderful migrating water birdsto see.
At first, i just wanted to attract hummingbirds. That was really easy, and later will post information and pictures of them. I even have had two winter hummers. One was a rufous, and Fred Bassett, the bird bander from Hummer Bird Study Group was able to catch and tag him. this winter, though, Fred said my young hummer wasn't smart enough to get caught. hmmmmmmm...
For years, i tried to attract bluebirds, and about three years ago, I succeeded. My Blog's name comes from a 6:00 Toddy Hour on our back deck. My husband and I settle down to a bourbon and diet coke, and we have appetizers for the bluebirds; mealworms, live mealworms. I even raised them myself one year... wouldn't reccomend it! You can usually buy them from pet stores and bait shops.
The first year, they just appeared after the first spring mowing...the yard was full of them. So off to Lowes i went and bought 3 bluebird houses. They are not expensive, and i'll go into details about where, when and how later. After the houses were up, I started leaving trivets of mealworms near the houses, eventually moving them closer and closer until I put them on my patio table. I did this for the first two years and it worked beautifully. Then last year, I told my husband I was cutting out the foreplay- bringing the mealworms closer and closer. I just put the trivet right across from me on the table...and they came!
It was so wonderful watching the pairs filling the nesting boxes, and then finally, 4 beautiful blue eggs. Dad-the male- had his work cut out for him ... he fed Momma-you guessed it, and kept a few worms for himself. The beauty of a bluebird house is you can chek on their progress of nesting, then you can check on the babies!
Anyway, I've gone on enough. This is my first blog. I hope to make it fun and interesting with more pictures than words. I already have lots of pictures, but hope to follow a new breeding pair soon. Please be patient...i"m very new at this!
Amelie
I haven't always been a backyard bird nerd. It's something I grew into- like aging and snoring. I am fortunate enough to live on a little bayou in Pensacola, so bird watching changes with the season. Even in the dead of winter, there are wonderful migrating water birdsto see.
At first, i just wanted to attract hummingbirds. That was really easy, and later will post information and pictures of them. I even have had two winter hummers. One was a rufous, and Fred Bassett, the bird bander from Hummer Bird Study Group was able to catch and tag him. this winter, though, Fred said my young hummer wasn't smart enough to get caught. hmmmmmmm...
For years, i tried to attract bluebirds, and about three years ago, I succeeded. My Blog's name comes from a 6:00 Toddy Hour on our back deck. My husband and I settle down to a bourbon and diet coke, and we have appetizers for the bluebirds; mealworms, live mealworms. I even raised them myself one year... wouldn't reccomend it! You can usually buy them from pet stores and bait shops.
The first year, they just appeared after the first spring mowing...the yard was full of them. So off to Lowes i went and bought 3 bluebird houses. They are not expensive, and i'll go into details about where, when and how later. After the houses were up, I started leaving trivets of mealworms near the houses, eventually moving them closer and closer until I put them on my patio table. I did this for the first two years and it worked beautifully. Then last year, I told my husband I was cutting out the foreplay- bringing the mealworms closer and closer. I just put the trivet right across from me on the table...and they came!
It was so wonderful watching the pairs filling the nesting boxes, and then finally, 4 beautiful blue eggs. Dad-the male- had his work cut out for him ... he fed Momma-you guessed it, and kept a few worms for himself. The beauty of a bluebird house is you can chek on their progress of nesting, then you can check on the babies!
Anyway, I've gone on enough. This is my first blog. I hope to make it fun and interesting with more pictures than words. I already have lots of pictures, but hope to follow a new breeding pair soon. Please be patient...i"m very new at this!
Amelie
I Love the Blog~~~ and the name!!!! Can't wait to see the pictures of the BlueBirds ~~~ and of course the Toddy's
ReplyDeleteI love the blog and the name, too! What I love more is sitting on your deck with you and Matt at happy hour watching those blubirds- it really is a sight to behold. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought the birds would get as close as they do to humans.Those mealy worms must be really tasty!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the pictures.
Yea!!! So fun! I can't wait to see and read more. Miss you all and hope to visit soon so I can join you on your patio. Much love Cover
ReplyDeletei love all your photos... cant wait to see them on here!!!!
ReplyDelete