My yard has been unusually birdy for the past few days, with Purple Finch,
Brown Creeper, and Fox Sparrow, plus a Red-breasted Nuthatch who much to my
delight seems to have decided to hang around. I hope it doesn't get picked
off by the Cooper's Hawk(s) cruising my feeder area.
The warm air seemed to activate avian hormones. I heard the silvery trill of
a singing Junco. In a shrub, a male House Sparrow and a "brownie" PUFI
threatened each other. Then the sparrow plucked a large dead leaf hanging
nearby and flung it at the finch, which flinched (say that three times
fast!).
Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
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"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot |