Today when I went outside,
it sounded like spring, there were Robin calls, Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals and Starlings. There is a place nearby that has a mature Cedar tree, and I have checked it a couple of weeks ago to see how far the berries were, and I went there today again. The tree was basically covered in happy Robins, and it also had some Cedar Waxwings sprinkled in. I will go back to try and get some Waxwing goodness. Here is a photo of the teen Cardinal too, he posed just outside my window today, and a Whitecrowned Sparrow was at the bath!
During nesting season,
I find it especially interesting what the birds bring to the feeder. It is like getting samples of the insects that are around in my yard. This year, things seem a bit more extreme, I don’t know if it is because of the cool spring or because of the rain or because of a quarantine-related lack of pesticide treatments in larger areas. We don’t spray our garden because we know there are lots of insect-eating birds. It can be tough, especially for me because my German body is still not really used to American mosquitoes, but it makes me feel better thinking about baby birds eating the spiders, worms and flies that their parents feed them (pictured are Grackles). And it is always somewhat satisfying to see a beak full of natural food.
There is a lot going on
in the yard, and I feel like everybody is having babies. The Grackles are collecting food like there is no tomorrow. Preferred are sunflower hearts (that is what the “bird with teeth” had in the old photo) and earth worms. I love it when they check by the camera after hunting before they bring the bounty to the nest.
