Bird on my table

We have a bird calendar on the kitchen table, and today's is really spectacular https://dibird.com/species/turquoise-jay/, a Turquoise Jay. It's very common in Colombia. I listened to its call, and it is no prettier than our common Blue Jay.

I am a creationist, but I love biology. These days you have to choose your sources carefully--science journals have become woke and are slaves to DEI, climate change, CRT, ecofeminism, transagenda, etc.

Secretary Bird

We have a bird calendar on our kitchen table, and although I wouldn't say I've "learned" new birds, I've at least seen them, and often we discuss the more unusual ones. Today's is "secretarybird." Not common around here, but endemic to sub-Sahara Africa. Just had to look up this one. When I first saw it I thought it might look like a secretary with a pen in his hair, and I was close according to this video, but the name was similar and different before that time. They have the body shape and hunting instincts of eagles, but legs like storks, and can be over 4 ft. tall. Their legs are very powerful, and they can kill and eat snakes.

https://youtu.be/difrBNjGwLo

Yesterday Bob asked what I did with them when I tore them off, and I said I kept them, but wasn't sure (in a house already with a lot of clutter) what I'd do with them. Maybe I should learn to draw birds, he said. And so, here is a "how to" video. https://youtu.be/2ptuRthuGko 

Bird watching

I've never made it a priority, but I thought it would be nice to know more about birds. God must have had such fun designing them. My fellow librarians gave me binoculars as a retirement gift, thinking I'd lounge on the deck and view birds. About 12 years ago I participated in some morning birding group walks at Lakeside. Great people. We even went to the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Magee Marsh Wildlife Area for a lecture and bird watching. Some could identify 100s of birds. Me, not so much. I think I learned about 5 more birds than I knew at age 10. So when I saw a bird calendar at Marc's this morning for $1, I thought it was a bargain and I could look at a page a day. And now I feel really smart, because earlier they were $16.99 according to the web site. Audubon Birds Color 2023 Page-A-Day Calendar - Calendars.com