There’s a great t-shirt on the market with a pirate ship in the background and this slogan: “The beatings will stop when morale improves.” In my backyard, the beatings have just begun. The robins are at war. Robins often travel in flocks, seeking productive feeding areas and better climate, but come spring, the only friend a robin has is his mate. Generally, in and around our yard, there … [Read more...]

My younger sister, Johanna, once worshipped a TV show called “My Friend Flicka”. It was about a little girl and her horse, Flicka. It came on Saturday mornings and Johanna never missed an episode. I also have a friend called Flicker. He’s a bird, in the woodpecker family actually, and one of the most beautiful birds of all. His plumage is extraordinary. I saw my friend, Flicker, in the yard … [Read more...]

  During the brief snow storm last week, I distributed an extra-large amount of seeds across over the back yard. Naturally, I had lots of visitors. I counted 20 different varieties of birds during the day, but I had a little unexpected company. Around mid-morning, a pair of beautiful Pileated Woodpeckers flew into the yard, attached themselves to the trunk of an old cherry tree and began … [Read more...]

  I noticed this morning at the feeder, my male goldfinches are already beginning to change colors from their dull winter olives to their brilliant buttercup yellows. This means spring’s a ‘coming. But birds’ feathers don’t really change colors. They simply molt and grown new feathers of different colors. That explains the change. Molting is the process by which birds replace … [Read more...]

  I had scattered seeds that morning and was surprised to look out the back window and see only squirrels where there had been literally a hundred birds just a few minutes before. I returned about 15 minutes later and still no birds. Lots of squirrels, but no songbirds. I decide to explore and sure enough, high in the tallest maple tree, was a hawk. And the birds knew it. This was a … [Read more...]

I hadn’t smoked a cigar since way back before Christmas. It’s been too cold, too wet or too snowy to go outside for a few puffs. Attempting to smoke one inside would be a death wish. My wife Nancy doesn’t even like it when I have unlit stogies in the house. So early this week on a balmy, overcast afternoon, I went out in the backyard and lit one up. Almost always when I’m outside and very … [Read more...]

I was headed to the back yard with a couple new cakes of suet for my feeders. When I was less than four feet from one of the wire-covered feeders, I saw a little Downy Woodpecker inside, pecking away. I figure he’d hightail it with me that close, but he paid me no mind whatsoever and continued to hammer away at the chunk of suet. I backed off and decided to let him finish his meal before replacing … [Read more...]

I heard the crows squawking last week and figured there was a hawk someplace close by. My three crows hate hawks. But high in the back tree were four buzzards. The crows continued fussing and eventually, the buzzards flew off, heading for a gut pile I suppose. It’s been a really good year for buzzards. There have been lots and lots of deer carcasses piled up beside the highways. And buzzards do … [Read more...]

I have a water tree in my backyard. A what? Yes, a water tree. Near the top of one of my 60-year old silver maples is a large, broken-off limb, one that has a scooped-out bowl built in. It collects water like a wooden salad bowl and the birds love it. I first noticed the unique limb last summer. I was watching a blue jay and noticed he flew to that spot and was dipping his bill like he … [Read more...]