Window Watching

It's that time of year when I spend considerably more time than usual watching "the watch."  

And, when one watches them watch, interesting situations and even "rare birds" may appear in the scene. 

I don't know who enjoys "the watch" more----the squirrel or the dogs, but I do know that after Bill and my watching the watchers yesterday, the squirrel would really like to be friends with either Kiwi or Foster.  

After Foster spent some in-house watching time with SQUIRREL, he went outside and watched some more.  As Bill was watching through the window at his desk, he summoned me over to join him.  

The squirrel and Foster were watching each other on ground level.  And, as I stood, there, the squirrel even came over toward Foster, halting at about two feet away. 

Foster just kept on watching, so the squirrel returned to the tree. 

As with most squirrels, ours is quite the acrobat.  So, we often enjoy our own version of "American Squirrels Have Talent," in the warmth of our living room.

As for Kiwi, she likes to divide her watching between the squirrel and the horses.  The horses don't mind, and they don't stare back like the squirrel.  

They just keep on eating but occasionally get reprimanded for some mysterious pasture infraction----maybe they're sticking their tongues out while nibbling grass.  

I don't know. 

After years of watching the dogs engage in these sudden but brief fenceline outbursts of growling and running back and forth several times,  I have yet to figure out what horses have done wrong. 

Anyway, as yesterday proceeded, watching outside action from within the living room got more interesting. 

I was talking on the phone and watching out the sliding glass door when a strange bird touched down at the feeder. 

I even interrupted my friend Helen, blurting, "What kinda bird is that?"  She didn't seem to mind or know the answer, so our initial conversation continued.  

Well, later, I was actually outside when I saw the strange bird again.  It took off from our kennel and flew over to the feeder, landing on the ground, scurrying around and making strange blowing sounds. 

I went into the house, grabbed my camera and prayed the the bird would hang around long enough for me to take a photo. 

It obliged. 

Later, while looking at the photos, I concluded I'd never seen a bird like that, but time did not allow me to thumb through the bird book.

So, this morning, I went on our class website and sought out information from my friend Terry (one of our region's most respected birders) and/or my friend Janet, who's watched a bird or two in her lifetime.

Well, Terry solved the mystery, and now I do know that a rather rare bird has visited the Lovestead.  And, another friend, Don Shaffer, seconded Terry's comments.  

Terry Gray This is a very lost bird. Looks like a Wood Thrush, a very rare visitor from eastern North America that lives in damp shaded deciduous woods. What a cool bird to have as a yard bird! This looks like a FIRST RECORD for Idaho and if it remains I am sure Birders are going to want to see this bird if it is ok to you???

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Terry Gray Oops. It is not a Wood Thrush but is a Brown Thrasher, still a very rare bird for north Idaho considered a rare 5 Species with only 3 - 10 accepted records and this may be the first record for the Idaho Panhandle.

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Don Shaffer Birds of North America page 226 describes a Brownthrasher..... Would appear to be rare in North Idaho.

Pretty cool what can happen while window watching.  So, the dogs and the humans around here are gonna keep up the winter fun.  

After seeing the "rare bird" yesterday, I remembered that it was Thanksgiving Day last year when the true blue jay showed up at the feeder and stayed for a couple of months.

So, I went to Co-Op and bought some peanuts, just in case it decides to come back for its Thanksgiving meal.  

If not, I'm sure the squirrel will happily perform for peanuts, and, for sure, we'll be watching! 

Happy Monday.