Wildlife

I've spent a lot of time outside this spring thanks to our cleaning, planting, and building projects. One of the little blessings afforded me has been numerous sightings of all manner of wild animals. Deer are almost daily visitors, groundhogs are common. Also on the list of creatures seen are dogs, cats, a large red fox, and a coyote. The mammals we've seen are great fun to catalog, but by far the most numerous and varied are the members of the avian kingdom. Here is a list of the running tally so far, though it is probably not an exhaustive list since I have not bothered to write down my various visitors.

Crow

Robin

House sparrow

Pigeon

Starling

Grackle

Brown-Headed Cow Bird

Swallows (I'm not sure of the species)

Eastern Wild Turkey

Ring-necked Pheasant

Ruffed Grouse

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Northern Harrier

Kestrel

Merlin

Turkey Vulture

Great Blue Heron

Canada Goose

Mallard

Merganser

White Crowned Sparrow

White Breasted Nuthatch

Redwing Blackbird

Tufted Titmouse

Chickadee

Slate colored Junco

Bobolink

Eastern Meadowlark

The last bird on the list there was exciting. I have not seen a Meadowlark since I was a boy. The other day I sat on the front porch with my binoculars and watched a happy, healthy specimen waltz through our neighbor's hayfield. Every minute or so he'd throw back his head and let out a trill, then turn back to the ground and walk along, probing here and there for bugs and grubs. The yellow on his throat was the same color yellow as the dandelion blossoms he walked through.

-Edmund