The Art of Observation

My older son, Jeffrey is a quiet observer. He notes things mentally - some of which he shares but most of which I believe he keeps inside his head. It isn't that he doesn't talk or express his interests - he'll do that quite gladly and in great detail on topics that occupy his fancy. But he has always been a private sort, and expressing his worries or doubts won't happen as readily as his excitement about everyday events. But he always observes.

Another one of his qualities is his steel trap-like memory. I can't remember where he gets that!

One of the bonus aspects of having an observant mind and a good memory is that he notes and recalls what people say in passing, and so he also has a tendency to give good gifts. Last year, I probably only casually remarked about how I had to borrow some of my neghbour's freezer space the previous summer, when we were buying back ribs on sale, in order to stock up for our summer Ribfest. Sure enough, that winter, my son played Santa and presented me with a chest freezer to keep in my basement. It's been wonderful to have that extra storage space, and this past summer, we we didn't need to rely on others to store the multiple packs of ribs.

Several of his gifts, both large and small, have been exactly what I've needed or wanted, and this year was no exception. Earlier this year, my printer died. In truth, it had never been all that healthy from the beginning. Jeffrey noticed that the splotchy text and red-tinged photos did not enhance his brother's school projects, or anything else. He observed and remembered, and presented me with a nifty new printer this past holiday season. It's working well. The colours are accurate, the print time is swift and I can finally buy separate ink cartridges for each of the colours that run out, as opposed to having to replace all colours when just one of them expires.

Jeffrey gave us another smaller, but wonderful gift this year. He knew that I had recently bought a bird feeder and was enjoying watching and photographing the birds that came to feast upon the seed within. The brightly-wrapped package revealed a suet basket and several cakes of suet to help attract different varieties of birds. It took some time until the winged critters found their way over to the basket though.

The first time I hung the loaded basket from a tree branch, it met with a quick demise. Strong winds wreaked havoc with the bird feeder, turning it askew which resulted in its entire contents being dumped on the snow, where a growth of weed and wild grass will probably emerge next summer. The basket was nowhere to be seen the next morning. Only a small length of the chain remained on the branch where it hung the day before. My guess was that the fallen item had been located by my neighbour's dog Raven, who has a penchant for gobbling up the bird seed that she encounters beneath the feeder several times a day. Later that day, my suspicions were confirmed when Benny trotted back from his early morning visit to Raven's yard, proudly carrying the empty suet basket in his mouth like a trophy.

Frank took to securing the basket with his second favourite fastener of choice (duct tape being the first, of course). He used twist ties to fortify the chain and to tighten the clasp, rendering it virtually impregnable to anything other than the birds which were meant to feed from it. And there it sat for a full week before it began to see some action.

On Saturday, a Downy Woodpecker landed in the tree, close to the basket. After flitting around for a bit, he decided to land on the basket and feast on the suet inside. I snapped a few pictures, but was unhappy about how they turned out. The day was dull and the images could not pick up enough light to adequately show off the markings of this small bird, and it was just out of range to make use of the flash.

A little later, I discovered that the Downy is not a particularly timid bird, and when he returned multiple times during the course of the day, I decided to edge my way closer to him, while he continued to peck away at his treat. He scarcely gave me a sideways glance as I slowly opened the double glass doors and eased myself onto its threshold. One more step in his direction, and click! I got the image I'd been hoping for.

I have Jeffrey's power of observation to thank for that.

This art of observation also comes in pretty handy when listening to and watching for birds. I hope you enjoy the photo of the Downy Woodpecker and the others that are posted below. Please click on the images to see them enlarged.

This beautiful little guy dined at the suet basket on and off, pretty much all day. Occasionally he'd try his luck on various tree branches but kept returning for a sure thing. His red cap tells us that it's a male.



Yesterday was clear and sping-like which prompted me to take a walk. I snapped this little sparrow sitting in a bush along the pathway of a nearby park.

After a fresh snowfall a couple of weeks ago, this sparrow landed on my backyard plum tree to wait his turn at the feeder.

A mourning dove and sparrow pick their way though seeds which were tossed on the table-top café.

This fluffy starling perches upon a snowy branch watching as others peck and feed.

The blue jays have become accustomed to expecting their morning peanuts, and I often hear them calling for them long before I'm ready to top up the feeder, and toss out some peanuts for squirrels and jays alike.

Benny watches intently as various birds and squirrels dine comfortably knowing that he's behind a closed door.

Three long seconds later, Benny tires of this bird-watching hobby and considers chasing a cat instead.

In a few days, I'll post some semi-recent shots taken at the park on a snowy night.