This weekend was the “Great
Backyard Bird Count”, and we tried to participate in my household. The weather did not cooperate on Saturday,
but that was ok and par for the course.
On Sunday morning we were sitting at the breakfast table and there was
the attack of the Common
Grackle. I think there were a few
hundred on our bird feeders. Behind them
in our vegetable garden there was a mixed flock of Red-winged
Black Birds and Brown-headed
Cowbirds. Lots of noise and they
chased all the other birds away. A half
our later I went to walk the dogs in the woods behind our home, and the birds
were waiting for me (a friend posted on my face book ... "paging Mr. Hitchcock, come and get your birds"). The woods were full
of these guys. The next day we went to
the swamp a half hours walk behind our home and saw large groups of the
Red-winged Blackbird and American Robins.
This count is every President’s Day
weekend for us living here in the U.S. and we have participated with it for
five or more years. This year we had the
lowest count. I am not sure if the
weather was an issue or if we are just getting fewer birds. Most troubling was the lack of Red-headed Woodpeckers
and Wood Ducks in
the swamps behind our home. We usually
see them there, but this year they were not to be found. I’m sure we will check again a few weeks from
now to see if they have returned.
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