I know it sounds corny but spring IS definitely in the air.
All the birdies have arrived. In addition to the smashing bright yellow hooded orioles that come annually to feast on Welsh’s grape jelly (last year I went thru 27 large jars), a family of grosbeaks have decided to move into the neighborhood. Rather than an occasional sighting, they’re daily visitors, with the most beautiful copper coloring, a splash of yellow underbelly, and a short beak to crack any seed.
The fledgling baby black-headed grosbeak boy and girl, wearing their soft, fuzzy feathers and naïveté, are learning the ropes this morning. Dad is nearby, watching and instructing.
The crows are here, too. Patrolling the area in a coordinated way with their buddies, they chase away errant red-tailed hawks, and thwart attempts to swoop in for dinner in their territory.
The acorn woodpecker family with their black and white bodies and striking red heads, scallop in for their meal at the feeder. The neverending stream of orange-ish house finches and pale (lesser) gold finches scatter. (Just who had the idea to name them “lesser goldfinches” anyway? What a name to be stuck with!)
With longer sharp black beaks the wood peckers are not challenges at the restaurant so they too dine on hulled sunflower seeds and millet.
In all equality I must give a shout out to occasional pigeons and mourning doves who can’t land on the feeders but enjoy the falling scraps.
And that’s just the action on one side of the house! In the bushes and bougainvillea “tree” many more birdie are singing away and seem to be having a jolly old time.
What a cool microcosm outside my window. They all seem to co-exist. Worthy lessons for us human beings for sure!
