Great Backyard Bird Count appeals for public's help

I know almost exactly what's going to come to my back yard.

I'm afraid of what may come to my back yard. (It's mostly Cardinals, right now, though.)

The bird count in my backyard is zero.

In the spring we get Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Woodpeckers and lots of little guys but right now, nothing........

I had a Starling flying around in my office on Thursday. It is nesting op in the structure above the drop ceiling and happened it's way through a ventilator above me. It was seriously freaked out and it took two of us about 15 minutes to catch it in a sweater and release it outside.

We have Cardinals, chickadees (the Eastern variety) and the very occasional Blue Jay but none of the many migrant species have returned yet. It has been a cold, harsh winter here and everything is returning to normal with Robins not showing up in January this year. I get a kick out of watching the many Red Tail Hawks around here hunting for their breakfast or just perched ... fluffed against the cold ... as I drive for miles every day. When I was a kid, Red Tail Hawks had become rare but they are everywhere, now (DDT?).

I love animals in general, but if you see a starling you should shoot it on sight.

I love animals in general, but if you see a starling you should shoot it on sight.


I used to do that very thing in my grandfather's cherry orchard. It is a much harder thing to do in an engineering office. They might think I wuz Mercan.