My wife and I feed the critters, great and small, in our backyard (and beyond).
We have regular feathered clients like cardinals, bluejays, woodpeckers, titmice (that's the plural I think), and sparrows to say nothing of our furry friends, the squirrels (still no chipmunks after all these years! I saw one last week one more street over so I'm hoping before I shuffle off this mortal coil to be able to stage Rescue Ranger in my backyard).
We used to have turkey vultures in the trees lining our street but in recent months they've been conspicuous in their absence. And on occasion, all the small animals will draw the attention of the random small hawk whose presence terrifies just about all of them (and me, too, if I'm being honest) and it's all quiet for a couple of days on the feeding front and then, because the prey has disappeared so does the hawk.
But this time of year, I count fewer birds at our feeders and notice more overhead flight patterns all heading south. And I'm so culturally/genetically/socially conditioned that I find it interesting, and a thing of no small wonder, that the birds fly away while I remain rooted and fixed to this spot. But why?
I think we live our lives (or at least I live mine), perhaps without fully appreciating it, "Down at the edge, Round by the corner."
-bill kenny
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