Birds of Different Feathers

The mallards came back. But they didn't stay long. It's been about seven years now.

This year, I doubt it was more than a couple of hours

The water in the pool cover is lower than usual. It's been pumped out a couple of times already.

They come down in the water and find sustenance there.Then they hoist themselves onto the deck. They take turns sleeping. One rests on the warm concrete while the other watches.

She had trouble getting up the tarp ....kept slipping back.. He stayed behind until she made it. Then he had the same problem. We didn't see them leave and they didn't come back.

Of all the birds that live in my fifty by sixty-three feet backyard, robin is undoubtedly the smartest.

They usually stay separate. They're handsome but not flashy. They're relatively quiet and hunt by listening and are always successful.

Last week, there was a great hullabuloo.. A squirel came tearing out of a tree with two robins hard on his tail.He raced across the yard and hid in the cedar hedge .They were on top of him all the way.

He broke out of the hedge and raced up a tree with the robins still on his back. He vanished from sight along the telephone wires. They were still driving him forward with angry and determined clicks. .

I doubt he'll be back before the eggs hatch.
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Robin stands watch.

Cardinals appear in a flash of brilliance but never stay put. Blue jays show up full of noise
and apparent industry and take off.

Robin appears in a place with a clear view to everywhere and stands sentinel.

He perches and peers. There might be twenty-five feet between us but he stares as if he's
warning me.

"I'm watching you. Make a move and you'll see."

In a matter of weeks, fledglings will take wing.

There will be a heck of a ruckus . For a week, fat chicks will wobble on the wires . Cats will be seen lurking.

If feathers are to be found, they are usually of the hue of blue.