Tales from the Hide - Yard Bird #18

I may have mentioned that I was hoping to use my new hide to get some shots of the very skittish red-winged blackbirds who've been visiting for the past few weeks.  As luck would have it, not only did I get some passable shots, but the individual bird is one who is familiar to me.  

Last spring and summer, I was visited nearly daily by a male red-wing with what I thought was a patch of feathers missing on his right side.  As spring turned to summer, the whitish patch of feathers never went away, so I reached the conclusion that he'd either been injured or had some leucism.  Imagine my surprise (and delight) when what appears to be the same male showed up about 2 weeks ago in the yard!  So how perfect that he should be my representative for Yard Bird #18 this year.  Because the females look so dramatically different than the males, I'll eventually post a second #18 showing the lady of the species.

Hubs and I slept late this morning.  In fact, seems that everyone in the house slept late.  SIL made blueberry pancakes for all of us which was a lovely treat.  Then, Hubs and I enjoyed a nice long chat with Mom and Dad.  Then, off to run some errands which included purchasing a new vacuum to replace the one that just recently died.  No excuses now for not vacuuming...

After all of that, I set my hide up on the deck and spent an enjoyable hour tucked inside with tripod, chair, camera and tea.  The deck is somewhat protected so I didn't have the challenge of the hide trying to blow away.  

A lot of you have asked about the hide, so I thought I'd include a link HERE, describing it in detail.  It's available through Amazon in the US; not sure of availability in other countries, but would imagine it's not difficult to find.  It is about 5 feet by 5 feet inside, very spacious.  In fact, perhaps too spacious for just me.  But I kind of like having room to move around.  There are zippered openings on every side which is great for keeping an eye open for different birds...and bears.

Oh, and Hubs and I have decided to take advantage of a last-minute travel deal on a cruise to the Panama Canal, leaving April 1.  Yay!

xo
Debbi