Water for all

Our yard is experiencing a localized drought this year. In general there hasn't been a steady rain around for ant least a couple of months. But there have been some hard rains in other parts of New England and even within a couple of miles of us. My rain gauges show a total of 7/10ths of an inch of rain since early May. The official totals for Concord are taken several miles south of here and are quite different from mine.
So we water the gardens (not the lawn) and keep the bird baths full.
I should call them critter water sources, not bird baths. We have three right outside the dining room windows. The one that is fairly shallow and flat is the one the birds use. The other two have deeper sections in the middle that hold more water but the birds don't find them very user friendly for vigorous splashing sessions.
The other creatures find them very useful. Wasps and other insects are regulars, as are squirrels, cats and all the nocturnal visitors. I think having water sources is at least as important as food sources for keeping wildlife coming back to your yard.

The Grackle invasion

There are always grackles about, but this year we seem to be having a greater concentration. They are spending a great deal of time hogging up our feeders, and the neighbors have had trouble too.

I don't know what made them suddenly like our yard so much. Any ideas?

She's watching back

Sitting at the dining table looking at one of the feeders I notice a female rose breasted grosbeak sitting on the bar. She eats a few sunflower seeds and then turns sideways on the bar and looks toward me. Pretty soon it's obvious that she is indulging in a little human watching.
I wonder if they keep life lists?

A celebration of urban wildlife

While it is great to see impressive and unusual animals I am growing more and more convinced that it is the everyday interaction with wildlife that are vital to our connection with nature. So here's to the mourning doves and squirrels and all the other everyday wild critters that provide so much pleasure.