The White Storks of Lithuania

Yes, I realize that Lithuania is not anywhere near Long Island.  And I also realize that we do not have any storks here on Long Island.  Our nearest stork population is, in fact, Florida.  However, our friends Darek and Sheryl just forwarded this picture to me.  I thought it was so great, I wanted to share it.

The name Stork is the feminine form of the Hebrew word for "loyal one; one of loving kindness."  This description fits the stork well, as it is noted for its tender care of its young.  They said the storks nest every summer in the area where they live.  Lithuania is a country in northern Europe, sharing a border with Poland.  Storks winter in Africa.  These birds are 40" to 50" tall with a wing span of 61" to 79".  They must be quite a sight atop their nests!  They may use the same nest from year to year, adding to it.  Some nests have been as large as 6' across and 10' deep.  They feed on frogs, fish, small reptiles, grasshoppers and locust.  Something else that is quite amazing is that storks are almost silent.  They communicate by noisy, mutual bill-clattering when adults meet at the nest.  (Hmmm, I wonder what these storks are talking about!)


Thank you Darek and Sheryl for this great shot.  It certainly honors the one who created all things, Jehovah!

Birth Announcement!!!

Congratulations...Sandi & Warren on your new addition.  The proud parents sent over some pictures of their newest family member.

As you can see from the picture of the newborn, the distinctive egg of a Robin Red Breast.  Robins are altricial birds whose young need a lot of care from parents in order to survive as you can plainly see.

Ma & Pa have been taking progressive pictures of their bundle of joy which of course I will share with you.  The new addition was named after the very famous 'Robin of Loxley'.  They call her Loxley for short. And she is hungry all the time.  Robins eat different types of food depending on the time of day.  They eat earthworms early in the day and more fruit later in the day.

Robin Nesting Habits:


The song of the male is to advertise his territory or to attract a mate. You'll hear them the most just before the young hatch. The nest is made of grasses, a middle layer of mud, then lined with fine grasses. The nest is usually placed in the crotch of a tree or shrub 5-20 feet above ground.
The availability of mud at nesting time may entice these birds to nest nearby. They will also make use of wool, string and hair.
American Robins can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young.
Only 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November. From that point on, about half of the birds alive in any year will make it to the next.
Despite the fact that they can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years. The female lays 3-7 light blue eggs that are incubated for 12-14 days and the young leave the nest in about 14-16 days, with 2 - 3 broods raised each season.

Loxley is making good progess.  She is an only child, but Sandi & Warren are keeping a eye on her at all times. 

So even though this is the face only a mother can love, they do turn out beautiful in the end.  The parents are eagerly awaiting for her to take her first steps (flight).  Hopefully they will be able to capture it on film.

Weekend Warriors

My husband and I went away last weekend.  It was a beautiful day, you could see the moon in the afternoon sky. 

And even though San wasn't by my side, we did go for a hike in search of birds native to the area we were visiting in Virgina.  The State bird of Virginia is the Cardinal and they indeed were plentiful.

Try as we might sitting in my brothers backyard which is over 5 acres of land, we couldn't find any birds that we hadn't already seen.  So the next day we went on a nature hike to:   Windsor Castle Park in search of birds and the like.  We saw Swallows, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Carolina Wrens, Turkey Vultures and of course Cardinals.

It was very, very hot even though it was early in the morning, so we only hiked for about an hour.  There were quite a few birds that didn't mind getting their picture taken.  So all in all it was a great trip.  San would have loved it.

Good and Bad

After seeing the Hummingbird in the morning, I thought perhaps they would come back later that night.  So as I was making dinner on the grill I eagerly watched all my feeders.

The only excitement were seeing two Red Tailed Hawks in my yard.  Now on one hand this was a great sighting of a beautiful bird.  So as all bird watchers know, if you have feeders out you will attract birds to your yard. Some to eat and sadly some to be eaten.

Since Hawks, and Owls are birds of prey they are most likely hanging out in my yard to eat my songbirds. 

So yes it was good from a bird watchers point of view seeing them in my yard, but since they can only be there because there is food for them in the area it was bad from the bird feeder's point of view.

Another 'Summer' Bird sighting!!!

So often I want to stay home and lay in my  hammock and just watch the goings on in my backyard.  But each and every morning I get up and there is always something to do or someplace to go (usually work). 

Before I go to bed each night I go from window to window looking for night flyer's in my backyard, and I haven't spotted anything lately.  And every morning I go from window to window as I make my way downstairs.  Then once in the kitchen I look out onto the serene scene of our backyard, checking out who's at the feeders that I filled the night before.  Lot's of activity. 

That's when I saw 'her' a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.  You can image my joy at being in the right spot at the right time.  As soon as she headed for my Hummingbird feeder, I grabbed my camera (always at the ready these days) and went out onto the deck.  Much to my disappointment she was gone. And I saw why, I forgot to fill that feeder.  Needless to say I filled it immediately and then I hoped she would be back.

So as my morning progressed, no more sightings.  I watered all my deck plants, packed lunches for my husband and  I to take to work.  All showered and ready to leave and lo and behold she was there again, this time actually feeding from the feeder.  I get my camera and she flies away.   So as time is ticking by and I know I should be on my way to work I stand there waiting for her to come back, I actually contemplated staying home so I would get a chance to see her again. 

So here I am at work only writing about the bird I saw this morning instead of photographing her myself.  I can't help but think that perhaps she went and got her friends once she knew the feeder was full again. 

Maybe tomorrow she will be back....

Bedazzled!

That's how Ar and I felt after we each received a gift from Keith on our way out to the Hamptons.  I wish I could say that Keith is a regular reader of our blog, but I cannot.  However, he does think of us and endeavors to support our passion.  We each received a hooded sweatshirt jacket; the latest creation from the Norma Kamali collection at Walmart!!  I guess they caught his eye because they had birds on the front.  But apparently that was not enough for my crafty husband.  He decided to bedazzle the back with our website:  Birding and Bonding.  I wondered just how he did this without my knowledge.  His response:  "I did it on the train."  Wow!  My cousin said he must be secure in his masculinity to bedazzle on the LIRR!  Anyway, it was, no doubt, a labor of love and we thank him for it.

Road Trip!!!

San and I have starting planning our road trip to Hawk Mountain, PA to watch the migratory birds on their quest southward.

I  am posting a time schedule from their website.  San and I were trying to pick the time where we could see the most birds.  As we thought it looks as though September & October are the big months. 

So you can be sure we will be Pennsylvania bound.  We will keep everyone informed as the time draws closer.

Best dates to see raptorsNumber represent the percent probability. For example, in mid October, you have a 96 percent chance of seeing a sharp-shinned hawk. In early September, you have just over a 50% chance of seeing a bald eagle.

Species Aug. 15-30 Sept. 1-14 Sept. 15-30 Oct. 1-14 Oct. 15-31 Nov. 1-14 Nov. 15-30 Dec. 1-14 Osprey 57 87 89 73 29 4 1 <1 Bald Eagle 40 52 30 14 10 15 18 17 Northern Harrier 49 76 79 83 86 77 42 21 Sharp-shinned Hawk 41 84 98 98 96 79 41 11 Cooper's Hawk 12 32 66 85 72 45 17 13 Goshawk 2 2 7 20 36 46 50 33 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 6 18 63 83 73 45 15 Broad-winged Hawk 87 94 94 42 4 <1 <<1 0 Red-tailed Hawk 39 51 66 88 96 96 88 79 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 3 12 21 18 21 Golden Eagle 0 3 10 27 45 50 42 26 American Kestrel 68 77 77 74 40 8 1 0 Merlin 3 8 20 42 28 5 1 <1 Peregrine Falcon 4 10 22 44 19 6 3 <1 # of Poss. species 12 13 13 14 14 14 14 12