Sunday, 13 October 2019

Sunday Selections #450




Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme. 
This week I am reverting to type and featuring some of the birds who are regular visitors here.





Susan Kane adores the long-beaked corellas so these beauties are for her.



Some of the sulphur-crested cockatoosvandals will now eat from the bucket we take the seed out in.


The rainbow lorikeets used to be rare visitors to my city.  Some of them have obviously moved here (or escaped captivity) and are doing very well indeed.







The Spotted Turtle-doves were introduced to Australia over a hundred years ago (for food?) and have settled in well, particularly in the coastal areas (which we are not) of Eastern Australia.


 The Crimson Rosellas are yet another bird who welcomes the seed bucket.


The Eastern Rosellas are smaller (and shyer) than the Crimson Rosellas.  We love them.





I am finishing up with a pair of King Parrots who were looking through the kitchen window at us.  They start on the front veranda and, if they feel neglected, come round the back and make their presence felt.   

129 comments:

  1. The multi-hued and winged vandals are back! Love them all. So beautiful! Say hi to his Lordship Jazz for me. ;)

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    1. River Fairchild: The cockatoos are the only real vandals, but all of them are welcome. His high and spikiness thanks you.

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    2. River Fairchild: First - and second.

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  2. They are so beautiful! That rainbow one looks unreal. You are so fortunate to have such gorgeous creatures to admire. :-)

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    1. DJan: We are. Very, very lucky. It is just after first light here, and I am listening to their songs. And rejoicing.

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  3. What great shots of these beauties - and the thrill of hand-feeding probably never wears off, does it? Your patience has been fruitful :)

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    1. jenny_o: That thrill certainly doesn't evaporate. At all. Despite the fact that some of them can get quite demanding of 'their dues'.

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  4. laurie: Snow is an exotica here. It does fall not far away and occasionally in my city, but snow on the ground is something I rarely see.

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  5. Yay! Corellas! Thanks!

    Of course, all the other birds are exquisite.

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    1. Susan Kane: I am glad you stopped by for the corellas - who were here at first light but have moved out again. They will be back in the afternoon.

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  6. Beautiful birds. I've not seen my McDuck family for a few days...so I hope they're all fit and well and same in number!

    Have a great week, EC. I hope Jazz is doing fine. Has he set up a kitchenette in his closet yet? :)

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    1. Lee: I hope your duck family is doing well too. Jazz would like a kitchen in the wardrobe, but it won't be a happening thing. He is still a happy chappy, which is wonderful.
      I hope you and your furry overlords have an excellent week.

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  7. I just can't believe you have such beautiful colorful birds in Australia. I have never seen these in my life. Wow!!!

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    1. gigihawaii: We do have some beautiful birds, and this is a small selection. Mind you, I suffer from world-wide bird envy.

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  8. Is is simply amazing to have those parrots, lorikeets and cockatoos in your backyard. We have our fair share of wonderful species but I think that somehow you got the best of this deal!

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    1. David M. Gascoigne: My city is known as the bush capital which helps in attracting birds. Birds I am very grateful to see. Mind you, as I said in response to the comment above, I do suffer from avian envy. World-wide envy.

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    1. dinahmow: It is actually fairly clever. They are low in the pecking order, and out the front may miss out. They are the only ones who regularly appear at the kitchen window, so can (if we feed them) eat undisturbed.

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  10. Oh, those are such beautiful birds. If I lived there, I would surely have some as pets I think, for free to come and go. Especially the less destructive ones. I'm so glad that some are tame enough to eat out of feed bucket.
    Enjoy the new week.
    Hugs, Julia

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    1. Julia: We have some that eat from the seed bucket, and an ever increasing number who will eat from our hands. Which is lovely.

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  11. I meant, "free to come and go as they please"...

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    1. Julia: These come and go when they want. The king parrots have mostly disappeared at the moment (or at least the adults) because they breed in the hills. So have the Eastern Rosellas. They will be back - and welcomed.

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  12. Your avian visitors are all beautiful. You have certainly been very careful and patient, to have them trusting you enough to eat from the bucket (and sometimes from the hand, if I remember rightly).
    I wonder how long you can resist the calm insistence of the King Parrots outside your window :)

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    1. Alexia: A surprising number will now eat from our hand. One pair of King Parrots includes 'biter' who is happy to bite the hand which feeds her when her preferred seed runs out. I am not certain I want a cockies beak any closer than the seed bucket.
      The King Parrots do get fed out the back. Often.

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  13. I am so fascinated that they eat out of the seed can. What incredible experiences you have with these gorgeous creatures in your own back yard!!

    Lovely capturing of the experiences to share!

    XO
    WWW

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    1. Wisewebwoman: The numbers of birds who will eat from the seed bucket or our hand is growing. They decide, not us. And it is an incredible privilege when they decide they trust us enough.

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  14. Wow, what beautiful colourful birds, and what amazing photos! Around here most of our birds are what Hubby calls "LBBs": Little Brown Birds.

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    1. Diane Henders: We have a lot of lbjs too (little brown jobs). Mind you, when I stop at look closely at them they have a subtle charm all of their own.

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  15. I don't know if all the birds we now see in cities are here because our environment is better or they are driven to cities because of loss of habitat, food sources, nesting spaces and at the moment, drought. I hope it is the former.

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    1. Andrew: Sadly I think it is a combination of things. We have seen some yellow-tailed black cockatoos recently - who only venture into the city when food is scarce.

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  16. Lovely to see what birds are in other parts of Australia. Some real colourful characters indeed.

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    1. Gemel: Definitely colourful characters. Do you have a blog I can visit?

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  17. I love your birds *sigh* So colorful compared to the ones in my neck of the woods. I think the cardinals and the goldfinches are our most colorful.

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    1. mshatch: I really admire your cardinals and your goldfinches, but then I am a sucker for rather a lot of birds.

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  18. I especially like the rainbow lorikeets. They are their name; the rainbow part, at any rate.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: They are very, very pretty birds - and also bullies. They would like to join the birds we hand feed but we have discouraged it. If they could eat from the seed bucket or our hand no other birds would get a look-in. They often challenge (and defeat) the cockatoos who are much bigger than they are.

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  19. Such great pictures of colorful birds.

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  20. So many colors! I am amazed at how animals have adapted and marvel at anything rainbow-colored. How? Why? Fascinating. Thank you for the visual treat.

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    1. Bea: I am amazed at the way that, despite those colours, the birds can disappear into greenery.

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  21. So many beautiful birds EC. I love them eating from your bucket. I think your rainbow lorikeets might be from SA. We used to see crowds of them, now their numbers are far fewer. We still see dozens at a time when the trees have semi ripe fruits etc, but not the numbers we used to have. Too dry and too many trees being cut down maybe.

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    1. River: They were happy in Sydney too. I wondered whether our winters would get too cold for them, but they didn't appear to be bothered at all.

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  22. Gosh, those birds are so pretty. I love the King Parrots.

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  23. Dear EC
    I love all those beautiful rainbow colours - what stunning birds they are. As so many of the birds in my garden are brown, I get excited when I see a robin or bluetit! I can't imagine how I would react to the rosellas or King Parrots! Lovely photos as always.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. Ellie Foster: We never, ever tire of the birds and spend a LOT of time gazing out the windows at them. Brown birds, black birds, white birds, coloured birds - they are all a joy. Feathered enchantment.

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  24. Oh, to have such colourful creatures on your doorstep and take them for granted. Our little birds are very plain, apart from one or two, such as the robin of Christmas card fame. Many of our birds are gone, others drastically reduced in numbers, made extinct by chemicals used in farming and the destruction of their habitats.

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    1. lostinimaginaryworlds: Sadly our bird numbers are in decline as well for very similar reasons. Our drought is adding to the dangers for them as well.

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  25. The birds there are such incredible looking creatures. I am envious!

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    1. Marie Smith: We are lucky, but I do envy you (and others) plenty of your regular visitors.

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  26. Hey! I found some languishing photos for a Sunday Selection post! If one seeks they shall find!

    https://nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing.blogspot.com/2019/10/sunday-selections.html

    The bird pics are so lovely. Everything is beautiful ... in its own way. (maybe not a scorpion that lives behind the refrigerator)

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    1. nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing: I have seen (and really enjoyed) your Sunday Selections. Thank you so much for joining the fun. As a beauty addict I am so grateful that there is a LOT of it about.

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  27. Your birds are so colorful and beautiful! Here mostly at my feeder come the small birds--sparrows, chickadees and finches. I've had more birds than usual the last year. The chickadees were back early for the winter too. I love the King Parrots. Also the Rainbow Lorikeets.

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    1. Strayer: We see the smaller birds too, but they are mostly not seed eaters. There are plants in the garden for them though. I really don't have a 'favourite' bird but am so very grateful for the ones who visit.

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    1. Author R. Mac Wheeler: There is squeeeeeing here too. Regularly.

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  29. Such beautiful birds. The fact that they eat right from the seed bucket is awesome.

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    1. Mason Canyon: We are impressed too. And even more impressed when adult birds bring their families around to visit.

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  30. Such beautiful birds. Their colors are mesmerizing. (I have a few vandals around my house but all they do is make themselves comfortable and safe during the night, they poop all over the place, then leave at the crack of dawn. They also make nests in the strangest places, like the wire to the TV antenna.
    Still, I don't really mind. We coexist.

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    1. Myrna R.: We have more than one phantom pooper too. Scrubbing the veranda is a regular (self induced) task - and a small price to pay.

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  31. Hello and Happy Sunday … although it's probably Monday by now!
    Love all the photographs of the birds you've shared today. Many of them are so colourful, always a pleasure to see.

    Wishing you a good week ahead … I wish I could send you some of our rain! It's been rather a wet weekend!

    All the best Jan

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    1. Lowcarb team member ~Jan: It is indeed Monday (though relatively early). I wish you could send some rain too. Quite a lot of the country really needs it. I hope that your weekend was pleasurable anyway, and that your week is great.

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  32. OH the bird photos are back. Once again I am sitting here with bird envy, In the mornings I have a flood of bird activity in my yard. I am going to have to go listen to them and mentally tell them if they can't be gorgeous then I expect beautiful melodies.

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    1. Anne in the kitchen: I wonder whether if I go out and talk to ours they will learn to sing (melodiously). I can hear them as I type, but they are NOT harmonising.

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  33. Wow, you have a load of Parrots, beautiful little creatures.

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    1. Bob Bushell: They are. Some of them are quite big (the cockatoos), but all of them are definitely beautiful.

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  34. How wonderful it must be to wake up every morning and see those colorful birds. Right now I am looking out my window and all I see are some turkey buzzards circling the woods behind my house.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: While we are grateful, I would also love to see things that you do, like turkey buzzards.

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  35. I was admiring all the beautiful photos you showed of your walks in flowery gardens.

    I love to look at your colorful birds. Not long ago I read an article that upset me so, it said that outdoor cats kill about one billion birds+ a year in North America. My cat is kept indoor. Then there is the decline in bird population through the loss of habitat, pesticide, etc. We don’t have great birds like you have in your area.

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    1. Vagabonde: I am glad you enjoyed wandering in the gardens with me - and our colourful birds. Cats do indeed kill rather a lot of birds (and other things too). Jazz is largely an indoor cat now (he goes outside for half an hour or so some mornings). He is no longer interested in the hunt. I wonder whether cats or other things take out more birds? I do hope we can stem this tide of death.

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  36. Wow! You can't miss those birds!
    I have the remains of some little "armored tanks" at my animal blog today.
    Tiny Tanks
    Outdoor cats do decimate bird populations. Of course, I don't think this is an excuse to kill feral cats. People really need to take better care of their companion animals.
    Most of my cats have been strictly indoor, but I had this one who had been feral, and she didn't get along with the others. She always ran out around my feet when I would leave and I wasn't fast enough to catch her. She was a murder machine. She brought back birds, mice, baby rabbits. She was a very sweet cat with humans, but she didn't like other cats and enjoyed hunting the wildlife. She lived to be 17 years old.

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    1. The Real Cie: I will check out your armoured tanks very shortly.
      Some cats are indeed killing machines. A friend put an additional bell on her cats collar each time it killed anything. When it finally stopped (or stopped bringing things home) it had more than a dozen bells.

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    2. The Real Cie: Sadly the link failed and I got the message 'there is nothing here'.

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    3. I was messing around with the blog and may have screwed something up. Or my spank-tacular HTML skills may not have been so spank-tacular. Here's the link.
      https://animalanarchy.blogspot.com/2019/10/saturdays-critters-304-shadow-shot.html

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    4. The Real Cie: Thank you. I did track it down, and hope that others do too.

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    1. Powdered Toast Man: They are. I am not going to admit just how much time we spend each day watching them. Suffice it to say a LOT.

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    1. John Wiswell: They are. Shame that their characters don't match their looks.

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  39. Hi EC - love the photos - they're amazing ... but am glad you're still prepared to feed 'the vandals'! The photos have cheered my dank, grim morning ... I love the spotted turtle doves - really delightful to see. Take care and cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary Melton-Butcher: I am sorry you are having a dank and grim morning. Just the weather I hope.
      And of course we feed the vandals. And rather a lot of other birds. The spotted turtle doves are a relatively new visitor, and I enjoy them too.

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  40. lovely birds. I used to see the spotted turtle doves in the NW of Sydney as a child. We rarely see the Crimson Rosella and the Eastern Rosella is as you say shy. The Sulphur Crested and the King Parrots will come and beg to be fed and then the Rainbow Lorikeet will chase them off. Bullies as you say. Great images of yours. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Anna: The King Parrots are very low in the pecking order here, almost everything can (and does) chase them off. I was amazed to see the Rainbow Lorikeets challenging cockies though. They usually win as well. We have also see them shoo off currawongs. They punch well above their weight.

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  41. Tutti belli, i pappagalli li adoro.
    Buon inizio settimana.

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    1. Giancarlo: I am glad. I hope your week continues to go well.

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  42. That must be so great to see those beautiful, colorful birds every day, so cool☺

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    1. natalia20041989: It is. We are so grateful to live in a city they call home.

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  43. First of all, as always, you're photos are sooo good. Secondly, I would die (in a good way) if I had those parrots visiting me outside on a regular basis.

    Teresa

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    1. T. Powell Coltrin: Thank you. It is a little before dawn and I am already listening to the birds, and wondering who will arrive first.

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  44. WOW! So beautiful! Many of those birds are new to me - and they're spectacular!

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    1. Jemi Fraser: Aren't they lovely? And there are many more birds which I am not quick enough to capture.

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  45. Oh WOW...such gorgeous birds!!!
    They are spectacular indeed...😊😊

    Much love and hugs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

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    1. Ygraine: I am so glad that others appreciate them as much as we do. I hope your day is going well. Hugs - today and every day.

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  46. OMCod. These are just wonderful, but that first picture particularly stands out.

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    1. Sandra Cox: The bird folders on the PC are particularly numerous (and big). I don't think a day goes by when I don't aim the camera at them.

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  47. I admired birds flying free in the sky yesterday. They're such carefree tranquil creatures not beholden to anyone on our world. They seemed to be enjoying themselves as they swooped in circles through the fresh air with the sun beating down on their wings. No bills to pay, free housing across the globe, plentiful food. Oh the life of a bird, reminds me - I want to break free...

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    1. Spacer Guy: I wish their life was carefree, and the food plentiful. We are in severe drought here and are seeing birds we don't usually see as they expland their range in the search for food.

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  48. What a delicious color on the bird in this last photo.
    I saw quite a few doves in Greece, but I don't think they were spotted. If they were, I didn't notice. Shame on me. I wish I had your impressive eye and photography skills.
    Thank you for the colorfully uplifting start to my week, EC.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: I am always happen to brighten any part of your week (or day). Thank you.

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  49. Wow.. those are some beautiful birds!

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  50. Beautiful birds to match a beautiful garden! Your photos always lift my day up and make me smile. Thank you.

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    1. Nilanjana Bose: What a lovely thing to say. Thank you - and I am glad to produce smiles.

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  51. I always love finding you on some post I have never visited before. As for me we have finches and squirrels. Simple as they are, we still love them.

    Keep it up where ever you are.

    b+

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    1. Barbara Torris: Welcome and thank you. I would love to see finches and squirrels. Rather a lot.

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  52. I would be over the moon to see these beautiful birds in the wild. Thank you for sharing them.

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    1. DeniseinVA: Despite the fact that we see many of them every day, we still pinch ourselves in glee.

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  53. Just love all those birds. Wonderful photos to smile by.

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  54. Um mais belo que o outro.
    Apaixonante!
    Maravilha de post.
    Boa continuação de semana.
    Abraços
    janicce.

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    1. A Casa Madeira ~Jannice: Thank you. I hope your week is lovely too.

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  55. Awww - your feathered friends are beautiful!

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  56. Your parrots never fail to fascinate and you photograph so wonderfully. I hope you are feeling good...How is your resident feline? Hugs!

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    1. e: Thank you. I really, really like this camera. I am still feeling nauseous, but not as often. Jazz is doing pretty well I think (and is happy in the wardrobe at the moment.)

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  57. I’d love to come over there and hug this birds.
    They are beautiful.

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    1. Rick Watson: We look but don't touch, but I will admit to being tempted to stroke the ones which land on our arms. Very tempted. And yes, they are beautiful. Very beautiful.

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  58. To have such exotic birds right in your own yard, i know it's normal for you, it would keep me out there watching for a long time before i'd get used to it.

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    1. messymimi: We spend a LOT of time watching them, each and every day.

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  59. Wow! You are truly blessed to have such lovely birds all around you. Pretty amazing what we have in nature. Hugs, RO

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    1. RO: I am endlessly grateful for nature's bounty. I do hope your PC is better. Hugs.

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  60. I envy you for your colorful birds! How fun that they actually eat from your seed bucket - they don't seem to be shy at all. What seeds do you offer them? Just regular sunflower seeds or others?

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    1. Carola Bartz: Grey sunflower seeds are definitely favourits, but we feed a range of birds so they get a range of seeds. 'Wild Bird Mix' is how the produce store labels it.
      Some of the birds are shy, but I think that most do trust us - which is a privilege.

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  61. Oh WOW! These birds are breath taking! I would be outside all the time! I need a seed bucket! LOL! Thanks for the treat, in seeing all these amazing creatures! Big Hugs!

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    1. Magic Love Crow: We do spend a huge amount of time watching/pandering to the birds. We can see them from our lounge and from the kitchen and now feed them in both the front and the back yard.

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