17...an odd number. I was going to change this blog to '16' but this ain't no Quinceanera dude. But on the side, do you recall when you were 16 of age?  For me and others, it was BC time....'before computers'. ... When life truly was life. Frankly that concept is unexplainable unless you had the fortune to live in the BC times. If you never did, I feel sad for you as life really was life back in those days.

But 17 was a dang good number the other day as I took my walk around Egg Harbor Township High School. Thru the year I have watched my little family of Bluebirds grow from 4 to what appears to be at least 17.

January 2019.....4 adult winter hold-overs enjoyed my bird feed. They knew my house and I knew their house. In the woods, over there...across the trail and towards grandmother's someplace. Today, we have 17 or perhaps more. They love the chain links fences and as I walk, they lead me forward, or perhaps I am chasing them. Regardless it is a game we play. 

The other day I did manage to count 17 on the fence or in flight, or near by. Like that, 17. I haven't given them names, nor could remember that list, or to which name belonged to whom. I just know them as my family. I walk, they are there. They lead me around the school on the edges and I am curious if they even care about me or if I am just some blob approaching them and their natural inclination is to just 'take off' as I near. I have a feeling that is the case.

No matter.....todo bien.

I met my old friends today..... or so it seems. A few years back when I was more of a 'western' man, true to my calling, ...a bit settled with dust and age and at that time...resided in eastern Washington state. Open and wild and inviting .....I would venture to one of my favorite areas; just to sit, no more than that; just to sit. For here I had 'old friends'....

It was here in my 'sitting locale' akin to a park bench but a mere set of boulders that created this bookend nestled near a mudflat,  that I learned to appreciate my old friend; the killdeer. They would flitter about like sections of a crumpled newspaper blowing around the tall grass on one side.....they would offer courtship to each as the male would strut around with his tail up high....showing off of course. For what else does a good male do? 

''There on the mud flats during certain times in which they occurred', we became companions to a degree....the killdeers would go and court, for yes, they were members of the court at that time. ....lost in their overcoats with a black ascot around their neck, in proper attire no less yet with eyes that shown of bloodshot red as if coming home from a hard night. Their behavior was caught by whom might venture just to stop and do no more than just watch. They were not shy, nor hidden from sight....but open and inviting, just like the country.

These were my friends. I would take my camera with me and capture a shot or two, or just let my eyes wander over the full scope of the mudflats, soft and oozing as footprints left a record of their travels. These friends of mine never cared much for me, as I said before....but matter not, no need.... for I knew of them as part of nature, as sure as the mudflats themselves or the algae that grew in little pools around. Yet strange enough I knew, we might possibly sit later on in other days, perhaps sharing an apartment and resting just quietly.

My friends would so casually turn to me.....as if to care..... at other times I felt like offering myself a glass of wine, so I could toast to their act. It was an act, but not for me of course. Killdeer..... my friends. Times like today as I walked around the grounds of a quiet high school nestled in the pines of south Jersey, my friends and I met up once more. Oh, it must be a few thousand miles away from my other encounters but strange enough, they still turned their attention to me, and I towards them. There they were in a parking lot this time.....flirting around. I love to watch them fly so directly to a spot, just to fly. They land and speak, and act.....they play tag with my eyes and with their partners. They then just 'up and go'....without much thought and not without any recognition to me, nor I to them. As I walk I know I will encounter them again in a different part of the parking lot.....over there, beyond.... A time it was then...and is now. Sweet innocence borrowed from my mind and yet confident I am that yes, we will play the game with eyes and sound and flirts be it tomorrow or the next, or here in Jersey or in Washington for I want you to know that my old friends don't escape me it seems, for I have a photograph where I preserve my memories of my friends.  

Never say never..... I should learn that. But 'never' in this case is something I have noticed as of recent. Summer is a pretty slow time of the year for birding and while I spent a portion of my COVID summer getting a new pair of binoculars, I also spent the same COVID summer viewing backyard birds.

One thing I noticed was how birds simply refuse to gorge themselves. Just the other day as I was sitting out on the patio and I noticed we have one of those huge Tent caterpillar nests on one of the pines. Living around here, you know what I am talking about.

Sprinkled throughout this mess....always cobwebby in design.....are insects who have found themselves permanently fastened 'by death no less' to this cobweb design. I can't tell you when they entered and lost the ability to escape, but I can tell you that many #'s of them were there. 

Along came a finch.......   This little guy would cherry pick his way thru the nest, pecking away at insects that looked tasty. Now, either some were not to his culinary standards or the bird just became full and not wanting to gorge, it left. 

Do birds do that? Chances are that bird flew over to another tree or branch and an insect came their way and 'gulp'....down it went. So if that surely (can't be sure) OR might (a better word as not as definitive) be the case, why not just sit in the nest that was pocked full of insects and nibble away? If you are hungry, you are hungry....take the easy meals.

Or....does a bird's appetite naturally stop at a certain point and no more gorging needed. But does a cat gorge if food is around? Does a cow ever quit eating green grass on the other side of the fence?.... Is 'stopping' and knowing not to gorge just a 'bird thing'? Not sure...I am just guessing that birds just know when to stop. Otherwise a caged canary (a bird) would be a lot larger than needed as food is available to them 24 hours a day. So that natural inclination to 'stop'...is evident in birds. 

In my case...was the bird pecking away until full? Probably.... Did the bird then take off and fly to another tree and  by hap-chance eat an insect or two along the way? Perhaps....  perhaps not. 

What can I say.....the video says it all. I am not even sure where this was taken but it appears to be an Osprey with a young shark in it's talons......

Sometimes, rather than writing 'something' fancy about any one subject, it is best to just let the video speak for itself. 

Simply fascinating and a bit scare.... taken from the naval Pilot's eyes as they attempt to land an aircraft onto an aircraft  carrier...in the wind, fog...etc.  This is a skill that I would most likely fail in. 

One just doesn't wake up one morning and land an aircraft on the high seas on a pretty small deck. Practice....more practice is needed. Sometimes the pilot misses on the first time around and has to feel the heat under his collar  as he knows 'all eyes' are upon him during these attempts. Bee bee eyes....all staring at the pilot. Pressure on man....come thru to 'earn your wings on the water'. 

Earning your wings is simply not an easy task all the way around. There are three phases of flight school as a naval Pilot.

Phase 1: Prove you are worthy of earning a commission. Competition is fierce....you need to perform ...
Phase 2... Earning your Wings. This is a six week  ground school call API (Aviation Pre-flight Indoctrination) where you will study the academics behind flight. Then on to a primary base where you will be given a plane and you start learning in flight
Phase 3... Just because you have earned your wings doesn't mean you are ready. Now you move on to Fleet Replacement Squadron or FRS where you are doing Phase 2 on the water. Here you learn the specifics about a particular plane you are flying  landing that object  on an aircraft carrier. 

Not easy.....

So.....today as I came back from my humid walk .....I was sitting outside feeling the wind dry off the sweat. A good place to do this is on the patio as I can observe bird behavior. This time of the year is fun for there is  a lot of activity with adults busy 'training' the juveniles in all  types of skills. I am just thinking that 'flight' itself is a learned instinct. I don't necessarily see any training wheels on the birds or parachutes for soft landings etc. Flight just seems to occur yet, there are still some phases of flight that need practice. I have listed the three phases I have developed to equal that of naval flight school. 

Phase 1 where they are proving they are worth it. This  involves learning how to get food from a parent.... growing wings, learning how to tweet etc.... Are they worthy of being a bird? Competition is fierce as some might tweet louder and get more food. 

Phase 2....While flight itself might be instinctive this phase is the practice state of earning your basic wings. It doesn't quite last 6 weeks as birds operate under an abbreviated schedule, so please keep that in mind. But in this phase they are taking that first step from nest to branch.... to branch, to branch. Perhaps in the case of a nuthatch (as I witnessed them today) the branch can be substituted for the trunk of a tree and then learning how to walk up and around. So basic flight and landing both occur as does a navel pilot in their phase 2. 

Phase 3...earning your wings to eat and beyond.  During this phase birds are beyond the practice stage of flight itself and have mastered movement over several long distances and are now being more specific in flight as well as landing. They have their chosen tree and now learn how to navigate around the branches and leaves and as I saw earlier; how to land on suet for food. Landing on suet is not an easy task and especially if the suet is swaying in the wind,  like an aircraft carrier is moving on the high seas. 

Below is 'actual simulated' video from the eyes of a nuthatch as it attempts to land on the suet holder. It might be a bit scary for you as we are not birds, but this is a phase 3 skill that has to be mastered. Many unsuccessful attempts I have witnessed as they have to not only take into account the wind and movement of the suet holder but flap their wings  around the same movement, and put down their landing gear. I mean, wow.....intense. Baby brother or sister is looking on... The wren from the nest is staring. The robin pretends they are not looking but yes, they really are. Intense.... Enjoy the video.... 

If you have never visited 'my patch', perhaps it is time to do so. My patch is about 15 acres of land although adjacent to a much larger patch of land. Egg Harbor Township has designated a Nature Refuge off of Zion Road, and if you take the right turn from Zion onto School House Road, you will find the Egg Harbor Township Arboretum. It is here at this arboretum that I call, 'my patch'. 

​This has been a great spring...going into summer. The birds are about. What I am finding fascinating is not the bird species in numbers but the behavior I am witnessing and the growth of all.

For instance.....there is a pair of breeding Cedar Waxwings and over the course of a month or two, I have seen their 'cupped' nest grow from just 'nothing' to a definite 'cup' full of seedlings and small branches and leaves. I have found that to approach I have to do so with stealth for they spook easy. I approach from the wee side (whatever that might be) and slowly come up to them. About midway in the tree the nest exists. Usually at 7-8am both pairs are in the nests, and as of yet....no young. Perhaps eggs? Not sure. But once I turn the bend and am in full view, one of them always flies off. The other might just hide in the nest, a bit out of sight with the exception of the yellow bar on the tail presenting itself to me as if saying 'I am here....do you see me?". Then, without much warning it will find itself perched in a nearby branch; same tree. I can hardly wait for the young to come about, a new season...a new year for many.

Then the rabbits.... I love em...some you can approach and others you can't. I often wonder who will live and who will become food. But as I approach some, they will scurry away and find a hidden gem of a tunnel, gently carved in the bushes. There....they disappear beyond my sight and carefully wait for me to leave.

A few Brown Thrashers will use the entire 15 acres...two juveniles and one adult. They usually are on the ground or near it. The juveniles want to find their own food....and the adult will toss the leaves like a towhee and within a few seconds come out with a chunky grub of sorts.

Many wrens....some House, some Carolina. And by some...I mean...quite a sum. The juveniles fight for the adults attention as a worm or fat insect in mouth, they are fed..... or spit upon. But in either case, the wrens are very active.... 

Northern Cardinals abound...I have seen a flock of 3-4 males race across any one area. Females abound, skirting around trees usually a step or two behind their partner. The juveniles will bother their elders....  I saw one over a fallen tree which overlaid the trail. The adult male would perch and the juvenile would do like. Like father...like son.

I saw a lone Indigo bunting the other day.....At first I thought to myself it was just the Bluebirds which entwine themselves between the arboretum and the power line open area.... they have a house there you see. But in this case the Indigo was just perched on a limb, just enough time was spent there for me to view and say...'wow, an indigo bunting'

Orchard Orioles abound....some dressed all orange and black...ready for Halloween I suppose while the younger counterparts are in yellow and black. Pretty cool to watch. Try it one day.....

There is one pair of Mourning Warblers.... they like to be more ground orientated and stay in the bushes. I will walk the trail and see a bush wobble and sway, just a bit.....and as I pause in mid-step, I see the Warblers playing in the seed reeds.....

Robins....did I mention robins? Why are robins so tame and use to humans while other birds shy away? But a dime a dozen they are here...adult and young and a blue egg or two spread out on the ground like a star shining in the night.....

When approaching the water...I might see an Osprey take a quick swim and come up with a fish or not.... I might see a  Forester's Tern do the same..... or the gulls or geese. A Mallard might do a fly by too if I am lucky.

Catbirds meow and crows caw......Life moves forward day by day here; my patch. I am lucky to see this growth and change. I find myself in awe with each view as I come upon a nest of Red Winged Blackbirds buried within the tall reeds. They will talk to me and pretend that the nest does not exist. They are good at bellowing out and the females, like all of that Red Winged Variety will confuse the newbie into thinking, who are they, or what type of bird is that? 

A wild turkey cross my path the other day......  just one. I am sure the others were there looking at me with there face cocked just a bit to gain a good glance at 'to whom' might be here. 

Did I mention the Great Crested Flycatcher? I witnessed one the other day in a bush....not sure if he knew enough about me but I did of it. I saw it sit on a branch and by turning it's head, skewed one way or there, it inspected all the branches around .....finding that tasty morsel of an upside down insect hidden on the understory of any one leaf. Then it would hop to another branch, oh...let's say just 4-5 feet and do the same. Again, just like the moon might rise or the sun set.....the same would repeat. 

​So...my patch.... I do love it.... Same birds. I know who is there. I know where they are to be found and might even take attendance one day as if in school. For now though,  I now just relish in not the numbers, but the birds I have come to have known this past spring. Join me.... in my patch.

Well, as you can see....a new layout to the site is being introduced. It wasn't 'planned'.....but as I was on the AAS I was playing with 'features'.... yes, 'features'. A funny thing about 'features' is that if you  are just browsing 'theme layout' for the site and then accidentally press 'save'....it saves. So, as you can see we do have a new layout. Live and Learn....jim