Crocus Time!

Two clumps of crocus heads are up in a warm spot by the pond. Their appearance coincides with a brief morning visit by two pairs of Northern Shovelers, probably headed home for the summer. Walking at Belmont State Park, I spotted a pair of Pied Grebes, a pair of Hooded Mergansers and a flock of nearly 60 Ruddy Ducks – also migrating – along with the usual Mallards and Canada Geese.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was on a Maple and a Sour Gum this week – the first sighting since Christmas. Regulars at the feeding station are a male and female Cardinal, nine Northern Juncos, about half a dozen White–throated Sparrows, a pair of Fox Sparrows, one Song Sparrow and a couple pairs of House Sparrows – all getting a lot more feisty as the seasons start to shift. Visiting the suet cage is a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, harassed now and then by Starlings.

Mallards and Black Ducks remain on the pond and a few goldfinches – not yet displaying breeding colors – are visitors to the nijer feeder. Mourning Doves perch in the trees and ebb and flow each week from two or three to as many as 20.

A sharp-shinned hawk has been making regular forays through the yard, but so far, no feather piles to show recent successes.

In late February a pair of Canada Geese turned up on the pond just after sunrise and only two days after a new fence went up – put there specifically to keep them from nesting. After years of sparring with the buggers, I learned that blocking clear access to the water from a feeding/nesting area such as our lawn is the only way to keep them from taking up residence and making the lawn unusable for the summer. So, with new bulkheading last year, I knew they would start looking for a good spot and a fence would be needed. They must have clear access to water when they molt and when young appear, and they know months ahead of that date that a fence will be a problem. I got it in just in time…always working to deadline.

They have appeared a few times since, but after staring at the fence they leave within minutes of arrival.

Having been quiet since the beginning of the year, morning bird songs are starting up again. A now noisy Cardinal buzzed the lady of the house yesterday morning when she stepped outside – looks like no interloper of any size is to be tolerated.