Bob had just cleaned the ground level bird waterer late this afternoon and the first visitor was a lovely Swainson's Thrush. The distinct eye-spectacles and patterned face were very apparent as it took a leisurely bath. And its back was sort of olive brown. The kitchen window was not open so there was no camera perched on a bean bag, much to our disappointment.
Another disappointment is that we spotted (and chased) yet another cat coming through the yard just now. The stray cat problem after the flood of 2008 has been huge and there is a misguided group of people feeding them. They also try to catch and neuter some. On the whole it is a problem for the ground and shrub birds here in the city. Last year when this came to light I wrote letters to the City Council and the Gazette with references to research about the damage done by stray cats. No one answered and the Gazette has recently done another article about the cat feeding group. Linda Scarth Cedar Rapids --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
