The first postings I remember from Trish have stayed forever in my mind and they were of beautiful butterflies and tiny wee frogs hiding inside Bromeliads and then, of course, there has always been her wonderful flower and garden photos but for this Magazine we are looking at Trish and her birds.

Her interest in photographing birds began about two years ago whilst she was getting her garden prepared to be certified as a wildlife habitat. At this time she became very aware of the needs of different animals and birds and what part she could play in helping provide some of the necessities to sustain them. She believes that each of us has a responsibility to help make up for the loss of their native food, shelter and nesting areas due to their homes being destroyed by land development.

Each year she sees more and more different types of birds and estimates that she has approximately 30 different species. Living in Florida provides her with a wonderful opportunity to see many new birds as they migrate south or stay around the area for the winter.

Trish has 8 different feeders going throughout the year with supplies of sunflower, millet, peanut butter cakes, worms, fruit, sugar water and also she uses recipes from a couple of the Buddies which she has posted on her website. Along with this she also grows plants which attract the birds to her garden such as sunflowers and berry producing shrubs for food and other trees and bushes which encourage them to nest naturally.

Last year Trish put up a box and a pair of Bluebirds checked it out but they didn’t nest so this year she purchased another nesting box and mounted it on the opposite side of her garden. Within weeks a pair of Bluebirds had checked it out and promptly moved in. It was such a thrill for her to watch them diligently making their nest. She rushed straight out to buy her first batch of mealworms and upon further reading she also learnt that they also enjoy fruit. She discovered that strawberries were their very favourite. Weeks went by and there was no sign of eggs and then one day there was one beautiful light blue egg. Several days later there was another and this continued until there were four eggs in total. She counted the days until they would hatch and she was fearful that due to her having to go away she may miss this great occasion.

Upon her return the very first thing Trish did was to rush to the little box and peek inside and lo and behold the babies had just hatched. With this excitement she went straight to the store and bought 600 mealworms. Each day she would go out in the morning and make the same sound as she approached their nesting box and worm feeder. The parents had become used to the sound she made and would fly close by as they knew it meant “FOOD”. Trish I think all the Buddies would like to hear this sound on a voice mail.

As she watched the babies grow she was amazed at how tirelessly the male worked at keeping the nest clean of shells and droppings and feeding the babies while Mom would sit on them for a while and then feed them. Exactly 21 days later they fledged and she was on hand just in time to see the last one leave the nest, flying with the parents to the top of a pine tree. The parents have been back since to eat the meal worms but she hasn’t seen the fledglings.

They provided her with so much joy and she is so looking forward to next year and hopefully a repeat of these happy memories.

Trish has also had Blue Jays, Woodpeckers and Mockingbirds nest in her garden. She only has the two nest boxes at present but her birthday wish is for a Bat Box. She is the very first person I will have known to have one of these.

Her hobby of photography is a passion and since she started taking photos of birds and animals several years ago she never really, really looked at them in fine detail until recently. She now makes straight for the computer, downloads it and then starts going through books and the internet to learn more about it.

On the very top of her bird wish list is the Indigo Bunting which she hopes to both see and photograph.

To gain good photographs she has a netting camouflage near the feeders and at other times she relies on her 10x lens to do the work for her. She would love to go out in the field but sadly her health problems prevent her doing so. She is thinking of joining up with her local Bluebird group, which helps to educate the local communities in attracting and caring for these precious, little birds.

Trish, you have given us a great insight into your life and your passions for all things great and small. Each of us enjoys your beautiful photographs whether it is wildlife or flowers and we look forward to the day you post a picture of some “baby bats”.