Today I was hearing what sounded like Blue Jays but when I went outside, I saw LOTS and LOTS of blackbirds. They were enjoying the chicken scratch I had put out at the bottom of the driveway. They were also

I just looked out the the window to the water pan in the yard to see two Blue Jays having a nice drink. I had not imagined that it was their calling I heard. It is so much like that of the Crow but once you've heard both, you know what you are hearing.

The hummingbirds have been gone for about 2 weeks now. I had looked out to see the feeder lying on the ground but when I went to bring it inside, I realized that the little flowers had been pulled out and were lying on the ground. I did clean it up and fill it with clean sugar water but there have been no more hummers. Some of the cardinals, chickadees and tufties still try to get to the nectar. Do they have a sweet tooth? Hummm. 

I read from so many folks who have trouble with the bees and wasps getting at their hummingbird feeders. We've had no trouble this year but it is a new feeder. The one last year had the special guards but that didn't slow down the wasps who are very aggressive. We have very few wasps this year and are mostly confined to the exhaust fan behind the kitchen stove. It is sealed from the inside but the outside covering stands open just enough to let them in and out. The old water heater closet is just full of nests but I've noticed none in the trees and brush like most years.

The one place that the wasps and bees are gathering is at the water pans. Even the water leaks around the faucets and hose connections. But I will leave the hummingbird feeder out for a while yet. It has good nectar so it is fine for a bit. 

About 3 weeks ago I realized I was hearing a very distant whippoorwill. About a week before that, I heard the sound they make when they are flying in the almost dark by their unique radar. 

A lot of bird activity lately. The baby cardinals are plentiful and oh so pretty. I heard the cry of a baby wanting to be fed and looked out the window to see a Tufted Titmouse (Tuftie) daddy feeding his young. That's when the camera is

About a week ago I looked out just in time to glimpse a bird that from the back looked more like the dark color of a cardinal from the back. But the front was a very bright red and blue and perhaps green. I tried to find it later and didn't see it again.

I have been hearing a bird singing that sounds like what is described as a mockingbird. The calls of many birds. But I hear it at night and sometimes during the day and only for about the last two weeks. I don't see what I have seen in the ID books anywhere around. But I keep an eye out.

Sometimes people report hearing gulls and wondering if they are off course. I hear the gulls all the time but there is a lake fairly near here so they are always around the lake. I remember them from when I was a kid and we went to the lake all the time.

We've not seen any of the Cow Birds in over a year now. Same as with the Red Wing Blackbirds. If you see lots of Cow Birds, you'll see a good number of Blackbirds but only a few last summer. I had heard a report on the TV where there was an alarming decrease in wild songbirds. But this was due to people keeping outdoor cats. They have areas for water and seeds to feed the birds and it becomes a place for the cats to feast. Our Sly the kitty is quite happy being an indoor cat. I also heard where cats live about 15 years longer when living indoors than outdoors.

I have seen a few Sparrows in the last week or so but they may just be busy making baby Sparrows. The baby Cardinals coming up to the seed tray are all shades of browns with spotted red that looks like the shade of medicine mother used to use.