Thankful Thursday

I'm linking up with Michelle and her Thankful Thursday weekly

group!  As most of you know, I'm an avid bird watcher and

have lots of feeders outside the windows so I can enjoy

my feathered friends all year long.  I've been happily

watching Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Cardinals,

Chickadees, Finches, Wrens and Sparrows

this winter, so it was really nice to see some

Starlings in my crab apple tree yesterday!

I know a lot of people don't care for these birds.

They come in flocks, swooping in like a bunch of

bullies to graze across lawns in the summer or

to take over feeders in a frenzy during the winter.

But I love their iridescent feathers and those

heart shaped stars on their breasts.

And murmurations?  Don't even get me started!

Today I'm thankful for Starlings.

And especially for this last photo.

Sometimes you're just standing at

the window with your camera at

exactly the right moment!

Swooning at those wings!

And look at the little one with 

the crab apple! 

If you want to see more posts

about thankfulness, click HERE.

And feel free to link up yourself!

♥

This And That

1. Pretty in pink and in the shop.  Love this.
2. Ahi tuna steak dinner.  One of our favorites.
3. Starlings.  Almost had my own murmuration!
4. Mr. Cardinal.  He was winking at me through the window!
5. Socks, came home late New Year's Eve after being gone three days.  Looks like he was injured or in a fight.  I've been nursemaid this week.  He must have heard me say he should go to the vet because this morning he disappeared. ha.  And guess who just showed up tonight after the vet is closed!  Smart kitty.
6. Blue Jay waiting for Shadow, the mighty bird hunter, to leave the area. ha.
7. Breakfast.

I'm linking up with I'd Rather B Birdin' today.

Visit all the other birders HERE!

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This And That

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Soaking In The Sun

Can you see the Starling?

♥

Starlings At Ot Moor

I think it was Ed that originally told me about the groups

of Starlings that fly over Ot Moor, just east of Oxford, England.

Fifty acres of marshy land serve as a feeding ground for the Starlings.

During the evenings of the winter months, something truly

 amazing happens and this area becomes the most incredible

display of aeronautical skill, spreading across 25 miles.

As the afternoon light begins to fade, the starlings stop feeding

and take to the air, gathering in large flocks of up to a thousand.

They start out flying in groups they've been feeding with all day

and slowly merge into ever denser and bigger flocks.

Individual birds, yet moving as a single entity and never a collision!

Their dance should be impossible!   It's mesmerizing to 

watch.  I imagine them having a bit of fun with their Creator, who

amuses them as he draws circles and lines in the sky, 

and they follow his fingertip.

I hope you'll take 3 minutes to watch. 

It's definitely worth it!

Information for this post was gathered from Dylan Winter,

a travel journalist, who has the pleasure of seeing this

from his door step every night during the winter months.

I'm so jealous!

And although it isn't a photo of my own, I'm linking up with

 I'd Rather B Birdin, because I know all those bird lovers will love this!

Click HERE to visit this week's entries.

♥

Starling

He's been dining on my crab apples!

See the one in his mouth? And his tongue has a little

hook on it to help him swallow! Very cool!

♥

Jack Sprat

"Jack Sprat could eat no fat

His wife could eat no lean.

And so betwixt the two of them

They licked the platter clean!"

This old English nursery rhyme from the 1600's

came to my mind as I saw the skinny Starling

dining near the chubby one!

And would you just look at the expression on

that skinny one's face?  

Who says birds don't have personality?  LOL!

♥

Merry Christmas!

♥

F is for Feathered Friends

please click to enlarge photo

From my backyard ~

1.  Mourning Dove

2.  Song Sparrow

3.  Blue Jay

4.  Grackle

5.  American Robin

6.  Starling

7.  White Crowned Sparrow

8.  Cardinal

I've joined in the A to Z Challenge for April!

Come back tomorrow for the letter G!

♥