The last couple of weeks have been chilly. Snow storms and wind. The sun finally came out yesterday, but it wasn't warm. None the less, Sarah Labrador likes to go out to soak up what sun there is. Well, she does have a nice double coat to keep that wind at bey. The Terriers go out for a while, but come in long before Sarah.
Birds galore. Not having cats in the neighborhood does make a difference! I have birds that aren't suppose to be here. Several Golden Crowned Sparrow's seem to have decided to stay. According to the field guides, they don't breed this far south. They do run with White Crowned Sparrow's which do breed in this area and there are several of those as well. Another Sparrow I shouldn't have is the Savanah Sparrow. There is one, maybe two running with the other sparrow's. They are suppose to like the grasslands, not conifer forests. At any rate, they look as though they plan on staying for a while.
The California Quail haven't come back yet this year. I had a good sized flock last year. I do have a lot of Mourning Doves. Maybe they don't co-habitate as they are both ground feeders. Lot's of Juncos, Nuthatches, Robins and Stellar's Jays. The Jays usually move on but there are couple sticking around. The woodpeckers aren't coming in as often as they did in the winter, but stop by now and then.
Last year there was one poor little Junco that raised a Cowbird. I saw the first Cowbird this morning. Well, some one will be raising a kid that's not theirs.
Lots of tree squirrels this year as well. The Western Gray Squirrel are big and bold. I've been sending the dogs out to keep them on the other side of the driveway, away from the house. Typical Gray, they get complacent, thinking there is no way the dumb dog can get them. One lost some tail fur yesterday, thinking that Sarah couldn't catch him.
Labradors aren't as dumb as they appear. When I was a kid, we had a male Lab. He'd chase the squirrels and they got so confident that they would walk right by him as he slept. Didn't work out too well for one squirrel. I was watching at the time and that dog just waited, then as fast as lightening he was up and had that squirrel in his jaws. The other squirrels didn't test him any further. The one yesterday though, I'll bet it'll be back.
Have some Red Squirrels coming in as well. They are a little bit more shy than the Gray. Haven't seen any ground squirrels yet. I put poison out for the ones in my septic field and they ate it, so hopefully they won't come back. They do sooooo much damage. That was the one thing I loved about having the cats, no ground squirrels. But, no birds either.
If the ground squirrels come back, I may have to get a cat. I'd hate to lose the birds, but I can't afford the damage the squirrels do. Well, we'll see, I'll enjoy the birds for now.
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