The News from South Philly

I can add "song sparrow" to the list of birds that have visited Chez Blanchard for a winter snack.

We're almost out of birdseed and it's snowing. I found a seed bell that I never hung and hung it over the weekend. Today I saw a bird on it and crept toward the window so that I could look at it more closely. Woo. Stripey breast. Woo, black spot where the throat meets the breast. Woo, yellow beak.

So that makes four species of avian visitors who are not the Unholy Trinity (pigeons, starlings, and house sparrows). We've seen migratory robins, cardinals, juncos, and now a song sparrow.

The juncos have become regulars and a male cardinal puts in the occasional cameo appearance. The robins only show up coming and going. I doubt the song sparrow will take up residence although I'd love to hear him singing as a nice change to the monotone "chirp chirp chirp" of the house sparrows. Even the trill of a house finch would be a nice change.

I also found a suet cake but not the suet cage. I've hung it in a mesh bag from the last batch of onions but so far no one seems to be snacking on it. That may change if/when the snow covers the seed I put out today.

Once again blooming well on Christmas Day, these are Schlumbergera truncata 'gold charm' (left) and 'Xmas flame' (right). I got mine from Whitton Greenhouses in April 2007.


EDITED TO ADD: There have been juncos in our little backyard for the past three days. I've started feeding the birds and trying to keep an extremely annoyed Scamp indoors.

Last night last thing I noticed that the Scamp had helpfully placed -- on the living room floor under the piano next to my little USB keyboard (where I keep it when I'm not using the ASUS), and precisely where I would want to use it if I happened to be keyboarding on the living room floor -- a dead mouse. I thought about photographing it, since on one level it's such a sight gag. But then I decided it was just too gruesome. Apparently all wasn't calm last night after all. Roy did the funeral rites, involving a paper towel and a trash can.