Another Post About BIrds and Such

Things may not be as bleak as I had expected them to be, and I am considering some unusual observations as positive signs. Last Thursday, I spotted a catbird in the side yard by the small shed. On Wednesday in the city, I spotted two falcons on the balcony outside the meeting room I was in. Yesterday, there was a red tailed hawk in the apple tree by the pond, and a flock of blue jays came down and chased it away. This morning, a bald eagle flew right in front of my car as I crossed the reservoir!

On Saturday, I saw one of our comets in a pool by the road about a quarter mile downstream from our pond. It seems that at least one of the fish we lost in storms survived or that some eggs hatched downstream. Mrs Vache Folle (who came back from her mother’s) wants to retrieve it, but I’d just as soon leave it be.

The hummingbirds have been going through a quart of sugar water a week lately, and I have seen as many as eight females by the feeder at one time. I have seen up to four females feeding cooperatively. More often, however, I have observed aerial combat.

A week or so ago, I spotted an injured sparrow by the pond-side feeders. It probably had a run in with the feral cat that has been hanging around. I put some food on the ground for it but expected that it would not last long. But it healed up gradually and managed to fly again fairly well over several days. There’s lots of hiding places by the pond, so it could evade the cat, and the dogs pay no heed to small birds at all. The snakes rarely come out of the pond lately. Still, I was overjoyed that the hopeless sparrow recovered. I reckon God does have His eye on the sparrow after all.

Since the days have been getting shorter, I have had more occasion to sit outside after dusk. I don’t remember seeing so many bats in years past. There are hundreds of them in the back yard over the meadow and pond, and I don’t know how they avoid collisions. Perhaps there is an air traffic control tower for bats somewhere. I don’t know where they go in the daytime, but I would not be surprised to find that Hosner Mountain had caves.

The deer have been boldly grazing inside the fence right up to the house, and the dogs get to chase them every morning first thing when I let them out. The grazing is good since it has been so wet this summer. Perhaps some of the other unusual conditions are related to the increased rain. Usually by this time, the creeks have been dried up for weeks, and the pond is only half full. But this year, the creeks have been running for all but about ten days here and there, and I have only had to water the garden a single time. The garden is lush and the lawn wants mowing constantly. On the downside, the deer fly season was extended for a couple of miserable weeks.