Birbs, Borbs, Barbs and Floofs

The sun has turned the corner and the evenings are noticeably brighter.  After a few mild days we experienced cold, windy, dreary and rainy weather, but no significant snow. The deer must all be bedding down in the valleys where there are evergreen trees and shelter from the wind. Still hoping for some winter finches to arrive, but we have not seen a single Purple Finch so far this year.

Before I was a "Birder" (then called "Bird Watcher") I obtained my limited knowledge of birds' names from my parents and grandparents. The circling bird I later came to know as a Turkey Vulture was simply a "Buzzard," and my grandfather called any soaring raptor a "Chicken Hawk." Grandma fed bread crumbs to the "Chippies," which my first bird book identified as English Sparrows. Any long-necked wader was a "Crane." 

When I was given my little Reed  bird guide I had serious problems with  pronunciation of names, as I had no friends who knew anything more about the birds. My lexicon expanded without a tutor, so I pronounced the name of the big accipter as "Gosh-Hawk" and that of the large falcon as "Peg-ereen Falcon," the even bigger one a "Gyro-falcon" and the beautiful exotic-looking yellow warbler as "Pro-to-nary Warbler." 

After I joined a bird club I noticed that fellow members did not agree whether they saw a "Pill" or a "Pile"-eated  Woodpecker, an " Ée"-gret or E-"Grét."  With sophistication came slang names-- Sharpie, Butter-butt, TV (for Sharp-shinned Hawk, Yello-rumped Warbler and Turkey Vulture respectively). Then came banding codes-- trying to remmeber that the code for Louisiana starts with LO, not LA and whether a Tennessee Warbler abbreviation was TEWA or TNWA and that of the Tricolored Heron warrants a TCHE or TRHE. 

Pop Culture has produced further expansion of slang terms. "I got out early this morning and saw nothing but a few Birbs." I assumed this referred to small birds, but the linguistic conventions have become more refined. (See the references in my end note*).  

The only "new" (Birb*) visitor this past week has been a single Song Sparrow, photographed through the front door windows, fluffed up against the cold (a Floof*):

Numerous Mourning Doves (Barbs*) are regular patrons, this one after a dusting of snow...

...and others competing for a place on the platform feeder, stocked with Safflower seed:

A male Red-bellied Woodpecker (another Barb*) added some color as he fed on a suet cake:

Dark-eyed Juncos (Borbs*) were ever-present:

A brownish female junco blended in with the granite rock face:

Only two White-throated Sparrows (also Borbs*) have appeared. At this time last year they were abundant:

More Birbs-- House Finches were rather scarce:

The male Northern Cardinal provided accent color:

A White-breasted Nuthatch explored the nooks and crannies around the slate garden steps:

Although MaryLou and I braved the cold and usually took our mid-day walks through the neighborhood, we were bundled up and missing Florida. The morning of January 12 dawned bright and clear without any wind. Several Canada Geese and Mallards disturbed the calm face of the lake. The next morning we found ice advancing along the shoreline:

Sunset cast an amber glow, as  viewed through our front door:

*When Is a Bird a ‘Birb’? An Extremely Important Guide*

"The term is seemingly designed for the internet: one syllable, beginning and ending with “b,” connoting a pleasant roundness, a warm mouth-feel. What a good birb, you might say, or I’m so glad we went birb-watching, or I love Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birbs... All birds are birbs, a chunky bird is a borb, and a fluffed-up bird is a floof...  [I have added that a bird with a pointy tail is a Barb]

"...Rule 1: Birbs are often (though not conclusively) small; Rule 2: Birbs are often (though not always) round; Rule 3: Birbs appear cute"

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Linking to:

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Garden Affair

All Seasons

Image-in-ing

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World
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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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