It's been awhile ( a month or more) since the Grosbeaks have been eating from
the feeders, but they've returned! I assume they were busy raising young,
relying on a food source other than sunflower seeds for the nutritional needs
of their nestlings.
Purple finches (young and old) continue to eat me out of house and home.
Yesterday I saw the most gorgeous mature Bald Eagle, flying over Rt. 250
towards the Blue Grass Valley.
On a different note, for the third year in a row, a single snapping turtle
lives in the small pond which is fed by our spring. I know that he/she must
have moved in during the very wet season a few years back when streams and wet
swales existed where they normally dry up in the summer. At first, I tried to
remove the snapper to another location, thinking it would consume all of my
amphibian young and eggs. But the frogs and newts are thriving, so I think it's
better to let them co-exist. I'm sure the turtle doesn't have a mate, so I
don't have to worry about too many turtles in my little pond!
At this very moment, I have a mature male RB Grosbeak, a male and female Purple
Finch, a young Purple Finch and plenty of Goldfinches and hummers to add to the
color. I have had to rig up a baffle system to keep the red squirrels and
chipmunks out of my seed and my hummer feeders. They've taken to chewing the
plastic on the feeders, which I don't appreciate.
Patti
Patti Reum
Bear Mountain Farm and Wilderness Retreat
2599 Bear Mountain Rd.
Monterey, VA. 24465
www.mountain-retreat.com
