Spring is coming... I am feeding bluebirds at a new feeder with freeze-dried mealworms. Have seen 4 males at one time on or near it. Wow, that blue is dazzling against the snow. They are also eating suet.
The Brown Creeper has been seen on the ground under the suet feeder, briefly, then it flies back to its favorite tree. We have seen and heard quite a few of my version of Aldo Leopold's "making the spring," the Sandhill Cranes. First Fox Sparrow was seen last week. The Red-shouldered Hawks have been back for weeks now. We didn't see or hear them in the middle of the winter when the crusty snow was too hard to get through. Paul saw 2-3 Trumpeter Swans checking out our marsh but our dog and the neighbor's dog barking over where the property line is probably shooed them off. The dogs will be quiet and shy away when the cranes are in the marsh, though. That's some bill to contend with! The Juncos are still here, as well as a few lingering redpolls. The Goldfinches are beginning to live up to their name again. Foiled a huge raccoon who had been nightly rattling the top our large metal bird food garbage can with heavy paver brick on top, and leaving it open for the squirrels during the day... by chaining it closed. He tried several more times to open it, then gave up. Spring IS coming...! Holly Peirson Columbus, SE Anoka Co. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
