Where Are the Birds?

Where are the birds?

I enjoy watching wild birds at the bird feeders during winter. I think my favorites are black-capped chickadees.

They’re cute and friendlier than many of the other species that visit my yard. When I fill the feeder, it’s not unusual to hear a cheerful “dee-dee” from a nearby tree, and often a chickadee is the first to retrieve seeds from the feeder. At times, one will flit to the feeder as I’m turning away.

(Larry Doucet from Pixabay)

Another of my favorite birds is the downy woodpecker, the smallest and friendliest of the three woodpecker varieties that visit my yard. A female sometimes watches me from the suet as I fill the seed feeder. Sometimes she peeks at me from behind a tree branch.

(Jack Bulmer from Pixabay)

I also get hairy woodpeckers and red-bellied woodpeckers.

Slate-colored juncos are regulars, a whole flock of them. My mother called them snowbirds. They’re generally ground feeders. (Jack Bulmer from Pixabay)

Blue jays, noisy and scrappy, are a bit greedy and like to tip the feeder to spill the seed on the ground. Male and female cardinals, blackbirds, finches, sparrows, titmice, and nuthatches all make an appearance.

One day, no birds! With the snow and ice melting during a February thaw, they probably found what they needed in the woods and fields. However, three wild turkeys replaced them and gladly cleaned up the seed on the ground.

The birds came back with the next snowfall.

Gray squirrels are opportunists that invade the bird feeders and gobble up the seed. And neighborhood cats—I like cats, but they scare away the birds and eat the suet from the suet feeder. It irks me that park residents don’t keep their cats indoors as the rules state. (Rant over.)

Spring is coming. I heard a cardinal calling this morning.

(photo by me)

I recently read Jen Dodrill’s cozy mystery Where’s the Quetzal?

The book features the adventures of the Empty Nesters Birding Group, who like to identify and learn about wild birds around Pensacola, Florida. A missing Quetzal, a recently discovered wrecked ship reported to contain treasure, and the return of two wanted criminals add to the suspense. If you like to read mystery and suspense, along with amateur sleuths, family relationships, and a bit of romance, I think you’ll enjoy reading Where’s the Quetzal?

What’s a Quetzal? It’s a bird that inhabits the mountainous tropical forests of Central America. The Quetzal is not endangered yet, but with its habitat disappearing, its survival is a concern for bird lovers.