On 1/3/2018 8:49 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
> On 1/2/2018 11:07 PM, JBurns wrote:
>> On Tue, 2 Jan 2018 21:39:05 -0600, Terry Coombs >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 1/2/2018 7:02 PM, jmcquown wrote:
>>>> Mince and mashed.
>>>>
>>>> It's below freezing cold here on the coast and we're even expecting a
>>>> bit of snow and icy roads tomorrow.Â* This is weird, weird, weird.
>>>>
>>>> The good news is I still have a crazy little hummingbird coming to my
>>>> feeder.Â* I hope she survives the night.Â* (She's a female ruby throat.)
>>>> I had to use an ice scraper to get the ice off the bird bath this
>>>> morning.Â* The minute I filled it all kinds of birds were right there.
>>>>
>>>> I sent out a note to the folks on Dataw, if you have a bird bath,
>>>> don't forget the birds need fresh water.Â* People started sending me
>>>> pictures.
>>>>
>>>> https://s13.postimg.org/5misksepz/birds-ice.jpg
>>>>
>>>> Blue birds!Â* How pretty.Â* Yep, they're thirsty.Â* It's freezing cold
>>>> down here and all the birds need water.
>>>>
>>>> The ones I took pictures of at my small birdbath are a mockingbird
>>>>
>>>> https://s13.postimg.org/4x008ilx3/mocking.jpg
>>>>
>>>> and a male cardinal
>>>>
>>>> https://s13.postimg.org/e4s8p9y53/cardinal.jpg
>>>>
>>>> At any rate, it is going to be very cold here tomorrow.Â* I think mince
>>>> and mashed is a great idea for a hot comfort meal.
>>>>
>>>> For those who don't know, I'm talking about minced (ground) beef
>>>> cooked with a bit of onion, S&P, water, Worcestershire sauce, cooked
>>>> down to make a rather clear gravy.Â* Served over hot mashed potatoes.
>>>> Delicious!
>>>>
>>>> Jill
>>> Â*Â* We call a similar hamburger -basedÂ* dish SOS ... and the birds here
>>> are awesome this time of year . We've had as many as 15-18 pairs of
>>> Cardinals out there . Most so far this year is 7 males , didn't count
>>> the girls . We get a variety , todayÂ* - most days - we saw Cardinals ,
>>> White Throated Sparrows , Tufted Titmice , Dark-eyed Juncos , Carolina
>>> Wrens , Chickadees , Nuthatches , Red Belly Woodpeckers , Crows , and a
>>> Bluejay ... we go thru about 40 pounds of seed every 6 weeks , and keep
>>> seed and suet out year round . I'm really concerned about that
>>> Hummingbird , there are no insects this time of year and they need
>>> protein in addition to the nectar/syrup . We haven't seen a hummer since
>>> (I think) late September or early October . There is a guy/website that
>>> logs the northern migration in the spring , but nobody AFAIK keeps
>>> records of last sightings .
>> We get lots of regular visitors to our garden in Western Australia.
>>
>> We have a resident pair of these, they have three fledglings at the
>> moment.
>>
>> https://www.google.com.au/search?q=w...w=1340&bih=610
>>
>>
>> https://tinyurl.com/y7xsk6hp
>>
>> A pair of these is eating all the seed heads from my sunflowers
>>
>> https://www.google.com.au/search?dcr....0.WF-Gwbs5p7s
>>
>>
>> https://tinyurl.com/ycnxofzb
>>
>> We also have grey butcherbirds, magpies, ravens, three varieties of
>> honey eater, pink and grey galahs, rainbow lorikeets and the odd
>> kookaburra.
>>
>> A cloud of these little guys flies in every evening to bathe when I am
>> hand watering
>>
>> https://www.google.com.au/search?dcr....0.FXm-VWRKIms
>>
>>
>> https://tinyurl.com/y9doh5v4
>>
>> We live in the foothills with lots of bushland nearby so occasionally
>> we get one of these
>>
>> https://www.google.com.au/search?dcr....0.Yy05fZYPTkM
>>
>>
>> https://tinyurl.com/y7unq25a
>>
>> or one of these
>>
>> https://www.google.com.au/search?dcr....kdCNlT5fI 7Y
>>
>>
>> https://tinyurl.com/y7n9snfu
>>
>> JB
>>
>>
>>
> Â* Dude , y'all got some awesomely pretty birds down there ! Is your
> climate sub-tropical ?
>
He's in Australia. Of course it's sub-tropical. It's not winter
there, either, but heading into summer. Aside from great birds, they
have other cool animals such as koala bears. And wombats and kangaroos.
Things you just don't generally see in the northern hemisphere outside
of a zoo.

Jill

Jill