My back yard in San Francisco

２月から5月くらいまでここはとても寒かった。

ロサンゼルスは暑いらしいが、サンフランシスコは夏でも日差しは強くても

朝晩や風が吹いた日は冷え込んだりする。

It was cold from February through May here. Los Angeles has hot summers, but it is not so hot in San Francisco, although the sunlight is strong. I even feel cool when the wind blows or in the morning and the night.

７月、８月になって日差しは更に強くなり、庭に鳥が集まり始めた。

バッファローはアメリカ東海岸、ここは西海岸。

東と西と両方のバードウオッチングを楽しめるのも嬉しいし、

同じ名前の鳥でも顔や形が少し違うのが面白い。

The weather became good for birds in July and August. I'm very happy to enjoy bird watching in my back yard every day now. Since Buffalo is on the east coast and San Francisco is on the west coast, I'm glad to enjoy bird watching in two different areas. It is also interesting to learn that the birds' faces and shapes are a little different from Buffalo's birds in spite of having the same names.

Chickadee　（チカディ）

多分、まだ赤ちゃん

Maybe it is a baby chickadee

Woodpecker (キツツキ)

鮮やかな赤い頭がとても印象的

He has very impressive bright red head.

Varied Thrush (ムナオビツグミ）

初めて見た!

I saw this bird here for the first time.  I was so happy!

Blue Jay (ブルージェイ)

大きく、強くて他の鳥を追い払ってしまう

He is big and strong and he frightens other birds

 Hummingbird (ハミングバード)

角度によって首が赤く見える

この子も見かけによらず独占欲が強い
これはハミングバードの特徴らしい

Depending on the angle, his neck looks red. He seems to be very territorial, although he looks cute. I learned that this is a hummingbird characteristic.

 Deer (鹿）

見つめ合ってしまった・・優しそうな表情

We looked at each other; it seems very kind.

Hare (野ウサギ）

子鹿かと思う位大きくて耳が長かった

I thought it was as big as a baby deer when I saw it for the first time. Its ears are very long!

Birds in my back yard ~庭を訪れる小鳥たち

バードフィーダ―（Birdfeeder)

私の英語の先生、アマンダが庭に鳥の餌を吊るしてはどうかと提案してくれました。面白いのは写真後方のケージの中にあるスエット(餌を脂で固めたもの)。これに惹かれて小鳥たちがやってくるようです。近くにいるのはスエットがお気に入りのキツツキ・・です。以下の写真でバッファローの小鳥たちをお楽しみください。

Amanda, my English teacher, recommended hanging a birdfeeder in my back yard. There are many kinds of feed for birds. One of them, "suet," is fat with seeds in it. It attracts birds; it was very interesting for me to learn about it. There is a bird on the feeder; it is a woodpecker. She loves suet. Please enjoy Buffalo's birds!

ゴールドフィンチ(Goldfinch)

そのあまりの綺麗さに魅せられました。

The first time I saw a goldfinch, I was moved by his beautiful, bright color.

ハミングバード（Hummingbird)

初めて見たときの感動は忘れられません。小さくて本当にかわいらしい！ たまたま庭にいた私の頭上で羽根をばたつかせていたときはハチが飛んできた音かと勘違い・・

I was very moved when I saw a hummingbird for the first time. They are really cute!  When I was in my back yard, I heard a sound like a bee. Actually, it was not bee; it was the sound of the hummingbird flapping its wings.

カーディナル（Cardinal)

カーデイナルもとても美しい鳥です。一年を通して見られます。お気に入りの木の枝にとまっているのをしばしば見かけます。鳥ってオスのほうが色が鮮やかで綺麗だってご存知ですか？

The cardinal is very beautiful. They are here year-round. He often visited his favorite place in a tree in my back yard. Do you know that male birds are more beautiful than female birds?

ブルーバード（Bluebird)

何といってもハイライトはブルーバード。童話の中にだけいると思っていた私。この目で見れるとは思ってもいなくてカメラを構える手が震えたのでした。仕事中の夫は見れず・・わずか3日間だけ、4羽のブルーバードが来てくれて、その後姿を消しました。一緒にいたアマンダも人生で 初めて見たと感動していました。私はなんてラッキーなのでしょう!

The highlight of my bird story is the bluebird. I couldn't believe it because I thought that blue birds were only in fairy tales. I took their pictures with my shaking hands. My poor husband has never seen them, because he works in the daytime. They (two couples) visited here for only three days. Amanda told me that this is the first time she saw them in her life. I was so lucky!

オリオ（Oriole)

黒とオレンジコントラストが綺麗なオレオ。この鳥もめったに見れないそうです！彼らには砂糖と水を１：６の割合でシロップを作って入れています。ちなみにハミングバードのシロップは１：４。オレンジ色はオレオを惹きつける色だそうです。

The contrast of black and orange is very beautiful. Orioles are also very rare! The oriole nectar recipe is 1 part white table sugar to 6 parts water, while hummigbird nectar is 1:4. Orioles are attract to orange.

チカディ （Chickadee)

チカディは、その鳴き声から名前が付いていて、耳をすますと本当に”チカディ、チカディ、ディ、ディ、ディ"　と鳴きます。とってもかわいらしい鳴き声です。

Chickadees' voices are very cute. Their names are from their song. They sing, "Chicakdee, chickadee."

アメリカンロビン (American Robin)

アマンダのひいおばあちゃんによれば、冬の終わりに初めてのロビンを見た後に3回雪が降って溶けたら春の幕開けだそうです。雪がないところを見ると、もう春が来ているに違いありません。

Amanda's great-grandmother said, "Three snows in the robin's nest before spring." That means that after you see the first robin after winter, it is going to snow three more times, and then it will be spring. We don't see snow on the grass, so it must be spring.