Recently Noticed Wildlife

Since we put a birdfeeder on the deck a few weeks ago, we've had a variety of feathered visitors: cardinals, Carolina chicadees, assorted wrens, tufted titmice (titmouses?), mourning doves, and--for a few days--some rose-breasted grosbeaks. There's a definite (excuse me) pecking order, as the cardinals chase away the smaller birds, and the bigger mourning doves strut in to displace the cardinals. The mourning doves are easier to photograph...instead of darting in to grab a few seeds quickly, they hang around like punks in front of a candy store, daring the other birds to try to eat.

Even the mourning doves fly away when the squirrels arrive, however, and the squirrels arrive often. They climb up and around the iron pole, grab the top of the bird feeder with their hind legs, and reach down to the seeds with their front legs. Watching them do this is mildly entertaining. Watching them scramble back up, around, down, and off through the air to the nearest tree is really fun.

At first they would run wildly away when they saw me approaching from inside the house, yards from the glass door. Gradually they learned I was no threat until I reached the door and started to open it. Now even that will only make them freeze and wait to see if I'll really come any closer.

But ALL of the little creatures disappear when the hawks arrive. A pair of them have been hanging around for more than a week now, and we haven't had to refill the bird feeder nearly as often.

We haven't seen one swoop down on a smaller bird or squirrel, but those creatures seem to consider it a distinct possibility. So far we've seen them perched on this tree stump (the remainder of the tree that fell on our house), or on the deck railing, or in a nearby tree, or soaring above the trees with a loud and annoying caw-caw-caw-caw as they go. They may be trying to establish their territory, because it sure isn't to attract their prey.

The largest of all of our visitors, the deer, seem oblivious to the screeching of the hawks and the disappearance of the birds and squirrels. They just keep munching on weeds, pausing every few seconds to jerk their heads up and stare at us. We stare back, unmoving, and the deer lose interest and continue munching. If accidentally walk near them (they're nearly invisible in the woods when not moving) they will hold completely still until they feel they need to leave and then they will bound away almost faster than we can turn to see them.