Although I retired in 2009, I still have not totally connected with what goes on around me at home and in my garden. The diversity of critters that come and go fascinates me, and to another degree fascinates Razzle. I know now about the rats, possums, raccoons, skunks and squirrels. I can tell them apart and know some of their habits. But I am almost completely ignorant of the birds that inhabit the neighborhood.
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Monday Youffraita
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Wednesday Pam from Calif
Thursday art ah zen
Friday FloridaSNMOM
Saturday FloridaSNDad
Sunday loggersbrat
I do know though that I have at least 2 of the biggest blabbermouth birds in the area in my garden, those being the mockingbirds and the crows. The crows follow what goes on in the yard and let me know if something is amiss, like when the kittens got out earlier this year. Those crows squawked at me for a while before I went to see what was happening and found the kittens bouncing out of the plants and the crows telling me to get them out of there! I did and they still berated me for a few minutes afterwards for being so careless. I agreed and thanked them for letting me know.
But the mockingbirds always seemed to just squawk at almost everything. I have not paid much attention to them in the past but in the last couple of weeks, I have come to realize that they get into high dudgeon when there is a hawk in my garden. I have seen him 3-4 times now. I think he is a Cooper’s Hawk but what I don’t know about birds fills libraries and it is hard to get a good look at him. I heard the mocking birds putting up a terrible fuss last week and saw them dive bombing the hawk on the wires above my pond. He stood his wire for a little while and then wheeled away on the tips of his wings. Then earlier this morning, I heard them again and saw the hawk in the bird of paradise palm tree. He abandoned it pretty soon after they noisily arrived.
I am sure he is hunting, and checking the googles says that there may be chicks this late in the year. I haven’t seen him with one but it would be just luck if I did. Some years ago, a red tailed hawk dropped a pigeon in our yard and made quite a fuss about it until I took it from the dog and up it up on the fence where he could see and retrieve it. He took it off to a utility pole and ate it there.
End of the nature review from Chez Riley. Take care of yourselves.