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.

Spring has sprung!

I have been tracking bird spring migration arrivals since 2000 when we moved back to the farmhouse. This year the daffodils began poking through the soil the last week of February on the warm south side of the house. What a surprise and I giddy with expectation of things to come. Then a lone Common Grackle spotted my bird feeders in the honeysuckle bush on March 1st. Here again, the arrival was about 2 weeks early at my 1730 elevation in western Massachusetts. The following days saw the arrivals of Red-winged blackbirds, a Song Sparrow and the rest of the black birds who announced their arrival with a cacophony of trills, squeaks and crackles (music to my ears!) As the second week of March rolled around, the temperature climbed into the high 60’s and dropped into the 20’s at night (perfect for sugaring with the sweet scent of maple syrup in the air). The robins are beginning to return and one female bluebird has been scouting out the summer accomodations located strategically in the pasture.

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