The Holler Flaunts it’s Feathers~

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Ahhh, home at The Holler!

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I’ve told you before, The Holler is ‘for the birds.’
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And this is just how we like it!
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Check out the cheeky, chirpy ones.
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The beep-beep felt like a photo-op today,
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and even forgot to run away!
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He actually posed and beeped, vain meeper!
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The mocking bird was in modeling mode, although still a very coy boy.
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Cheers to you from The Holler and the world’s best neighbors~

231 thoughts on “The Holler Flaunts it’s Feathers~

  1. What a joy to enjoy these beautiful birds at home! Love all the captures, the second one has 8 there, Wow! Thank you so much for sharing with us, Cindy! 🙂

    1. Awwwww, thank you Amy! I count them too and have counted 12 at a time in that tree. We are surrounded at The Holler, different birds in different trees. I miss them when away.

      1. We have pomengranates all winter, and bugs galore, so the birdies are here in droves. We have 3 Great Horned Owls on our roof each night, a Bee Eater sleeps above our bedroom window, and of course the hummingbirds year round. It is indeed for the birds!

  2. Love the red-breasted finches. The roadrunner is an unusual sort. The poor mockingbird remains the sole object of James Taylor’s affection. I suspect you only go home to do laundry. 🙂 Keep taking those great photos.

    1. Laughing. I know it’s boring, but I have been home now for over six weeks and I have done lots of laundry! 😉 😉 I love mockingbirds! I’m with James on this. They are amazing mimics and they kill rattlesnakes when necessary. What’s not to love?

    1. Did you ever ride your bike as a kid with clothes-pins in the spokes to make that whirring sound? This is the sound they make most often and we wake to it in the mornings as they do their rounds.

    1. It rained for three days straight. It doesn’t end the drought by any means but it alleviates it. The bird baths are full of rain water, the creek is gurgling, and the meadows are turning green. The birds are in heaven. Even the sky was celebrating today!

  3. Thank you for your ongoing photographs of beauty, some scenes works of God, some of man, and all delivered to us so well done. Each type of scene has its own skill requirements, and you are well qualified for all. As for your feathered friends, either they know you well and like and trust you very much, or you are extremely patient. Those creatures have a sharp instinct regarding what you are about, and, as soon as you are to trip the shutter, they for or run away.

    1. They are smart little fliers but they live with us an so they know us. Their is a bee eater that sleeps above my window everynight. She comes in after sunset and settles in. I can walk around her and she won’t budge. Some birds like the hummingbirds and the roadrunners and finches are like pets. We have horned owls on the roof everynight and I come out and hoot with them when they call. We have a hoot at The Holler! 😉 😉

  4. I’ve so missed your posts on birds. And, while gazing at these, I actually forgot that we’re still in the middle of winter! These cuties really brightened up my day. Thanks Cindy! ~Lynn

    1. I’ve miss the birds big time when I travel especially when I am at places that don’t have many, and I am always looking for them. Like you Lynn, I am definitely happier wherever there are birds. <3

    2. Lynn,
      I just finished this article and felt a strong need to get it to you. I know it will resonate with you as it did with me. I wish I had your email and will see if I can find it via wordpress. I have a paper copy of the article if you would like one.
      I think this is quite important. Please let me know you received it.
      I hope you are well my friend.
      Take care,
      Cindy

      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/mag

      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/mag

  5. I adore birds! A pair of doves live in our pomegranate, plus several others visit during the day – and night, though we haven’t seen the owl since the blood moon – and were very disappointed not to get a photo of it as it sat on our antenna.

  6. Cindy, it seems we both are drawn to areas with only the best neighbours. 😉 We have many owls just across the river from my house. As you know one of the wee ones visited us last year and such a treat. We are close enough to the Mediterranean to get seagulls which I personally adore and egrets… Like the Hollar, this place is for the birds! 😉

      1. I wondered when you would have had enough of glorious Europe to find you way home. Believe it or not, I spent most of my life being a city kid including 6 years in NYC. I never thought I would live in such a place and the second I saw it, I knew I was home! 🙂 😉 Bonne année et bonne santé! 😉

  7. Cindy, these birds are so beautiful!
    I think I will try to draw them.
    Lately, I have been enjoying drawing and coloring animals, especially birds. I think they’d be great models! 😀

  8. Thanks. I’ve been deleting photos — thousands that I’ve decided have “issues” of one kind or another and just keeping the ones I love. I hesitated last night over a photo of some finches before I finally hit the delete button — mostly because I wasn’t sure if I had another photo of them and they are so cute. But in the end I let them go. I was quite pleased this morning to turn on my computer to find that I now have your lovely finch photos to admire. 😀

    1. I deleted photos from my blog inadvertantly which was not a happy event, but I do delete photos intentionally too. One cannot keep all of them. I know it is tedious and hard to do so you have my empathy. <3

      1. I did that once on my blog too. These are ones I have on my computer. I’m low on storage though on the blog so the deletion of some photos there is going to have to be the next project. 😀

    1. Of course. I didn’t think of this. Seriously, I think you may be right. I have surprised two coyotes mid-day recently right where the roadrunner was. It makes sense he was using me for protection. Or else he as just too curious. They are dedicated people watchers. I think they have people watching clubs.

  9. The little guys remind me of here, of home, but the roadrunner with its mouth open really caught me. I could only wonder what it was saying, or should I say shouting? 🙂 –Curt

    1. He was definitely annoyed at something, but I couldn’t see what. It will remain a mystery. I have seen roadrunners go after 6 foot snakes and run with huge lizards half swallowed, hanging from their mouths, they are tough little birdies!

      1. Defenerably a word.

        Incidentally I’ve been meaning to mention, a WP screw up. Your replies to replies do not appear in a persons notifications unless you increase “Discussion settings / Other Comments Settings / Enable Threaded (Nested).Comments n levels deep. It’s a little bug that effects everyone. poo 🙂

      2. Thank you for the heads up about WP. Will look into it. And yes Beatles songs are iconic. When my kids were traveling together in Japan, they happened into a Karaoke bar, where the patrons wanted my daughter to sing Hey Jude, and then more and more Beatles songs. Which she did. She is quite good. The whole bar sang along. Knew the lyrics to all the songs. They took both kids home dressed my daughter in a treasured old family Kimono with the socks and elevated shoes, the traditional hair, and took them as honored guests to The Cherry Blossom festival, all because she knew Beatles songs by heart. It is an international language.

    1. I swear they do pose and they like me paying attention to them instead of the hummingbirds! I have so many photos of them cocking their heads at me as if to say, “Aren’t we cute too?”

      1. It is wonderful, especially if you get one of the mimics in the midst who confuses them all with birdsong they have never heard. We have birds in the spring that imitate human sounds. Wonderful!

      1. I imitate so many bird calls now from living at The Holler. I talk with the Great Horned Owls, The Ravens, The Red Tails, and The Mocking Birds. The mocking birds are fun because they imitate new sounds and the owls love long nightime conversations and sometimes a rival owl will swoop by my head at night, checking out the potential competition!

  10. Bonsoir Cindy Que sait joli
    Un regard, un sourire et une main
    Chaleureuse sur l’épaule
    Valent mieux qu’un million
    De mots ou de phrases
    Ce que sent le cœur est plus profond
    Que ce qu’entends l’oreille
    Je te remercie d’être là par ton amitié
    Je te souhaite une belle fin de semaine
    Un agréable week-end
    Avec de la joie et du bonheur au sein de ta demeure
    Bises, amitié
    Bernard
    Ce jour chez moi quelques flocons de neige sans plus

    http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/120050bonnesoire.gif

  11. Such wonderful photos! I really enjoyed the road runner – we used to see them all the time when we lived in Southern California, but they’ve largely disappeared with the population and housing explosion.

    1. The year round hummingbirds are doing very well, mostly Annas and things are quite peaceful. I thought I would showcase some other feathered friends for a bit, but the hummer will be baaaaack! 😉

    1. I’m getting some more for you, woodpeckers, western blue birds, western jays, there are whole bunches of species I am working on in our oak groves. I wonder why I never did this before? I put chairs in different areas and am amazed at what I am seeing!

  12. How did you catch that beep, Cindy? I am so envious of your skills. We have few roadrunners around us and I am always chasing them but never get a decent shot. What are the little birds?

    1. It is entirely up to the roadrunner. When he decides he wants some photoplay, he’ll pose. Ours have been posing a lot lately, but certainly not much before this! I would suggest ignoring the roadrunners when you are out and about. This offends them and they come closer! 😉 They are hilarious. The little guys are house finch.

      1. Does that work with handsome guys, too? 🙂 I will try ignoring them and see what happens. I have seen the house finch before but didn’t recognize them although the beak is distinctive.

  13. I have to wonder how those little guys allow you get close enough that they don’t flinch, and some of them look as though they’re striking a pose, lol. Beautiful photography Cindy. <3

  14. The birds of a feather are wonderfully caught in your lens, Cindy. They charm me and give me happy feelings. You are so kind to share with us and spread the joy so far and wide. 🙂

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