JAPANESE "VETS"

What an interesting morning. Karol invited her three veterinarian students (all from Gifu University and each working on a PhD) to our home. They are bird banding this weekend, and she wanted them to become acquainted with the variety of birds in Wisconsin at this time of the year.

On the way to our home this morning (8:30) we saw an immature bald eagle in the big swamp near Jordan Pond. We received a call from Karol about 5 minutes from our home saying that the pileated woodpecker was on our tree for the suet (we had not seen one since the last group of vet students had visited our home last January). We drove slowly into the driveway and just around the corner. I could see it far ahead on the tree. I tried to explain where it was, and finally all three students had seen it. And then it flew.

Karol shot this picture with her phone camera. Not bad, eh?

We drove up to the house. Karol was all excited. She faithfully waits for those days when she can see the pileated. Other birds seen this morning: Dark-eyed junco, blue jay, northern cardinal (2 pr), lots of pine siskins, red breasted nuthatch, white breasted nuthatch, mourning dove, goldfinch, English sparrow, red-bellied woodpecker, 4 turkeys (usually we see 20), and black-capped chickadee, but we missed out seeing the redpolls.

Karol (left) and Ryota, Kota, and Sachiko try the "pisch" sound to attract the black-capped chickadees. They were excited. It worked! Soon 5 chickadees hovered near them.

While this gentleman was not looking at me, I thought that you could hardly ever miss a cardinal sitting in a bush in the winter time.

 I enjoyed the morning with the students. I remembered a few Japanese words, talked about some of our favorite Japanese dishes, showed them how I make my bowls (rough gouged a cherry bowl - completed it later in the day so that Karol can show them on Monday), and had a wonderful visit with these kind-hearted Japanese students. Karol made a wonderful beef vegetable soup for lunch, served with homemade Sullivan St. bread, dill pickles, cheese, and rhubarb "pudding" for dessert.

AND THE TURKEYS?  I DIDN'T THINK THAT YOU WANTED TO SEE THEM ONE MORE TIME. THEIR PLUMAGE HAS NOT CHANGED IN THE PAST FEW DAYS.