wild animals

Starling rescued from our fireplace.

This starling fell down the chimney and into the fireplace. From a distance they are simply black, but up close you can see the irridescent green and purple of the feathers. They’re actually a very pretty bird.

Rescued starling ready to go.

He was dusty from the ashes, but otherwise unharmed.

Rescued starling; dusty, but unharmed.

I caught him and wrapped him in this cloth so I could safely carry him outside to release him.

Starlings also make good pets and can be trained to talk.

Hummingbird resting on a branch.

Earlier this year, I was worried when heavy snow fell the day after I’d seen the first hummingbird.

While I don’t know exactly what happened to the one I saw, we did end up with some nesting in the yard. I see them visiting the feeder and occasionally resting on the false spirea outside the window.

Hummingbird at the feeder.

I’m having a terrible time with ants in the hummingbird feeder. Even my no-fail petroleum jelly around the contact points has failed me — the ants walked right over it onto the feeder. Finally I gave up and now change the liquid sugar more frequently instead. Somewhere out on the lawn is the best fed ant colony ever.