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7 November 2017
Put on Your Party Hats, this blog is 10 Years Old!
Usually a crow provides bird-thday entertainment, but this year two Venezuelan troupials won the honor of singing “Happy Birthday To You.” This is definitely competitive singing!
Thanks to all of you, my readers, who have kept me blogging about birds, nature and peregrine falcons since November 2007. I couldn’t have done it without your enthusiasm.
And thank you to all the great photographers who let me use their photos. See who they are here.
Woo Hoo! Happy Bird-thday!
p.s. Venezuelan troupials are the national bird of Venezuela and are in the Blackbird family (Icterid).
(photo credit: Click here to see the original photo of the crow on a spire by Ian Shane via Wikimedia Commons; party hat was added by Kate St. John)
Congratulations Kate! And thanks for all the interesting and entertaining information!
Thank you for being there for us all ten years. I have learned so much from your blogs .
I so look forward to your blogs…always interesting and there is hardly a time where I don’t say ‘I didn’t know THAT’!!! Thank you.
Woo hoo, ten years and counting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, Kate!
Ditto. You are always informative and enthusiastic. I discovered your blog while searching for bird cams like 8 years ago. Been reading daily and have learned about so much more about many topics (pesticide, plants, Maine, Pittsburgh, insects etc)
Thank you so very much ?? ??
first thing I turn to every morning, home, office, vacation, wherever. Something new to learn every day. How marvelous! Happy birthday and many more!
Congratulations! On your 10 year blog which I read every morning. Moving to Florida in a little over a week, but will continue to read everyday. Good luck on your next 10!
Thanks for keeping at this for 10 years. I too look at it first, right after I turn on my computer. Very entertaining, very informative. And your photography is a treat also. You are not only a writer, but a photographer too.
Libby, thanks but the bird photos aren’t mine. A big thank you goes out to all the photographers who allow me to use their photos.
But Kate, many of the photos say “Photo by Kate St. John.” You must mean literally BIRD photo by K. St.John, right?
Ah yes, Libby. I take photos of “things that stand still” so I guess I deserve some credit. 😉
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary Kate! I enjoy your blog so much and want to thank you for taking the time to post! Here’s to another 10 years. Cheers!
Congratulations! It is a joy to read your blog. Thanks for all the fascinating information!
Are those troupials actually whistling Happy Birthday? Is it their natural song or were they taught, like parrots?
Peggy, yes those birds are whistling Happy Birthday. They were taught to do it but they mimic sounds anyway so maybe they liked copying the sound. As you can see from their behavior, they sing as a territorial challenge. These two are singing as loud and long as possible to “beat” the other guy. When that doesn’t work they clack their beaks. They think Happy Birthday means “I’m the best, not you!”