Hi Y’all!
Last week and early this week were insane! Nothing but rushes and surprises at every turn and moment! But, today I’m busy answering your questions, so I’ll safe that story for another post…
Last week’s Barks brought this question…
“Hawk, are J and mate nesting anywhere near you this year? That's a nice pic of a cardinal too. Really appreciate the shares of life and color :-)”
Where we live is a protected area for wildlife. These geese and a number of others are “locals” and nest here.
About the following picture I got this remark…
Janet Keefe said...
“You have Northern Cardinals down there too? We have had a pair here all winter. I guess they are very versatile, weather-wise!
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets”
We have Northern Cardinals. They are especially welcome for their color in the winter. Most of the eastern U.S. birds pass this way during their migration.
Now regarding the banding, let me post Sand Springs Chesapeakes comment…
“Hawk I just read about using the neck bands in the last edition of Wildfowl mag. They now are wondering if it is worth the volunteers time to do the banding as it seems people are just out to get the banded ones and stalk them to get them. Sad :(. You are handsome as always and can't wait to see your fitness and beautiful post. I just finished mine up”
My Human read about hunters targeting the orange banded birds because those bands are so easily spotted. I suppose some hunters like to collect the bands. It does seem as if killing the banded ones intentionally would skew the record keeping.
Now, on the the “See Beautiful” post last Saturday…
“Beautiful flower shots. I'm not sure what the food was, but it looked pretty good”
“Is that shrimp-n-grits? My hubby loves them! You live in a beautiful place, must be south of us. Here in VA we have daffodils but the azaleas are just not quite in bloom yet.”
Most of y’all who commented recognized one of my Human’s favorite breakfasts…or lunch, or supper…Shrimp and grits! Some of y’all may never have tasted them. The egg on top is because this is breakfast.
If my Human is makin’ them for breakfast, she gets up super early to put the grits on the stove to cook for hours before eating. She buys the grits from a local grain mill.
The other questions was…
“Spring has sprung Hawk? Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly”
Spring is tryin’ to spring, but Mother Nature keeps throwin’ a curve ball. The ice storm really nipped some of the buds.
Now let me resolve all the befuddlement on Sepia Saturday…
It started on Friday when I said “stay tuned for what I retrieved”…Then on Sepia Saturday I posted…
And y’all had this to say…
“What is that Hawk? Is it a shoe?
Have a super Saturday.
Best wishes Molly”
“What is that Hawk? Is it a decoy duck. It do taste a little bit like duck I think”
“What did you retrieve, Hawk? It looks like a duck, and you look awfully proud!
--Woofs (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats”
“GREAT close up photo....it is so clear!
I don't know what you have in your mouth though, I thought it was a fish at first, and maybe that was what you retrieved yesterday! :)
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets”
“Decoy? Practicing in sepia? Haha!
Always love your beautiful close up shots!!Have a great sepia Saturday!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!”
“Hi, Hawk. You look good in sepia. Is that a shoe you're chewing on?”
“Whoa that's a nice close up. You rock the Sepia as always. Although I am still trying to figure out what you're holding in your mouth! Thanks for linking up!”
Sand Springs Chesapeakes exclaimed…
“Beautiful photo, you got to play with your dokken, whoo hoo”
A quick bit of history regarding the term dokken…Dokken is actually the name of the man who invented the training dummy, Tom Dokken.
Dummies come in the size and shape of smaller birds, like our surviving duck, or larger birds such as geese.
Dummies are used to get a dog used to the size and weight of the birds they will be retrieving. Scent is put on them to get the dog used to the smell. If my Humans still went hunting with me the dummies would be fired from a dummy launcher to simulate the actual flying duck. My Human probably would use a starters pistol to simulate shooting the duck.
After retrieving bumpers I get to retrieve the dokken as my reward! I love retrieving it!
Now to black and white Sunday’s post “Crow”…
“Wonder what he was up to Hawk?
Have a serene Sunday and let us all get on some big easy today.
Best wishes Molly”
“Either an egg or a golf ball? I like crows! We have more of their annoying little cousins down here - grackles..”
“What in the world is he carrying? Looks like a ping pong ball...Actually I like crows because they are so intelligent. It always seems like they are up to something!”
“Happy Sunday, Hawk! Sorry I haven't been around in a while...it's been crazy-busy around here. What is that crow up to? Is that a golf ball in its mouth?!? BOL
Oz”
“Did he steal your ball? I would have chased him right out of there! Love Dolly”
“Did you chase that crow? We have a bunch of robins in our yard this time of year. Pierre our Westie granddog is certain that he can catch one. They don't steal golf balls though! Bark More, Growl Less Barking from the Bayou!”
Janet Keefe said...
“Is that an egg in his mouth?
I can't wait to hear about your mischief!
Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets”
“Hey Hawk, what the heck is in that things mouth??
Can't wait to see what mischief you got into now!!!
And thanks SO much for voting for my husky Lexus!!! We need all the support we can get! If you get a chance to come back and vote again , that would be great, i'll leave you the link if you can. Thanks!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!”
“Oh My! Is that an EGG? Interesting. Happy Black n White Sunday. Golden Woofs”
Crows are smart but they are also evil nest robbers. They eat the eggs…
About my Mischief Monday…
“My goodness that looks like good fun and good exercise! Messing up a little just means you get to do it again, right?”
“The long way (of doing things) is more scenic and fun right?”
Y’all are right on both counts!
Finally, regarding yesterday’s squirrel encounter…
“Did you try to catch the thief?”
“You better run squirrel! What was he eating? It was hard to tell if it was seeds or a stalk of wheat type grass”
The squirrel is eating melon seeds which the birds adore.
BOL! I didn’t chase him! My Human Papa clapped his hands to chase him off the feeder. Papa was sitting on the porch.
Squirrels are all over the place the last couple of years. Once they are plentiful the hawks return to hunting this area and the squirrels disappear.
Y’all hurry back now!
Great catch up Hawk and we have never heard of a Dokken before. That was a mean egg stealing crow for sure. Happy first day of Spring and have a tremendous Thursday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
PS don't forget to let us know about Share It Sunday one way or another.
I've never tried shrimp and grits before, but it looks delicious! My husband a huge fan of grits, so maybe we'll need to recreate it here for ourselves one day.
ReplyDeleteCrow may be egg theives, but there are still deficiencies in their intelligence - I've seen them steal golf balls on the course by mistake!
That was a beautiful full follow up. You have so much going on, keeps us young (at least I think so). You have a award waiting for you on my blog today. Bringing a little sunshine into peoples lives. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGood night Irene, Hawk! You've covered a lot today! I love the geese. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE grits! Had some with eggs just yesterday. And plenty of salt. Why do grits seem to need so much salt?
ReplyDeletewww.dogtreatweb.com
Hawk, I love when you answer all our silly questions! I missed a lot this past week or so, so this post really got me all caught up! I hope you are having a blast and that the weather is warming up.
ReplyDelete*high paw*
Oz
Thanks for all your answers Hawk!! Good to get things cleared up BOL Have yourself a good afternoon.
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
What a great recap Hawk and thanks for clearing up what the squirrel was eating. So the hawks will come down and gobble up squirrels?
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining the blog hop! Happy Thursday!!
Great post, Hawk, I think you answered all of our questions! Now, I had never heard of a Dokken or who it was named after, except there used to be a rock band called Dokken. I wonder if that was where their name came from too? I might have to look that up! :)
ReplyDeleteJan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
Thanks so much for the great follow up and for joining the Barks and Bytes hop. About the banding, I always thought the whole point was to see where the bird started out and maybe how long it lived after it was taken by a hunter. I think here they actually use hunter license fees for some of the programs. I can see the issue with the large neck bands, but I doubt hubby could be selective enough to take a banded bird over an unbanded bird. (He is a good shot, but not that great...lol)
ReplyDeleteWe switch off between bumpers and dokkens when we train. I think with more park training it will be using dokkens rather than frozen ducks. Hubby got a new gadget for our winger this year...a remoter control launcher. Every year he talks me into something new...lol.
Eww shrimp and grits...EWWW!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat does shrimp and grits taste like??? Eww....
Anyway I love the photo of the cardinal and the flower. Those are my favorite pics in this post!
Have a good day with your shrimp and grits......ew..MOL
❀Siamese Smothers❀Happiness is Siamese!