The Barred Owl hunts in the daytime and stops by occasionally |
I’m not talking about tropical birds like parrots or
cockatoos. They could be seen quite regularly in our area year-round. In
fact, knowing someone who owned an “exotic” bird was about as common as a friend
with a German shepherd or Siamese cat.
I don’t know the names of the birds that sat in our
trees or listened for worms in the grass. But they fascinated me.
Later, as an adult, I became a dedicated bird bore. My husband and I bought reference books and made notes each time we spied a new variety and jotted down the date it first crossed our paths.
While living in the D.C. area, we noticed a few
bluebirds in the garden so we rushed out and bought a proper nesting box.
Before long, Mr. Bluebird was standing on the house singing, inviting
prospective partners to come by and see his shiny new digs.
Bluebird box my Dad made, now attracting a chipmunk |
It appears he turned at least one female head, because
within days, Mr. and Mrs. were setting up housekeeping (probably with newlywed
furnishings from Ikea.) For a few weeks, there was continual activity at the
box, with both birds flitting in and out. Then nothing.
It wasn't unusual to see a hawk near the bird houses |
I called our local Wild Bird store and tearfully described our discovery. “They were probably an immature pair and didn’t know how to be parents,” he explained. “Next time, they’ll do a better job.”
And they
did.
A Bird
Bonanza
We next moved to a cottage on a river off the
Chesapeake Bay. For bird bores like us, it turned out to be heaven on earth.
For the 15 years we lived there we were treated to an
amazing parade of birds: herons, Tundra swans, turkeys, ospreys, egrets,
woodpeckers, all manner of ducks, red-tailed hawks, and “regular birds” including
catbirds and hummingbirds.
Mrs.
Mallard made her nest every year under one of my rosebushes.
We were privileged to witness a continuing nature
documentary almost every day.
We had dozens of eagles living nearby on the Eastern Shore |
I once photographed seven Bald Eagles fighting over a
dead duck stuck in the ice on the river. We watched a Great Horned Owl land a tree by a bird feeder my Dad made. We
saw the sky darken as thousands of Canada geese headed back to the wildlife
refuge from local cornfields. We listened to the haunting cries of the loons.
Of course, we love our local birds including
cardinals, juncos, nuthatches, tufted titmice, finches, and hummingbirds. The
pileated woodpeckers live here too, but they are shy birds and don’t care to
have their picture made.
On occasion an unusual bird stops by and visits for a
while.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
That sighting took me back to the time when I was four
years old. I was looking out at the yard one day when a beautiful cobalt blue
bird landed on a branch of the oleander bush outside my bedroom window.
Oh, how pretty, I said softly to myself. Then the bird began to sing
just for me.
And I was hooked.
Kookaburra I spied in Australia (laughing of course)