Feathery Friends; Our Local Birds #SundayStills

I never thought about birds and how much time I’d spend watching them once I retired. In fact, bird watching as a hobby seemed silly back when I was in my 20s and 30s. In my book, it fell in the same category as stamp or card collecting. Who has time for time consuming hobbies anyways? Yet, these days, it’s a perfect past time! It’s a quiet hobby where you can be outdoors, just watching, searching, and of course snapping pictures.

I won’t qualify as a bird watcher (yet), but when a screech, a flap, a song hits my ears, my eyes always seek out the source.

Our Local Warbler

This is the first summer I’ve seen the warbler’s in the yard. The bright yellow is eye catching. If the warbler wasn’t so colorful, I’d never see it. It is small and when it flies it looks like a yellow bullet.

One particular warbler got confused and was on our deck. He was flapping his wings up against the door. When I appeared he froze in place (hence the nice close up iPhone pics). He could move and did not appear injured. I left him in peace and he eventually flew off. I suspect, he was attracted to the large window in the door and I just got lucky to catch him trying to find a way through it.

Our Local Robin

We’ve only been in Idaho 5 years; initially part time and now full time. Robins have been showing up every season. They love the yard after the sprinklers run and love to hang out in the trees. Recently, we added bird feeder in the trees. We either have a unpopular spot for the feeder or unpopular seed as we’re not getting any visits.

Owls

This beauty is one of my favorite captures. Last fall we stayed out at the now sold California property to handle repairs and general yard upkeep. We’ve had owls living in the trees surrounding us for several years. I determined I can spot an owl in the orchard in the early evening which must be hunting time. Just as I finished taking a few photos of the owl I’d seen flying through the orchard, I turned around and was face to face with owl number 2. Although I was closer to the owl than he preferred, he just watched me as I continued to snap away.

Traveling to Austin

We head out to Austin for regular family visits. Turkey vultures love this area in Austin, TX. They are all over the neighborhood on fences and chimneys by day and roosting on the electric power transmission towers by night.

Being winter time frame, everything is brown and gray including the vultures. Fortunately, this single red bird came by to brighten my afternoon.

Til Next Post

What feathered friends do you have around and are you also enchanted with watching birds? Here’s a few older bird related posts.

About the Photo Challenge

A weekly themed photo challenge hosted by Terri. Check out her Blog and come back to visit for more SundayStills and traveling posts!

More Sunday Still Posts

Thanks for visiting our Retired Life & Travel blog and I hope you enjoyed finding the #SundayStills Challenge. You can join the weekly challenge by visiting our hosts blog Second Wind Leisure. and checking out Terri’s post for this week, Fine Feathered Friends.