Tell Me Where You’ve Been Birding
This is an update to a previous post . I had some server issues that are now corrected.
I’ve been birding for almost seven years. Most of it has been spent at or around my home outside of Nashville, TN. I have been blessed enough to have a fairly wide variety of both permanent and migrating species to keep me busy. I have not graduated to the birding trip to other parts of the USA or abroad. I know the time will come for that.
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I’ve been listening to my backyard since I’ve started feeding birds years ago. No matter what season it is I always try to pay attention to what’s going on back there.
Every winter, I get an interesting mixture of wintering and migrating species to my backyard. Every year, Yellow Rumped Warblers are among these. I’ll see them but not think much about it because they have been generally non-aggressive and somewhat passive feeder customers. They pick around the ground for tidbits here and there and don’t really make much a fuss about anything. That is, until this year.
Since the weather has turned colder at night I’ve had this sneaky suspicion I’m being watched every morning. As usual, my chihuahua/yorkie mix, Maggie and I go out before 6 AM. The last few mornings, however, I’ve felt there were eyes on us. I looked around and saw nothing. Then, I looked at my closest bluebird box and I spotted him. The little black and white head with the red spot on top gave him away. I had an overnight tenant. It was one of my downy woodpecker backyard residents. I had seen him looking around before and had actually put some nesting materials in the box to help him out. Apparently, he really appreciated the gesture because I’ve noticed he’s put them to good use plugging up the drafty corners on the floor of the nestbox.