Flaushi & Friends (Mostly Off)
Meet Mr. Maxine the European Crested Tit
So there I was, sitting on my terrace this past Sunday morning and wondering where everyone was. After about one hour of barely moving and now nearly being frozen as I was dressed too lightly, I suddenly heard the most distinctive chirping sounds of my beloved crested tit couple. I was sure my ears must be playing tricks on me as I had not seen the actual couple since the end of June, when Maxine had already entered her feather molt.
The day before, I had been wondering how this couple was doing and thinking that they ought to be turning up any day now ;-) Well, did they ever do a show-stopping routine for me when they turned up on Sunday morning. Whizzing past my face and ears, posing on every imaginable branch in every possible direction as they are just as quick-winged as the tiny Blue Tit birds and just as talented aerial acrobats!
Of course, the sky was completely overcast with a fabulous glare in place. So, getting any shot in was quite the feat besides the fact that they are both so crazy fast. I totally did my Happy Dance after I got this shot in ;-)
Zooming in is still recommended for this image taken directly on my terrace within a good meter of the cutie pie. It is meant for all of my wonderful British friends on here as I have learned from them that there are only about 1,000 crested tit couples in the entire UK and they are only to be found in the ancient Caledonian woods in Scotland! I have always wondered why I rarely ever see any image of this lovely tit bird on Flickr ;-)
Things got really interesting when my resident Great Tit Happy and her hubby decided to spend their daily lunch hour on my terrace as well. Their ritual usually consists of snagging a few insects and leftover berries from the branches of the Wayfaring Tree besides helping themselves to the goodies, followed by checking out each and every nest box, both inside and out.
Happy's hubby, whom I now have named Ziggy because the black line down his chest zigzags, already has made the new super cat and squirrel-proof nest box for the Great Tit birds his man cave and beauty rest headquarters since the beginning of October.
Well, while Happy was hanging out on the one main branch, Maxine decided to land directly next to her and make a fuss. Happy was not happy. I politely asked Happy to please play nice and she did. Then Maxine decided to land on the fat ball feeder right next to Happy. No problem. But then, Maxine opted to lunge at Happy and the two ladies tumbled down in a big ball right by my face. Oh right, the Crested Tit bird is a mere 11 cm in size, just like the tiny Blue Tit while the Great Tit is a good 14 cm!
At that point, I was raising my index finger and telling them that this simply would not do. Somehow, Maxine and her much more laid-back hubby had decided that they wanted to take over my terrace. Huh?! There is a reason that I have those two terrace commandments about everyone getting along with everyone plus no one making a mess basically carved in stone...
By now, Happy and her hubby are a bit fed up with all the smaller tit birds making such a fuss and playing up their Napoleon complexes, especially the Blue Tit dynamo couple Mr. and Mrs. Rosie!
Mr. Maxine is very much like Mr. Rosie as they are both pretty round, calm and laid-back, Think California surfer dude mentality minus the figure. They prefer just hanging out, watching the game and having a few beers. Their wives are the Energizer Bunnies and real driving force. The men behind the women, so to speak! So, obviously the hubbies have to have the back of their wives when it gets down to it, though they would prefer not be bothered... Just peace and love ;-)
Anyway, Maxine and her hubby then took a terrace break for a good hour. I inwardly prayed that the light would improve as the images I had just taken had an iso of 2500 and were nice and grainy.. And also, that this perky little couple would please return. Guess what, the light improved and they both returned! This time they were more peaceful and Mr. Maxine - I am not calling him Max as that would make it seem like he was Maxine's twin brother - got so comfy he started preening himself and his fabulous "beer belly." That image is going up next to this one of him ;-)
I actually named Maxine after my "Aunt" Maxine with whom I grew up. She was a dear family friend of ours who was the ultimate sassy Southern belle with oodles and oodles of charm. Just like this perky little bird ;-)
Maxine and her hubby stop by in phases and they are the only crested tit bird couple in the area. Until October 2015, I had seen Maxine about 3 times that year. On October 18th, Maxine and her hubby suddenly turned up on my terrace and were fluttering around my head while I was outside. I told them to please come back when my camera was up and two days later they obliged.
Maxine and her hubby then became regulars on my terrace throughout the past fall and early winter. I was able to film them within a few inches of my face this past January. But, the quality was not that great due to the lighting outside plus I was simply too close!
Then, Maxine only appeared about once a month since February of this year until the end of June, when she spent a few days here. The image of her on my stream from that time frame shows her already in her feather molt.
The end of July, her two little ones stopped by and checked out the fat ball feeder as well as my person. So sweet, those two juvenile siblings! Alas, I was standing right in front of the feeder against the evening sun, so one can only make out their silhouettes in those shots.
Maxine de Marientahl is the tiny heroine of the my upcoming picture book series, "Flaushi the Buddha Jay." She is introduced right off the bat in the first book and ends up becoming the BFF of Flaushi, the Eurasian jay and Buddha Bird.
In real life, my very special and completely wild jay Flaushi was also enchanted by her the end of October 2014, when he first "met" her while they were both indulging their peanut passion. He immediately imitated her one call perfectly, which I happily caught on film at the time.
Supposedly the baby crested tit birds can sometimes be part of the meal plan of the jays whilst they are feeding their young in harsh times, but all the little tit birds and other songbirds here love the real-life Flaushi and congregate around him. In the series, they are all part of the entourage of Maxine.
Meet Mr. Maxine the European Crested Tit
So there I was, sitting on my terrace this past Sunday morning and wondering where everyone was. After about one hour of barely moving and now nearly being frozen as I was dressed too lightly, I suddenly heard the most distinctive chirping sounds of my beloved crested tit couple. I was sure my ears must be playing tricks on me as I had not seen the actual couple since the end of June, when Maxine had already entered her feather molt.
The day before, I had been wondering how this couple was doing and thinking that they ought to be turning up any day now ;-) Well, did they ever do a show-stopping routine for me when they turned up on Sunday morning. Whizzing past my face and ears, posing on every imaginable branch in every possible direction as they are just as quick-winged as the tiny Blue Tit birds and just as talented aerial acrobats!
Of course, the sky was completely overcast with a fabulous glare in place. So, getting any shot in was quite the feat besides the fact that they are both so crazy fast. I totally did my Happy Dance after I got this shot in ;-)
Zooming in is still recommended for this image taken directly on my terrace within a good meter of the cutie pie. It is meant for all of my wonderful British friends on here as I have learned from them that there are only about 1,000 crested tit couples in the entire UK and they are only to be found in the ancient Caledonian woods in Scotland! I have always wondered why I rarely ever see any image of this lovely tit bird on Flickr ;-)
Things got really interesting when my resident Great Tit Happy and her hubby decided to spend their daily lunch hour on my terrace as well. Their ritual usually consists of snagging a few insects and leftover berries from the branches of the Wayfaring Tree besides helping themselves to the goodies, followed by checking out each and every nest box, both inside and out.
Happy's hubby, whom I now have named Ziggy because the black line down his chest zigzags, already has made the new super cat and squirrel-proof nest box for the Great Tit birds his man cave and beauty rest headquarters since the beginning of October.
Well, while Happy was hanging out on the one main branch, Maxine decided to land directly next to her and make a fuss. Happy was not happy. I politely asked Happy to please play nice and she did. Then Maxine decided to land on the fat ball feeder right next to Happy. No problem. But then, Maxine opted to lunge at Happy and the two ladies tumbled down in a big ball right by my face. Oh right, the Crested Tit bird is a mere 11 cm in size, just like the tiny Blue Tit while the Great Tit is a good 14 cm!
At that point, I was raising my index finger and telling them that this simply would not do. Somehow, Maxine and her much more laid-back hubby had decided that they wanted to take over my terrace. Huh?! There is a reason that I have those two terrace commandments about everyone getting along with everyone plus no one making a mess basically carved in stone...
By now, Happy and her hubby are a bit fed up with all the smaller tit birds making such a fuss and playing up their Napoleon complexes, especially the Blue Tit dynamo couple Mr. and Mrs. Rosie!
Mr. Maxine is very much like Mr. Rosie as they are both pretty round, calm and laid-back, Think California surfer dude mentality minus the figure. They prefer just hanging out, watching the game and having a few beers. Their wives are the Energizer Bunnies and real driving force. The men behind the women, so to speak! So, obviously the hubbies have to have the back of their wives when it gets down to it, though they would prefer not be bothered... Just peace and love ;-)
Anyway, Maxine and her hubby then took a terrace break for a good hour. I inwardly prayed that the light would improve as the images I had just taken had an iso of 2500 and were nice and grainy.. And also, that this perky little couple would please return. Guess what, the light improved and they both returned! This time they were more peaceful and Mr. Maxine - I am not calling him Max as that would make it seem like he was Maxine's twin brother - got so comfy he started preening himself and his fabulous "beer belly." That image is going up next to this one of him ;-)
I actually named Maxine after my "Aunt" Maxine with whom I grew up. She was a dear family friend of ours who was the ultimate sassy Southern belle with oodles and oodles of charm. Just like this perky little bird ;-)
Maxine and her hubby stop by in phases and they are the only crested tit bird couple in the area. Until October 2015, I had seen Maxine about 3 times that year. On October 18th, Maxine and her hubby suddenly turned up on my terrace and were fluttering around my head while I was outside. I told them to please come back when my camera was up and two days later they obliged.
Maxine and her hubby then became regulars on my terrace throughout the past fall and early winter. I was able to film them within a few inches of my face this past January. But, the quality was not that great due to the lighting outside plus I was simply too close!
Then, Maxine only appeared about once a month since February of this year until the end of June, when she spent a few days here. The image of her on my stream from that time frame shows her already in her feather molt.
The end of July, her two little ones stopped by and checked out the fat ball feeder as well as my person. So sweet, those two juvenile siblings! Alas, I was standing right in front of the feeder against the evening sun, so one can only make out their silhouettes in those shots.
Maxine de Marientahl is the tiny heroine of the my upcoming picture book series, "Flaushi the Buddha Jay." She is introduced right off the bat in the first book and ends up becoming the BFF of Flaushi, the Eurasian jay and Buddha Bird.
In real life, my very special and completely wild jay Flaushi was also enchanted by her the end of October 2014, when he first "met" her while they were both indulging their peanut passion. He immediately imitated her one call perfectly, which I happily caught on film at the time.
Supposedly the baby crested tit birds can sometimes be part of the meal plan of the jays whilst they are feeding their young in harsh times, but all the little tit birds and other songbirds here love the real-life Flaushi and congregate around him. In the series, they are all part of the entourage of Maxine.