All birds molt, meaning they grow new feathers, sort of like we are always growing new skin. Some birds lose a few feathers at a time, and you hardly notice. Then, there are the cardinals that lose big chunks of feathers around their heads and look like something out of a Spielberg movie. But recently, I noticed that my small group of crows, usually three, also have feather … [Read more...]

I gave Nancy a Solar Fountain for the front yard birdbath for Christmas as a small gift for Christmas last year, but since it was winter, we put it away – and forgot about it. A couple weeks ago, Nancy found it, we assembled it and put it in the birdbath. It’s great – keeps the water fresh and stirred up and mosquitos at arm’s length. Plus, the birds love it. It’s like taking an outdoor shower … [Read more...]

Recently, during a rare downpour, I saw “Wren-field” pecking away on the window ledge. He had found a juicy spider. Wren-field is the name I have given to my resident Carolina Wren. He, or one of his ancestors, has called our yard home every year we’ve been living at 214 Brentwood Road. While we’ve only lived in one house for the last 50 years or so, Wren-field has had many houses – sometimes … [Read more...]

My backyard bluebirds had nested twice. I know that at least 2 chicks survived the first ordeal and one bird made it after the second nest. They had replaced themselves, plus one. That’s good. Let it go. But I heard that distinctive chirping from the male, meaning, “Hey babe, let’s get it on again.” And they did. The hen is now warming up 3 or 4 more eggs, though they chose a different house … [Read more...]

Nancy has done some amazing work landscaping our yard. About all I do is mow the grass and sit back and enjoy the lovely flowers and plants, so I take no credit. One of my favorite parts of the yard, though, is a little wildflower patch around our bird bath. There was once ivy there, that took over everything, but Nancy pulled it all up and planted a little patch of perennials that includes … [Read more...]

For Father’s Day, I got a Squirrel Stopper Sequoia – a fancy term for a bird buffet. It’s an elegant bird feeder pole that features 4 hanging stations. It’s a sturdy piece of equipment that will hold fairly heavy feeders, bird houses or plants. The lower pole segment has an attached auger that will screw into the ground about 2 feet, making this pole system strong and secure. The middle section … [Read more...]

  (1 of 20,000) I have now ordered 20,000 meal worms from Fluker Farms. I fully expect that amount will last me through the season. My bluebirds have produced two nests and my goal is to supplement the hard-working creatures while they try to feed many hungry beaks. In past years, I have run out of meal worms at the end of the season and have had to buy them from local pet shops, and … [Read more...]

Not only do they flock together, they feed together. All of them. At the same time. My passion is watching birds, sometimes from the kitchen window and sometimes from my vantage point in a lawn chair in the back yard. One thing I have noticed is that all the birds seem to feed at the same time. You’ll see bunches of birds – cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, finches, and the like, then they will … [Read more...]

I bought Nancy a couple potted plants to hang on the front porch. They were ferns and they were about seventeen bucks each – much higher than we used to pay, but they worked. After a couple attempts at getting the screw hook imbedded in the porch roof and a mending of the wire that held the heavy plants, all was well. Then, a couple weeks ago, it called for rain, so Nancy decided a little … [Read more...]