Back Yard Friends

Because of injury, travel, illness, and one monster home improvement project, I have not been making my usual forays into nature. So I thought I’d provide encouragement of a different kind. I have previously written about my adventures, forays into the wilderness, parks and wetlands near where I live. I have shared what I’ve learned from those excursions and encouraged readers to make excursions of their own. This post is not like that. This time, I merely want to encourage you to step outside where you are and be still for a while. Pay attention to nature around you and “tune yourself in” to the comings and goings of the creatures where you live. You might just be richly rewarded with wild beauty in your own back yard.

Some time ago, I observed that a “dinner bell” seemed to ring at our feeders. The birds seemed to arrive together, eat for a while together and then leave together as though they all got a group text to leave. Not long ago, I read an explanation for that. Apparently the songbirds work in cooperation with each other. Each feeds differently, has different acute senses, and therefore can contribute to the collective security differently. Some take food and eat high in the trees, some eat at the feeders and some on the ground. Some have keen eyesight, some arrive in large groups and some are highly intelligent (like the Corvids-Blue Jays and Crows). As a result, if they feed at the same time a large group of different species of songbirds is more likely to spot a predator (like a Coopers Hawk) than one or two stray birds grazing at a feeder. The two lookout leaders seem to be (unscientific-just my observations) the Carolina Chickadee and the Northern Cardinal.

Depending on the time of the year and where you live, you can get some brightly colored and delightful visitors from the warbler family. In Florida we get Pine Warblers, Palm Warblers and Yellow Rumped Warblers as a matter of routine. All three can be welcome visitors to your yard and are colorful, flashy and easy to spot. Add Goldfinches to that group and you have a brilliant array.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention hummingbirds in this group. They are attracted to flowers and feeders. Here in the southeastern United States the most common is the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. They arrive late spring, reproduce and eat like crazy then migrate across the Gulf to Mexico and South America. Difficult to imagine such a tiny, frail creature making such a journey. Barely larger than some insects (males smaller than females) the males have brilliant iridescent red scarf across the front of their necks. They are difficult to photograph as they move fast and in unpredictable directions. But every now and then…

There are other visitors to the yard aside from birds. The most common of which is the squirrel. They benefit a great deal from the Mourning Doves who are quite messy and kick and scatter bird seed all around the feeders. Every now and again, we get a rabbit too.

Lastly, if you are in the United States and watching the goings on in your yard, pay close attention to the “Back Yard Mafia” or the “Little Brown Jobs” (as my mother calls them), the Carolina Wrens. I contend that these comedic little birds run the entire operation. Frequently run out of the feeders by Blue jay bullies, they hide underneath squawking and seemingly taunting the larger bird. They play on everything, make nests in anything anywhere and have comedic expressions. Some of the first birds to rise and sing in the morning and last to go to sleep at night these tiny balls of energy are interesting and fearless. They will get close to humans, human stuff and don’t leave your garage door open too long or it will be a Carolina Wren nursery!

So, early in the morning or late in the afternoon, get a cool glass of something to drink and a fan (especially if you live somewhere where its been so hot) and go outside and sit in the shade for a while. Watch and listen. Turn off the distractions of the world and turn on nature right there in your yard. These creatures will surround you with song and activity. As you settle in, and leave the other world behind to watch and listen, you might just feel a sense of calm and connection.

Readers, we never can truly know what our fellow humans are dealing with at any moment. It is my hope that in sharing my experiences and insights some might be entertained, some educated and some who need to see or read these this might find what they need. If you liked what you read here, please feel free to subscribe and share. In sharing you never know who you might touch that may need this content. If we work to treat those around us the way we want to be treated, we just might make the world a better place. Be safe.