I enjoy watching the birds come to my feeders and the scattered seed on the ground in the winter. They seem appreciative, as do I, having these wonderful creatures close by. I suppose I have several hundred birds that visit on a daily basis.
But where do they go when they’re not in my yard? I have trees and shrubs and cover. Where do they go?
Yesterday, I glanced out the window and the squirrels were busy gnawing corn kernels from a cob and then burying each and every one in my yard. I expect I’ll have a cornfield instead of grass come spring. But there were no birds. I checked for hawks and there were none. There wasn’t a sparrow, a nuthatch or a wren anywhere in sight. For nearly thirty minutes the yard was totally devoid of birds. Finally, I saw a cardinal along the back hedge, then another, then a flock of house finches swooped in, then some blue birds and soon my yard was once again teeming with my small friends. But where do they go when they all go away and why do they all leave at the same time?