Last weekend in Charlotte while playing golf, I noticed an extraordinary number of birds feeding along the concrete cart paths. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the reason. Ants. The little fellows were out in force and the birds were taking advantage. What ants lack in size, as far as a meal is concerned, they make up for by numbers and quality. Ants have more bang for the buck than almost … [Read more...]

We have had bluebirds nesting in our backyard every year (except one) for the past 15 years. For years, we never saw a bluebird in or near our yard, then one spring we saw a couple at our birdbath and soon after, they began nesting. There has been a pair of blues hanging around all winter. I assume it’s the same pair that pulled off two broods last summer. Early on, they checked out the … [Read more...]

  The goal of every bird watcher is to see a new face at the feeder or in the backyard. We love our regulars - the cardinals, bluebirds, robins, chickadees, the jays and other year round residents - but to see a visitor on occasion is really exciting. It happened to me early this week. Through the kitchen window, I saw dozens of small birds in the birdbath – at least 20. They looked … [Read more...]

  I missed my backyard birds – my cardinals, my blues the goldfinches and the chickadees. I was glad to get back home after 10 days on the road and reconnect with my fine-feathered friends. While in Hawaii, however, I paid extra attention to the birds on the islands. As best I can tell, there was only one bird there that I also see in my backyard – the House Sparrow. Because Hawaii … [Read more...]

  My resident male bluebird has outdone himself this spring. In the past week, he has changed from a beautiful blue into a drop dead gorgeous blue – a blue that could never be duplicated on any artist’s palette. He is stunning. Also, at my feeder I have noticed that the gold finches are just starting to gain color. A hint of yellow is peaking through what were once olive gray feathers. … [Read more...]

I have bird in my back yard that is just as happy to eat a meal upside down as he is straight up. He also eats sideways, crosswise and most in any position on a tree or suet feeder. He is the white-breasted nuthatch, a permanent resident in my yard. I have one suet feeder that is upside down, meaning that birds have to cling to the bottom and peck up for bits of suet. For my nuthatch friend, … [Read more...]

It rained one evening recently, and when I looked in my back yard the next morning, all the robins in the Northern Hemisphere were there. Well, maybe not all of them, but there was no robin shortage, for sure. The robins enjoy my back yard because we have leaves as mulch in several spots and they know that where there are leaves, there are worms, grubs and other juicy tidbits. The robins were … [Read more...]

I went out to get the paper a few days ago and saw a wonderful sight. There was a worm in the driveway after an evening’s rain. That’s a good sign. That means spring is not far away when lawns and gardens will teem with worms. I have always had an affinity for worms, dating back to the days when my dad and I went down to the creek bottom behind our house to dig them for bait. When I had a paper … [Read more...]

It’s been a good year for buzzards. When deer get careless and don’t look both ways before they cross the road, it means the buzzards dine in style. And buzzards do us a great service. They keep carrion to a minimum. But I worry a little about the surge in black buzzards, or black vultures as they re also called. In Virginia, we have two types of vultures/buzzards, the more common turkey … [Read more...]