Monday, April 2, 2012

Hop, Hum, Rattle

Design - "Happy Bunny Bunny Day"
Designer - The Trilogy
Fabric - 32 count Dirty Belfast linen
Fibers - GAST & WDW 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 21 March 2012
Completed - 31 March 2012

I enjoyed working on this.  I really like the "pop" of the pink heart and pink flower buttons.

The last few days we've had showers, drizzle, rain, and downpours.
I got a nice series of a Rufous Hummingbird sitting on the Front Porch fence seeking shelter from the rain. 

Here he's shaking the rain off his wings. 

Oh his iridescent feathers - red, orange, yellow and green! 

Look closely and you can see some rain droplets on the top of his head.

He was not pleased with the weather conditions...

I told him it was far better than snow...

He didn't buy my argument.

We have Lift-off!

Friday evening my sister returned from a walk to tell me about a "New Bird" she'd seen at the Quarry Pond.  I listened to her description of the bird, and the bird call.  I consulted by bird books, and came up with a potential suspect.  Saturday morning we both tromped over to the Quarry Pond on the "New Bird Quest". 

We were rewarded!  A pair of Belted Kingfishers! 

While the female immediately flew off, the male hung around for five minutes of so.  He was very agitated - flying then alighting for a few seconds, then taking off, to alight somewhere new.  It was very difficult to take a photo as my the time I'd find him in the lens and begin to focus the camera, off he'd fly again.  

We are so pleased to have a pair nearby.  I've seen them before near the ponds between Eugene and Junction City - but that was years ago now.  Kingfishers are very territorial, requiring over 1/2 a mile of stream bed which they will defend against others.  They are a good sized bird - about 12 inches tall.  They plung headfirst into the water after fish and frogs.  Kingfishers nest in a burrow in a dirt bank near water laying 5-8 eggs.  The male "yelled" at us the entire time we were there.  He had a very unique rattling call.  Here's a link - click on the "rattle calls and scream by a pair of birds" to hear what we did.

11 comments:

Natasha said...

Beth, what c cute finish. Very sweet design. I have to say thanks for the help last week in identifying the mystery bird.Also the link you just posted today, very cool I have book marked it.

Lovely shot of the hummingbird. You take amazing photos of the birds

Have a great day

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Lovely to see the hummingbirds and how lucky you are to see the kingfishers too.

geeky Heather said...

Congratulations on the finish...the bunny and pink buttons are too cute.

We used to get an occasional kingfisher by the lake...they are a lot of fun to watch!

Margaret said...

I love your bunny finish -- so cute! The hummingbird is so pretty! I love hummingbirds. And how cool about the Kingfisher pair too!

Maggee said...

I'm Baaack!! Finished with the finances and taxes yesterday--end result was NOT good, but moving on! Did you report the Kingfisher sighting to one of the birding sites? They have to be something special!! I have not started the Happy Bunny bunny Day yet, but seeing yours may just bump it to the top of my list tonight!! I have read all your posts just not commented... but you know... they are my 'dessert' each time! Best for last! Hugs!

Unknown said...

Love your bunny and your birds!

Debbie said...

Beautiful photos! I love your Happy bunny!

Anonymous said...

Lovely!!! Lovely!! The bunny, the bird and all the noah's ark on the top! On sunday it seemed like we would need a Noah's Ark but lightnings and thunders seemed to have scared rain away!

Melanie said...

Super cute finish! I just love The Trilogy designs.

Patty C. said...

Love the Bunny ;)

Deb said...

Congrats on another finish! It turned out sooo cute!! I enjoyed the bird knowledge you shared today! So of the calls I heard sure did not sound like a bird. Very interesting.