The Beauty of Birds

I am developing a new hobby. My porch/patio has bushes in front of it and a lovely, little red maple tree. It is a wonderful place to eat breakfast on cool mornings. I enjoy being close to nature and having nature almost at my fingertips.

Birds and squirrels eat the china berries off of the bushes. Bees spread pollen around on the little flowers on some of the bushes. Sometimes, a spider will build its web between the tree and the bushes. I have seen rabbits eating close to the screen. I think they add so much interest and beauty to our world.

I recently discovered that different times of the day I could open the windows in my bedroom and hear the birds while I eat a meal or tickle the ivories (keys) of my computer keyboard.

Now that spring is here, the birds are out making nests, calling to each other, and flying around looking for food and mates. Lately, I have become curious about which bird is making which sound.

Did you know that anywhere your cell phone works you can look up and identify birds by their calls. I discovered a neat phone app, BirdNET. It can record the bird’s song; then you use the “Select brackets” to indicate a segment of that bird’s song; then press “Analyze.” It shows a picture of the bird, information about it, and gives you a chance to submit verification that they got it right.

Also YouTube has a wealth of videos on birds, their eating habits, their songs, their colors, appearance, and lifestyles,

These are my photos of a few birds I’ve seen. With their colorful plumage, enchanting songs, and nest building designs, they are a fascinating, joyful presence in my world. I’ve begun to attempt to learn each bird’s song, but it will take time. Birds, after all, have different calls with different meanings.

I never saw a Towhee until this year. They look like a robin with white on its body and some white on the wings. They will repeat their lilting whistle in response to your efforts to copy them. They seem so friendly. I even had a “conversation” with one recently. He made one call, which I imitated. He repeated it with two calls, and I repeated with two calls. We went back and forth another time or two, and then he added a warble to two calls. I surrendered to his prowess in singing. Warbling is a bit beyond my pitiful bird call skills.

Hummingbird
Hummingbird
Baby Blue Jay
Baby Blue Jay
Flicker
Red Bellied Woodpecker feeding
004
Red House Finch
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Seagull in Flight 
Hawk hunting in grass.
Roadside Hawk hunting in grass.
Red Macaw

30 thoughts on “The Beauty of Birds

    1. What a delightful journey into the world of birds! Your porch sounds like a serene haven, teeming with life and beauty. The discovery of BirdNET and your playful β€œconversation” with the Towhee are such charming highlights. Birds truly do bring joy and wonder to our livesβ€”thank you for sharing this lovely experience! 🐦🌿✨

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    1. Thank you, Shreyasharma. If you ever want to hear the songs of some of these birds and you have a cell phone, look up the app for BirdNet. It records a bird’s calls and identifies the bird. Have a lovely day!

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