~It is a most gloriously beautiful day here today. The leaves are coming out on the trees, daffodils and tulips are blooming, it's reasonably warm--just lovely, really.
~I've known for a while that we have raccoons (they can take apart the best squirrel-proof bird feeder made, given the opportunity) but I'd never actually seen one--until last night. I fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up (far too late) and got up to put myself to bed, I looked out the window. A big fat raccoon was standing up on his/her hind legs trying to reach the oriole feeder. Fortunately it was just out of reach. The raccoon sniffed around the hummingbird feeder, eyed the suet, scrounged among the seed droppings under the bird feeder and then ambled off.
~Yesterday I saw my first hummingbirds of the year--a male and a female--and today I had my first oriole at the feeder. I put the oriole feeder closer to the house this year, and I'm hoping to get a good picture--my camera is right beside the back door, waiting. I love Baltimore orioles.
~Grackles are really annoying birds, but they do have beautiful iridescent feathers. My squirrel-proof feeders are spring loaded so that the weight of the squirrel closes off access to the food. The grackles are heavy enough that they too cause the feeders to close, but one or two of them have figured out that if they shift their weight just so, they can get some seed. Very clever.
~Feeding the squirrels does seem to keep them away from the bird feeders, but they can go through an eight pound bag of sunflower seeds in no time. Watching the squirrels eat has made me realize that they definitely have pecking order. One squirrel has claimed the big squirrel feeder as his own, and the others stay away from it if that squirrel is anywhere around. It's funny to watch one of them try to be sneaky and get up there when it seems the alpha squirrel isn't around--usually they get chased away anyway.
~The geese on the pond have been quite loud lately. This time last year I had goslings in the yard but I haven't seen any yet this year.
~Right this minute there are two HUGE crows high in the trees at the back of the yard. I don't think I realized just how big crows were until I moved here, which seems silly since I'm sure there have been crows everywhere I've lived.
4 comments:
Grackles are everywhere here, and I love them, but they are so noisy! There are some that live near my office and they yell at me every morning. They are really beautiful, though.
I love orioles too!! I hope they're still around in Brooklyn when I get back. Although, I'm pretty psyched about some cool European birds I'm getting to see here too.
We've been having gorgeous weather here too. I love this time of year!
There are grackles all over my yard. They are the most prevelant bird with cardinals and blue jays running a close 2nd and 3rd.
I would love to have bird feeders but I fear that is like bringing lambs to the slaughter since I have 5 hunting cats.
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