Monday, March 24, 2008

Bird Pictures and Lantana Update

We had beautiful sunshine this morning and even though our highs were only supposed to be in the lower 40's, it felt warm enough for me to have my morning coffee on the patio. I have so missed doing that. Being right beside the common area/playground, early morning is the only time I truly get peace and quiet in the yard. The birds were singing and there was quite a bit of courting going on.

There are quite a few robins here at Robin's Nesting Place this year. I went outside this afternoon to piddle around but it was a little cloudy and too cool to stay out long. I did take a few minutes to pull up some scraggly lamb's ear that had been spreading out of control. I saw a lot of earth worms, so the robins should have plenty to feed their young.


The goldfinches are beginning to molt and will soon be sporting their bright yellow plumage. A sure sign of spring. I adore the sweet sound of the goldfinch, I'll be glad when I can raise the windows to hear it better. I have several feeders with nyjer seed in them, so I was surprised to see this little cutie come to the patio to eat the black oil sunflower seeds that I put out for the cardinal.


I was elated today when I checked my winter sowing containers and saw a sprout in the lantana container. I hope it survives and that more will sprout. The seeds I had inside were a complete bust, because the gnats really liked the peat pellets since they had molded, I have them sitting out on the patio, but I don't really have much hope for them. This was just an experiment, because lantana is very difficult to grow from seed. I will consider it a success if I just get one plant from the seeds I collected.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend.

23 comments:

kari and kijsa said...

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

blessings,
kari & kijsa

Phillip Oliver said...

One of my favorite things about gardening is being around the birds. Today I was out working and a rather noisy redbird kept me company. He was singing up a storm. I love the goldfinches. I think they are so pretty.

Kylee Baumle said...

I love the goldfinch photo! I've seen some just like yours around here, too, but not so I can get a photo.
I didn't know that lantana was hard to grow from seed. I have a lot of seed and I've not done anything with them yet. I guess maybe I shouldn't expect much from them, eh?

Aiyana said...

You are right about Lantana being difficult to start from seed. Fortunately it's so common here that it's cheap! Beautiful bird photos.
Aiyana

Jayne said...

Love all the bright colors of the birds as they get into breeding plumage. Beautiful photos Robin. :c) Hope you all had a wonderful Easter as well.

Frances, said...

Robin, your bird and flower photos are superb. Lantanas are annuals here in TN, but are cheap and available in lots of interesting color combinations and flower all season. Good luck with your seedling!
Frances at Faire Garden

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Robin !
Beautiful pictures of the birds and plants .. the Cardinals are such a bright red, it always amazes me to see them. We can't wait to see the Goldfinches back at our garden .. but not for another 6 weeks probably .. it is snowing this morning .. BIG sigh !
Joy

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a wonderful Easter. I have noticed the goldfinches eating the sunflower seed also. They ate the thistle seed all winter, but over the past few weeks they have been eating the sunflower seed. I wonder why that is?

Unknown said...

Good news about the lantana, Robin, but even nicer to see the birds and their brightening foliage. I smiled at the thought of coffee on the patio/deck--I was thinking the same thing this morning, but it's about 20 degrees F /-5 C here this morning, so we're a ways from that. However, there's warmth in the sunlight and the goldfinches are brightening here too, so hope springs eternal.

Connie said...

I always enjoy your bird photos ...they are so clear and colorful!
The Lantana is really pretty, have never tried growing it, but may have to put it on the list for 'next year'. :-)

Amy said...

Gorgeous photos! I love having birds in the garden too - as many as possible!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I am with you Robin in regards to missing being outside with my morning tea. I like to be out when the traffic hasn't got ramped up yet and it is so quiet you can hear the birds singing.

No wonder lantana is so expensive to buy plants if it is difficult to grow by seed. Good luck with yours. I hope you get more than one plant for all your efforts.

This is a beautiful picture of lantana. You are such a good photographer.

Diana said...

Wow, Robin, those are great bird photos. I've never seen a finch molt. We had our first yellow one this weekend, so I must have missed the molting part. Your lantana picture is so vivid. I wish you luck with your seeds. They are great plants and flower here for months and month.

garden girl said...

Lisa, I just want to add my voice to the chorus - you take such beautiful photos.

garden girl said...

Duh, I'm sorry! Robin, I meant. I commented right under Lisa, maybe that's why I slipped.

Anonymous said...

Robin, amazing photos and I love the colors the goldfinch are starting to flash! Great to see the cardinal and robin!

Anonymous said...

Your birds are so cheerful looking with their bright feathers. And of course lantana never fails to look like a confetti parade. Nice spring pics.

Marie said...

What a wonderful post! I love birds!

I wish you a nice Tuesday :)

Sue Swift said...

I fiond lantana difficult full stop. It clearly doesn't like my balcony and always dies :(
I am so, so envious of your birds. From the balcony i can occasionally see crows, blackbirds, sparrows, great tits, pigeons and robins. And that's it. Full stop. And they're too shy to actually come onto the balcony during the day. I suspect somebody does around dawn though. Otherwise, who is it that keeps having a dust bath in the containers and throwing the earth all over the balcony floor?

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

I love lantana, Robin, and am praying my Dallas Red comes back to life after winter. Usually I end up replacing most of them but I'm hopeful that a new wintering plan may save them this year. We'll see! Love your bird shots! Debi @ GHT

archivesinfo said...

great image!

Anonymous said...

The flower photo is very nicely done.

Kristin said...

I'm moving to Indiana next week and trying to figure out what to grow. Love your floral pictures of peonies a few posts back. Gives me hope that Indiana is a floral paradise!