BeePeeking - Blog

Winter Solstice * Varied Thrush

12/21/2020

We were ecstatic to see this bird in our backyard yesterday, and doubly thrilled when he showed up again today to scratch and forage underneath our manzanita. This robin-sized thrush sports a blazing orange head stripe and neck plumage, the black "scarf" around it's chest really sets off the colors. We have not yet seen Mrs. Varied Thrush this year, but hope that this lovely guy brings her to visit!

Varied Thrushes breed in dark understories of humid evergreen and mixed forests along the Pacific Coast. In the winter, many move into dense parks, gardens, and backyards. Varied Thrushes are rare but regular winter visitors to the Upper Midwest and Northeast. All About Birds

Sirens of Mythology not mermaids but bird women!

12/20/2020

WHAAAAAAAAT?
According to Ancient Greek mythology winged and clawed bird-women lured sailors to destruction through the power of their song...How and why did these monster bird women get transformed into sexy mermaids?

"Avian symbolism in the Greek imagination was relatively common. In ancient mythology, birds were used to represent everything from oracles, enchantresses, messengers of deities, and mediators between the human world and the supernatural realm." C. Hastings 2/11/19

Intrigued? Check out Audubon's Sirens of Greek Mythology were Birds not Mermaids and
this from Vice: Sirens Are Actually Bird-Bodied Messengers of Death, Not Sexy Mermaids

Keep Asking Questions!

owls & Woodpeckers

12/1/2020

In addition to our backyard birding, we go for walks as often as possible in the Washington Park Arboretum-three times in the past two weeks we've had barred owl sightings.

In an aging maple tree across the street from our house, we enjoyed watching a male pileated woodpecker at work. This bird kept three 2-year-olds enraptured for over an hour!

And yesterday, we had a downy woodpecker for the first time visit our suet offerings. I really love this time of year.

Photo credit: WhatBird.com

November Birdfeeder Watch

11/1/2020

Western Scrub Jay ©NPR

It never fails to impress me how quickly the birds in our neighborhood discover that we've put out our squirrel-proof feeder filled with black sunflower seeds and our blocks of chili-spiced suet. Yesterday morning we were treated to nine species while we were enjoying our coffee: a pair of Spotted Towhees, two Stellar Jays, two flickers, a banditry of chickadees, a bustle of bushtits, some Oregon juncos, a song sparrow, one Bewick's Wren, and a couple house finches. We also had our first visit from a Western Scrub Jay last week. Hooray for birds!

Spotted Towhee ©Mick Thompson

Song Sparrow ©All About Birds

Sweater Weather/Calendar Art

10/21/2020

©Dan Wiemer "The Wise One"

©Geninne Zlatkis

Smokey Seattle

9/14/2020

A thick plume of smoke is beginning to blanket Puget Sound for the weekend. It is eerily quiet and I have seen no birds. The sun did not come up today, not even the red ball that we could see through the haze yesterday. It is a sickly yellowish and thick looking sky, i.e. something out of a dystopian movie. The levels of pollutants is in entering the very unhealthy-hazardous range. This, on top of everything...and for us it is just smoke, not raging wildfires, in our backyards.

Another week of this before we get a bit of rain to reboot our atmosphere which means no going for my daily walk or tending my garden---because it's too dangerous to be outside breathing the air! until then...quarantine within the quarantine. Sigh.

I am knitting to soothe my soul and enjoying catching up on some good reads, including:

To find out what Annabelle is knitting-click here

A Natural History of Fairies

9/1/2020

Book Review:
I was delighted to have the opportunity to preview A Natural History of Fairies by Emily Hawkins and illustrated by Jessica Roux. A Natural History of Fairies takes these elusive creatures into a truly wondrous realm with scientific information presented in a playful manner--a cross between Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies and The Magic Schoolbus.

The Natural History of Fairies is presented as the field journal of Aunt Elise, a botanist who traveled the world from 1890s-1920s. Under the guise of learning about fairies, readers are drawn into the very real and varied natural histories of a host of flora and fauna. We are treated to scientific drawings, observational charts, and notes as we are given a peek into the lives of fairies.

The Natural History of Fairies reminds us that we need to be aware of how our actions impact the natural world, and it does this without being cloying or pedantic. Instead, it invites fairy-finders to enjoy the beauty and wonder that is hiding in their backyards and neighborhoods. This book will entice you to venture into the magical realm.

The Natural History of Fairies will be published soon, on September 29...so, since I cannot share images, here are two other fairies I have loved: the Blackthorn fairy by Cicely Mary Barker and an update version of the classic midsummer eve by Edward Robert Hughes.

Satin Bowerbird

8/22/2020

We do not have Satin Bowerbirds in our neighborhood, but they are distant cousins of our crows and ravens. I am entranced by their bower building and use of color to attract a mate.

Satin Bowerbird by Bert Kitchen :: from And So They Build

The bowerbird especially loves the color blue and will make use of discarded bottle caps and plastic straws, as well as toothbrushes, clothespins, and other garbage. An amazing bird that is able to turn trash into art .

Australian printmaker Rachel Newling has lovely linocuts and engravings; while looking for artistic rendering of bowerbirds, I came across her flying foxes...she has cards available too.

Lúnasa 2020=Sláinte

8/1/2020

Today is Lughnasadh, the beginning Gaelic harvest festival which historically was observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. I will be celebrating by tidying up my garden boxes, harvesting the last of my spring kales and Swiss chard, and replanting for the fall season.

Where did July go? Our mornings included drinking coffee on the patio and enjoying our resident Spotted Towhees, Bewick's wrens, and hummingbirds--(not so much the antics of the voracious and vociferous fledgling crow who continues to create endless ruckus).

Sláinte!

Photos: August calendar by Linnea, super-tiny cilantro flowers (whose centers turn into amazingly large coriander seeds!), and our manzanita (Arctostaphylos) Towhee playground

Pollinator Week 2020

6/22/2020

Pollinators I have loved,
and this t-shirt seems especially poignant these days.
How many different pollinators can you find in your backyard and neighborhood?

Want to know more about migratory pollinators?
specifically nectar-feeding bats and Monarch butterflies... Me too!
The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides is offering a free webinar on
Monday, June 29 1pm PDT---
see you there!