Flock together. You know the saying, and this is the time of year that many birds seek out the company of their buddies and form big flocks. Crows, for example. Recently, I have seen more and more crows in medium size flocks of 20 or 30, soon to become hundreds and hundreds. They do this each fall as a means of protection. If I were a hawk, I’d certainly have nothing to do … [Read more...]

  Their day starts early. From their roosts in the edge of the dunes, the sandpipers stroll down the beach to the froth of the surf. There, they wait till the tide sweeps the water back to the sea. Then, they scurry towards the receding waves, stopping here and there to peck at bits of organic debris or perhaps snatch up a juicy sand flea. Then the tide changes its mind, and the waves push … [Read more...]

  I thought my catbirds had gone, they usually do each year, then pop up in the spring. But a few days ago, I heard the strange call, “Merrow”, like a cat, and they are still here. At least a couple are. We had two catbird families this year. They skirmished throughout the spring and summer at the Peanut Suet Bar I had hanging. Since their chicks hatched, though, they have largely left … [Read more...]

  The Afghanistan conflict wasn’t our longest war. The eternal battle between bird lovers and squirrels is the war that never ends. There can be brief moments of détente, but very brief. If there is bird seed in the area, squirrels will find it or die trying. Our backyard is a demilitarized zone so far as squirrels are concerned. I feed them (and the birds) on the ground in the way back … [Read more...]

  I suppose my back yard is the Mecca of house finches. They are at my feeders throughout the day, every day, spring, summer and fall. Late this summer, I assume right after several families hatched, we had 30 or more finches at a time fighting for a spot on my sunflower heart feeder. The little rascals also love to take baths in our bubbling birdbath. They flit from the feeder to the bath … [Read more...]

  We have seen a few monarch butterflies in our yard this summer, but just this week, we saw something even better – a monarch caterpillar! The colorful creature was chewing its way up a spindly stalk of our butterfly milkweed. Milkweed is the key to the survival of these graceful creatures. Many plant butterfly bushes, which are nice and certainly attract monarchs and other … [Read more...]

  With the help of several Cville Buzz readers, the mystery has been solved. The unidentified birds in my yard have been identified. The two, stocky gray birds I could not find in my bird books are juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds. The reason they were so hard to identify is that they were young birds and looked nothing like their parents pictured in books. I had a feeling they were … [Read more...]