Sunday, November 23, 2008

Oak trees are messy


Have just spent a long time moving oak leaves from the top of the driveway down to the bottom, so that the city guys with the big vacuum cleaner can take them away next week. I would be happier about this if our oak tree was a garry oak, but it's not, it's just a normal, messy oak. It does look pretty in the sunset, though:
And the birds love it.  Lots of action this evening.  Here's the robin:
I thought these guys were cedar waxwings, but now that I'm looking at the photos, I wonder if they are grosbeaks. I know, not too similar, but it's hard to see them properly through all the oak busyness.
And here is more of the sunset (and starlings?), through the neighbour's tree (cypress?):

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lisa,

It sounds like you are deciding on special plants for your beautiful garden. Would you like me to send you a Garry Oak Gardener's Handbook? Even if you don't have Garry oaks, it has great tips for choosing native wildflowers and plants that attract birds and butterflies. (I bet that would really make the cats happy!) The Handbook is free and we enclose a donation card with it. Or you could access it on our website at http://www.goert.ca/pubs_general.php.

Happy Gardening!

Betsy Rose
Betsy Rose, Financial Administration / Outreach
Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT)
209 - 606 Courtney Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1B6
Tel: 250-383-3447 / Fax: 250.590.3410
finance@goert.ca
www.goert.ca

A lifeline for our rarest species.

littleorangeguy said...

I can't tell what they are, but I know what they aren't, which is Cedar Waxwings. Too bad -- they are a lovely bird.

lisarose said...

Betsy,

Thanks for your comment! I have bookmarked the website - looks like lots of useful stuff.

Littleorangeguy,

Having looked at some other pics and thought about some of the noises I was hearing, I think those might be house finches. Does that see right to you?

Lisa

littleorangeguy said...

well, it's kind of hard to tell from the photo. what's the size? finches are around 6 inches, most grosbeaks are around 9.

Anonymous said...

You are about to miss December completely. Quick, upload one or two of Mum's garden shots. And there must be _one_ picture of a feline qui regarde la neige.

Anonymous said...

Glad I could bring you some special effects for the garden - seems to happen whenever I blow into town.... Looked lovely with the snow!
AnonM.