AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL....FOR THE BIRDS!!

THE EYES OF THE GRACKLE ARE UPON ME!! (Kinda reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's movie, The Birds......click to enlarge & see the intense stare)

No humidity so we have a mighty fine sunny day going on in the pine forest. Temperatures really dropped last night so it was a good morning for doing some outside things. DOWNIE WOODPECKER FOUND HIMSELF A GRUB

On our walk this morning I came across a perfectly good bird feeder in the recycling area here in the park. Made of wood it is designed to hold Niger seed for finches so I brought it home & that set up the work pattern for the morning. Re-located some feeding stations & added some more things around the pond. All in all, a nice kind of puttering around morning. NORTHERN RED BREASTED NUTHATCH

The feathered air traffic is getting quite heavy at times in our front yard now with many take-offs & landings & I'm fearing a mid air collision. Some flights make a straight in approach while others fly a zig-zag pattern before landing. There have been a few near misses on the runway feeders. Smaller Cessna-like Nuthatch's & Sparrows taxiing on the branches before lift-off are nearly bowled over by air turbulence from larger 747 jumbo Grackles, Robins, & Red Winged Blackbirds coming in on final approach. There are occasional hang gliding Monarch butterflies in the mix as well & our two birdbaths are popular with some of the flights even ending up in the drink. I'm going to have to send an email off to Sesame Street & see if they will let Big Bird come to Bayfield for a few weeks to do Air Traffic Control out here in our front yard. I've got some splints & bandages on the porch just in case we have to dispatch a medi-vac team to a feathery crash site as well. TIGER LILY

As if there wasn't enough air traffic congestion already I'm contemplating adding a hummingbird feeder to the mix shortly which will really ratchet up the action with fast moving ruby throated mini-choppers hovering for air space. Things are really humming along here so to speak. CHIPPING SPARROW

I have also made some other observations since getting into this little front yard bird project a few weeks ago. The birds are getting tamer & I've actually been within a few feet of the feeders & some of the smaller birds have not flown off in a big panic. Another nice benefit is the constant tweet & chitter of many bird songs in our yard. Even in the house now we can hear the chorus of Cardinals, Blue Jays, Goldfinches, Sparrows, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Grosbeaks, Red Wing Blackbirds, Morning Doves, & an occasional Oriole. (I would really like to get a photo of an Oriole) THE GRACKLE LAUCHES HIS ATTACK!!

A mobility van run to Mitchell Ontario was about all that happened this afternoon & I was back home before 6. The birds were waiting for me. And a big hello to my old doggy pals Pearce & Gleeson on the ranch down there in Arizona. Thanks for the email guys & too bad about the heat & lack of rain this summer. Max, Checkers, & the little Motormouse are wagging their tails really fast right now trying to send you down some of this nice cool Canadian air:)) MAX SAYS HELLO TO THE ARIZONA RANCH GANG ON BEHALF OF OF THE BAYFIELD BUNCH GANG UP HERE IN ONTARIO, CANADA.

GROANER'S CORNER: She's happy to make a pair of pants for you, or at least sew its seams.

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