Wednesday, 20 May 2015

Birds, Cats and Catbirds

Between gardening and yard work, I've managed to snap some pics of my companion birds, cats and, yes, catbirds.

A female Ruby-throated hummingbird posing nicely. Such teeny, tiny feet.


A male Ruby-throated hummingbird resting between sips of sugar water.


Unfortunately, former feral, Ellie Mae is a lethal birding cat.


With pleading eyes, Feral tom Oscar is making good progress in obtaining handouts.


A Gray Catbird hunts for edibles.



One of my summer favourites is the Gray Catbird, which is the smallest of our Eastern mimics. From the highest branches, it performs varied and attractive song medleys. The following video shows one scoring a rather large and juicy looking grub.






The catbirds are nesting in the thicket beside the path leading to my vegetable garden. When I pass there, I'm likely to hear their warning call. The sound is rather like that of a young kitten in distress and the reason these bird are called "catbirds".

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4 comments:

  1. Carol20 May 2015 at 14:39

    We've adopted 2 strays that are outdoor cats...I used to chase them off when they were taking interest in the birds....quit doing that...now the birds know what to expect and about the only thing they catch is rats...manage to snag a feather now an then but it just makes the birds wiser.

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  2. Jenn Jilks21 May 2015 at 11:21

    What a handsome coat, Ellie Mae has! Yes, our former barn cat as fantastic at the birds!
    I love the catbird. I just discovered them!
    Great photos and video! An eagle eye!

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  3. Jenn Jilks27 May 2015 at 19:44

    I think your Ellie Mae could be a Norwegian, too!

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  4. Carol29 May 2015 at 21:07

    I like that you are caring for feral cats....mine still like to chase the squirrels and sometimes birds...but I quit chasing the cats...now that the critters know what to expect they don't have a chance.

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