The first blue jay showed up this morning – I heard him before I saw him! That screechy/squawky conversation is hard to miss. I really love all my bird guys – each is my personal favorite – and I’m sure they all know it!
This afternoon, as my grandson was turning over the garden, one particular mourning dove was keeping him company. Just wandering around, pecking away where there is usually food – and really seeming surprised when there was none. So I took some feed out – he wandered away just a bit, quite casually, and then wandered back after I finished providing his treat.
Each group seems to have arranged its own time to feed. Blue jays never get up early – 9 a m is the start of their busy day. The mourning doves love even later breakfasts – sometime around 11. And then again, 4-ish, just in time for high tea on the patio. Whereas the cardinals are out on the patio and on the feeders before day is well and truly established. Still murky dark, and the cardinals are out and about. They’re the last to stop feeding at the end of the day, too. And are in and out of the yard all day long.
Several new friends lately – at least two pairs of juncos. They are migrators, so I assume they’ll be heading north soon. Very formal attire, with their charcoal gray backs and white fronts. Just nicely modest, very tidy little birds.
I use three different books for looking up who is what and how long they’ll be staying. One is Birds of Ohio: Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela. To listen, I have Common Birds and their Songs, by Lang Elliott and Marie Read. And to go really in depth – The Encyclopedia of North American Birds.
I need all three to keep up with my feathered neighbors!
P. S. Not a sign of wild turkeys so far this March. The past several years, they’ve come to visit this time of year. Such a treat to watch.