In our years in the northern Chihuahuan desert of west Texas, we enjoyed so much the daily song of the curved bill thrashers, the chirps of the ever-curious cactus wrens (who would come right in if offered the opportunity), the road runners peering through our patio doors, and the many hours of free entertainment watching the barn swallows swooping all around. Once our house was completed, those swallows had the notion that the light by our front door needed a nest just above it. They built their little mud hut and raised their young’ns there—pooping all over our light. The first winter, I knocked it down when they headed to Mexico. In the spring, they were right back reconstructing in the exact same spot! I decided we could live with a little bird shit for the joy they provided on the summer days in the desert. Nature’s symbiosis taught to us by the birds. Lesson to humans: don’t screw with the cosmos!
Here in northern NJ the Robins never left this past winter and perhaps even the year before that. It's one of the most amazing birds to watch as they find worms using both their sight and sound to help sense movement and vibration on the ground. To watch them then yank and pull it out is just as amazing. I was watching them yesterday while walking my dog wondering if they ever get full, each bird feasting on so many. And of course the saying the early bird gets the worm after a rainstorm during the night when the puddles and streets are flooded with worms in the morning.
In our corner of the Pacific Northwest spring was normally ushered in by the Red-Winged Blackbird. I wish I hadn't taken them for granted. They haven't graced our neighborhood for years.
I'm with you, Karl. We've never used chemicals in our yard. In fact, we eliminated grass entirely, instead planting ground cover. We have many bird- and pollinator-friendly bushes and plantings, too. I think it's the least we individuals can do, given how much damage our species has wrought on the planet.
In our years in the northern Chihuahuan desert of west Texas, we enjoyed so much the daily song of the curved bill thrashers, the chirps of the ever-curious cactus wrens (who would come right in if offered the opportunity), the road runners peering through our patio doors, and the many hours of free entertainment watching the barn swallows swooping all around. Once our house was completed, those swallows had the notion that the light by our front door needed a nest just above it. They built their little mud hut and raised their young’ns there—pooping all over our light. The first winter, I knocked it down when they headed to Mexico. In the spring, they were right back reconstructing in the exact same spot! I decided we could live with a little bird shit for the joy they provided on the summer days in the desert. Nature’s symbiosis taught to us by the birds. Lesson to humans: don’t screw with the cosmos!
Hackensack, North Central Mn., Friday, 3/14, 67 degrees; Saturday, 3/15, Blizzard, 7” snow, 14 degrees…. Love it !
Sounds about normal for those parts!
Here in northern NJ the Robins never left this past winter and perhaps even the year before that. It's one of the most amazing birds to watch as they find worms using both their sight and sound to help sense movement and vibration on the ground. To watch them then yank and pull it out is just as amazing. I was watching them yesterday while walking my dog wondering if they ever get full, each bird feasting on so many. And of course the saying the early bird gets the worm after a rainstorm during the night when the puddles and streets are flooded with worms in the morning.
Your photography class certainly paid off, Bill---excellent pictures!
I, too, am glad the spring isn’t yet silent. We must enjoy it while we still can.
The sure sign of Spring for me in CanaDa is in the last week, 4 feet of snow just melted away with T-shirt temperatures.
Nothing clears the mind more than bird watching. But you got to be a birder to understand.
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More Signs Of Global Warming? It so, Man Proposes, God Deposes....
My favorites of the early spring birds are the cardinals! I love that one finds them in pairs.
Hi Bill, where on Cape Cod are you?
I live in Yarmouth Port.
Beautiful photos! Thanks.
I think I mentioned this before here, but am again providing the links here about birding in Gaza: "Celebrating Links Across Species
Amid a Nightmare of War" by Rebecca Gorden (https://tomdispatch.com/celebrating-links-across-species/) and here is an academic paper with photos: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335747341_Ornithofauna_Prevailing_at_Al-Mawasi_Ecosystem_of_the_Gaza_Strip_Palestine
In our corner of the Pacific Northwest spring was normally ushered in by the Red-Winged Blackbird. I wish I hadn't taken them for granted. They haven't graced our neighborhood for years.
And where are the Tree Frogs!
We still get red-winged blackbirds, but I haven't seen tree frogs for years.
I'm with you, Karl. We've never used chemicals in our yard. In fact, we eliminated grass entirely, instead planting ground cover. We have many bird- and pollinator-friendly bushes and plantings, too. I think it's the least we individuals can do, given how much damage our species has wrought on the planet.