One of the great things about where my family and I live in the city is the variety of flying creatures that land at our feeding stations and birdbath.
We set these things up a few years ago and now we have fun every day trying to identify the birds that come around and while the darned grackles have reduced the numbers of exotic types that used to visit, we still get the occasionial cardinal, bluejay, goldfinch and even rose-breasted grosbeak. Lots of mourning doves and robins.
We are far from experts but we have gotten pretty good at identifying what it is that is flailing away in the bath or munching down in a feeder.
What I like to see are the hawks that fly overhead, directly over our place, usually two but sometimes only one. They are so majestic, catching the updrafts, putting out minimal effort as they soar.
Seeing them takes me back to my days growing up on the farm when hawks seem to be ever present. Our Dad instilled in all his seven kids a respect for the great rodent harvesters in the sky. He was glad for their presence and would often point them out to us if we didn’t see them first.
I do that too, now, and the other day I urged my neighbour to take a look up in the sky where two hawks were circling over our backyard.
“Those aren’t hawks,” my neighbour corrected me. ‘They’re wild turkeys.
“Those guys will mess you up.”
FOR SALE: A pretty, three-bedroom bungalow in an older area of town. Beautiful neighbourhood. Very safe setting. No dangerous birds in the area. Price reasonable. Immediate possession. Love it here but need a change. Inquire within.
©2020 Jim Hagarty
