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...]

  I am proud to say that I have my own personal flock of doves. There are 10, maybe 12 and they are regular visitors to my back yard. They fly in about 7 in the morning, just after I have scattered assorted seeds in the back, and they are delighted to find and eat the millet that the others pass by. I think they eat some of the whole kernel corn that I also distribute, but mostly the crows … [Read more...]

Perhaps no outdoor scene in the world has been painted or photographed more often than a cardinal in the snow. That “cardinal red” framed with a back drop of pure white is simply stunning. Last week, during our surprise snow storm, I was treated to that scene and I couldn’t help but pause and admire the beauty of this special creature that graces our yard with his presence. Cardinals, Northern … [Read more...]

My two suet feeders have been getting more and more attention since the weather got cold. They were quite popular last week with 9 inches of snow on the ground and nothing much to eat except for my feeders and the seeds I scattered. I saw nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, sparrows, chickadees, titmice and wrens squeezing in and out of the suet cages. They say cardinals, … [Read more...]

I have found through my years of backyard bird watching that my fine feathered friends have vocabularies all their own. Two of the most vocal birds, however, are my blue jays and crows. They are like widows on a party line. They love to yak it up. Blue jays seem to come and go in my yard. They just disappear, then return. I didn’t see much of them during nesting season this summer and that may … [Read more...]

They showed up a couple weeks ago. Four little snowbirds. I had not seen them since last March, but they finally came home where they belong. Snowbirds, really Dark-eyed Juncos, spend their summers in forests as far up as Canada and across the Appalachians, but in winter, they like to be closer to civilization and take up residence in fields and parks and especially backyards with feeders. They … [Read more...]