Birds, Deer And Other Backyard Critters Make Stay At Home Fun

The corona virus has affected almost all of us living on this small planet, directly or indirectly. And I am pretty sure most of you who read this blog are now  familiar with the terms social distancing and stay at home orders. Well, since our law office was considered non-essential  I have been under this stay at home order and only going out for my hikes and to shop for groceries. Fortunately I can entertain myself, when I am not working at home with books, old movies, my blog and especially  watching the many animals that visit my back yard. 

I am  fortunate to own a tract of land and have a large  back yard. I  have many animals visit me throughout the year. Bear, deer, fox, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, bats and coyotes are regular visitors. And my bird feeders attract many species of birds both migratory and year rounds species.   So these are some photographs  of the critters that visited my yard  this past week.

There is a small herd of about 11 deer that visit every evening. Of course the reason for their visit is the corn and alfalfa I supply and not my company.  And I only provide enough to supplement their natural diet they forage for on my property. They are beautiful creatures and visit year round. 

This past week the turkey have returned.  I only saw three male turkeys, also called toms and gobblers.  This past week about 8 hens also showed up. 

And this dominant male was putting on a show, expanding its tail feathers and strutting in slow circles trying yo get the attention of one of the females. It is a beautiful thing to watch. 

The cute, but at times annoying squirrels are always trying to get in to my bird feeders. i am not sure what is worse them or the bear. 

And the bird feeders , I can watch them all day. So many beautiful birds all year long, but, soon they will be joined by the summer resident. Some of my favorite are the goldfinches. 

The males are a dull brown in the winter but change into their bright yellow mating colors in the spring. 

And the house finches are pretty too, the males having bright red heads. 

The robins are back too, hopping along on the ground in search of worms. 

The year round residents, the woodpeckers, 

and black-capped chickadees are frequent visitors to suet and seed feeders. 

These birds, who only reside in my yard in the winter, the dark-eyed junco will soon be heading north to their nesting areas. 

And the sparrows, I can never identify them, also frequent my back yard feeders. 

And the birds, in addition to their beautiful colors also provide me with their wonderful songs. 

In addition to these animals I can see I also have my friends the frogs, especially the spring peepers whose chorus has just started up and provides me with music at night. I will pass some of the stay at home hours  watching my critters, sharing their beauty with my friends on social media and here in my blog. Keep your eyes peeled for the post. I hope it helps some of you in these difficult times. Stay safe my friends. Here is a link to a gallery with more photographs I took of the animals in my backyard. Backyard Critters April 2020. 

“When you look a wild animal in the eye, it’s like catching a glimpse into the soul of nature itself”
― Paul Oxton

fskokoski@gmail.com

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