I wondered when they would show up – my Catbirds, that is. Usually, about the time the snowbirds leave (and they did a week ago), the Catbirds arrive. I shouldn’t have worried. While I was sitting on the patio this week enjoying a cocktail, a catbird flew to a limb above me then flitted down to a chair not 6 feet away. This was obviously a returnee who remembered that I often distribute meal worms … [Read more...]
Mockingbird Visits
We have lots of mockingbirds in our neighborhood, but not usually in my yard – which is unusual since I have tons of other birds that visit. But more and more I am drawing mockingbirds to my feeders. As it tuns out, the friendly gray birds are quite fond of peanut logs and sunflower hearts. I have often written about a product named C & S Peanut Log, which I have been hanging instead of … [Read more...]
Fluker Farms Meal Worms – Simply the Best
Bluebird babies are just starting to peck their way out of the shells and Mom and Dad Bluebird will soon be hard at work. Those who truly love bluebirds assist the parents with heaping bowls full of meal worms. The little wigglers (larvae of the black beetle) are full of protein and supplement the chicks’ diets. I have been buying meal worms for over 25 years and my best source is Fluker Farms. … [Read more...]
The “Snows” Know
Yep. The “Snows” know all right. Snowbirds, that is, and they know when it’s time to pack their little bags and fly away for the summer. But so far, they haven’t felt the urge. My little flock of 9 snowbirds, Dark-eyed Juncos to be exact, are still picking up the millet seeds that I scatter especially for them. My snowbirds generally arrive in November, chased down from the north by cold … [Read more...]
Dodging The Grackle Bullet
I am trying to dodge the grackle bullet without starving my regular songbirds and – knock on wood – I think I am succeeding. I have talked with other birders, and most don’t seem to have a big problem with grackles. By big problem, I mean 50 and 60 at a time, decimating the feeders. That’s a genuine problem when they take down a $5 peanut suet bar in one day and empty a tray of sunflower hearts … [Read more...]
A Pileated Visit
I welcomed a couple unexpected guests to my back yard last week. A pair of beautiful, Pileated Woodpeckers. They swooped in to check on one of our 50-year-old maples, pecked here and there and sailed away. I expect they were shopping for a nesting site. About 20 years ago, I had a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that nested in one of my trees in an old hollowed out place for two straight years, … [Read more...]
It’s That Time
Nesting time, that is. For the past few weeks, I’ve heard my backyard male bluebird warbling. By the way, I have backyard and front yard bluebirds. Even though they’ve been with their mates all year, the makes take nothing for granted and woo the females, lest a younger bird move in on their territory. Then yesterday, I saw the backyard male pulling up dead grass and flying to the birdhouse … [Read more...]
Hello Honduras
As we eased into port of Roatan, on the Bay Islands off Honduras, a lush hillside of palm and banana trees invited us in. A few estate-like homes dotted the shoreline while modest homes were tucked into the hills wherever there a flat space was available. Cars ambled along the coastal highway, a few here and there, but nothing like the bumper-to-bumper congestion you would find in most towns on a … [Read more...]
My Red-Tailed Squirrel
I’m building a wall in my backyard to keep the illegals away. Not illegal people. Illegal squirrels. I have a red-tailed squirrel in my back yard and he’s creating havoc, teaching my resident all-gray squirrels some bad habits. There is actually a species of Red-Tailed Squirrels native to Central and South America. Perhaps the cartels have smuggled this squirrel into my yard. Probably cost … [Read more...]
Birds: Count ‘em
I saw a perfectly awful movie on Netflix last week – “The Big Year”, with Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black and I watched the whole thing, which felt like two weeks. Why? Because it was a movie about 3 guys competing to see who could spot and identify the most birds in one year – The Big Year. The winner spotted over 750 species of birds. I found that interesting and it got me to wondering … [Read more...]
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