Bird watching - Sunday Stamps

When I stay at my daughter's home I always have a field guide, "Birds of Michigan" with me.

This time, while we were there, the bird we saw most frequently was the Blue Jay.

Unfortunately it does not appear on this series of stamps from the USA.

USA - Song Birds

Of these I have only ever seen, not this time, an Eastern Bluebird and the American Goldfinch.

I will have other birds to show you on stamps in two weeks time when Viridian is setting us birds again as the theme.

To see what others have chosen for this week's 'anything you wish' visit Sunday-Stamps-196.

A-Z Challenge 2013 - 'J'

My A-Z posts this year are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies - with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat somewhat – a sort of wish they were here.

J – Jackdaw, Jay, Juniper, Jack, Jasmine

There is a bird who, by his coat,

And by the hoarseness of his note,

Might be suppos’d a crow;

Jackdaw

 The famous poem, The Jackdaw of Rheims, ends with the jackdaw being made a Saint; however in a much earlier Conclave than the recent one for the selection of Pope Francis.

The Conclave determin’d to make him a Saint;

And on newly-made Saints and Popes, as you know

It’s the custom, at Rome, new names to bestow,

So they canoniz’d him by the name of Jem Crow!

 When at my daughter's home in Michigan:

Blue Jay

The Jaybird he's my favourite
Of all the birds they is!
I think he's quite a stylish sight
In that blue suit of his:

But as you can see the jays we see in the local woods are not blue at all. Often all you see is the flash of their white rump as they disappear in the trees.

Many of you will know the English nursery rhyme –

Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
So early in the morning.

However I’ve just learnt that in Scandinavia the ‘mulberry bush’ is replaced with a:-

Juniper Bush

Somehow I get the feeling that Jack would find that rather tiring.

Jack at rest

 This year he will have a long wait to see this climber flowering:-

Winter Jasmine

Poems:

• The Jackdaw – William Cowper
• The Jackdaw of Rheims – Richard Harris Barham http://www.bartleby.com/246/108.html
• The Jaybird – James Whitcomb Riley
• Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush – An English nursery rhyme and singing game.

Photo attribution:

• Winter Jasmine – Wildfeuer – CC BY-SA 3.0

Birds on Sunday Stamps

I'm pleased to be able to rejoin Viridian's Sunday Stamps now I am back in the UK. This week's theme of  'Birds' has given me a problem as I have over 50 bird stamps.

In 1966 Great Britain issued a set of four stamps of which I can present just two, I'm missing the blackbird and the robin.

Black-headed Gull & Blue Tit (1966)

Later issues included waterbirds - again I have two of these.

Dipper & Puffin

 The puffin stamp was issued to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Society for Protection of Birds. The puffin colonies in the UK are threatened by the reduction in availability of sandeels, their staple food.

Another bird whose numbers are decreasing as a result of modern farming methods is shown on my next stamp.

Lapwing (also known as the peewit)

Becaause I've been on holiday in the USA I ought to show some of their stamps. The first one below is a favourite of mine.

Pelican

I have still to research the details about the Pelican Island refuge.

Blue Jay & Ring-necked Pheasant

Finally for this week I must include the stamp commemorating a famous man who painted birds, John James Audubon (1785-1851).

 

You may read all about him and the Audubon Society at John James Audubon You can also follow the Audubon Society on Facebook if you wish.

For more bird stamps visit Viridian's sunday-stamps-27

Birding in Michigan

Despite my daughters dogs I have managed to catch a few birds at the bird feeder and in the grounds all within 50 yards of the house. The drawback has been that most of the birds are on the ground.

I suppose that I have to show the Michigan State bird first:

American Robin

This frequent visitor to the bird feeder is more colourful than the British Jay:

Blue Jay

The most brightly coloured visitor is this red bird

Cardinal

I'd really like to get better pictures of the Cardinal and the Red Winged Blackbirds but I cannot get close enough:

Red Winged Blackbirds

The picture does not do them justice they look much better in flight..

My last shot is of a bird on top of its nest box.

Tree Swallow

It has young birds in the nest which have no feathers at all at this stage. We don't have tree swallows in the UK; our swallows would not use a nest box like this