Are you fascinated by birds, their ability to escape the confines of earth with flight, their marvelous color patterns and not in the least, their song?

Have you complied a life list over the years? What are your favorites among those birds you have seen and heard?

Having watched and studied birds most of my life and compiled a substantial life list from various parts of the country and beyond, I have my favorites amongst the group and they are now prominently displayed on the wall in my great room as seen on the right.

It might even be fun to include your state bird in the center of that group. I am in the process of including all the state birds in my collection. Enter the gallery by clicking on any of the images or on the gallery link above, and see what you like.

Real estate wars

We have installed a barn owl nesting box in our barn in the hopes that we might attract barn owls next spring to our farm. In the meanwhile, our resident starlings who normally nest in tree hollows, were irresistibly  drawn to the dark hole in the side of the barn.  They cluster around the roof’s peak waiting their turn to inspect the cavity.  I bet they are hoping to spend the cruelest and coldest days of winter safely tucked away within the confines of the nest box.  Starlings will also sit upon active chimneys enjoying the warmth if not the smoke rising from within. However, come early February or March, we are hoping to have a mated pair of barn owls take up residence in the barn box.  Being larger and predatory, it is a sure bet the starlings will beat a fast retreat or become an unexpected lunch for the owls.