I wasn't surprised that we had rain - it is April in New England, after all - but I was a little surprised by how much avian activity I witnessed.
Just now a bright red cardinal perched briefly in the tree outside the nearest window. Earlier there were several goldfinches - bright yellow now - at one of my feeders. And a turkey that has been hanging around here was checking out the dregs under the feeders. The finches were making quite a lovely racket in the trees even when it was raining really hard. I did see a robin sitting on my step looking rather grumpy, but it didn't seem to be in any distress. I can't imagine how those tiny feathered bodies survive in such wet conditions. I suppose some don't, but in general they seem to do just fine. Chalk another one up to Mother Nature, I guess.
Oh, oh, as I write this, a pair of mallards is swimming in my tiny little pond. How exciting! I get a pair almost every spring, for a day or two, but they don't nest here - my pond is too small, and it pretty much dries up most summers. Also, there is a lot of foot traffic to disturb them - you have to cross a bridge to get to or from my house because the stream is between the house and the street. Can you see the quackers in this photo? Mrs. has her head down, dabbling, while Mr. is right about at the center of the bridge.
Please keep in mind that it was raining, and also getting dark when I took this photo...
your own little pond and stream!
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