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...]
A Flock of Robins
I was sitting by the fire pit last week, enjoying a great cigar, when I saw a huge flock of birds, literally hundreds. Maybe starlings, I thought. On closer observation they were robins, a gazillion robins. They lit in several trees on the horizon, catching their collective breaths. They were likely heading north as the days get lighter. I have had a few robins just hang around our yard all … [Read more...]
Getting Ready for the Grackles
My enemies are coming. They’ve wintered in Texas but will soon be on the way to Virginia where they will set up operations in my backyard. But they won’t catch me by surprise. These black pests drive me crazy. As I try to keep my bluebirds and other songbirds fed and happy in advance of the nesting season, the grackles arrive, usually in March and they stay until July, eating me out of … [Read more...]
A War Zone Lawn
My yard looks like a war zone with thousands of little mortar shell divots. The squirrels have taken advantage of my wet, soggy back yard and have dug holes in nearly every square foot, burying seeds and nuts and probably squirrel time capsules.The climbing tree rats have also dislodged the soil from each and every one of Nancy’s potted plants Squirrels are born to chew, and they are born to … [Read more...]
The Squirrel and the Hawk
We have a Cooper’s Hawk that has more or less set up shop in a large bush in our back yard. I think he may roost there, or at least he spends a lot of time there just hanging out. I can tell when he’s out there because the birds totally disappear, but not the squirrels. The other day, I saw the hawk perched on a limb and a squirrel scurried by, brushing up against the raptor. I often wonder … [Read more...]
A Great Bird Seed Blend
eat I don’t really want to know how much I spend on bird seed each year. It’s an expensive hobby, for sure, but I guess it could be worse. If my hobby was skiing, a week at Aspen and a stay in a mountain chalet would buy a whole lot of birdseed. But I enjoy feeding and watching birds in my yard and they don’t go hungry. Recently, I have noticed in my bowl feeders that there are usually … [Read more...]
Blue Jay Antics
I’ve said this before, but the two smartest bird varieties of birds to visit my yard are the crows and the blue jays. My crows have become regular visitors, usually 3 but occasionally 5. They eat most anything they can find but are especially fond of pieces of stale bread I sometimes scatter. Typically, a crow will pick up a piece of bread, fly to the bird bath and dunk the bread as … [Read more...]
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