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This morning as I was out pulling a few weeds in the garden, I noticed 6 Sparrow Hawks (American Kestrels) flying overhead. We have had a pair of Sparrow Hawks nesting in our backyard tree for a couple of years. But this is the first time that their brood has hung around like this. I am sure that they are striking terror in the hearts of all the European Starlings that also nest in our trees. Perhaps the those starlings are crafty though and have surveillance cameras and a tv wall mount to keep track of the hawks. Now, I love hawks of all kinds but these little ones are a bit noisy in the morning hours. I suppose that is one reason why I keep waking up with the chickens. That tree is right outside my bedroom window! Despite the noise I have enjoyed watching their aerial acrobatics.

Oh, the drama! This week there has been robins fighting with red-headed woodpeckers and sparrow hawks stirring up every bird in the yard. On day the cacophony was so loud I was ready to put each species of bird in its very own custom boxes just for some peace. I am not real sure what all of the issues were but somehow the dog even got dragged into it and was being harassed by the robins. Things seem to have calmed down today, thankfully!

We have a bluebird house that has had bluebirds in it just one year. That was the first year we put it up. Ever since then the house sparrows have nested in it. I am not sure if they have taken out an online mortgage on the thing so that the bluebirds have no way of using it or what. We have tried cleaning out the sparrow’s nest on numerous occasions but they just keep rebuilding. I really don’t know what the solution is to this problem. It really just solidifies the fact that English house sparrows are just a nuisance specie in this country. I would much rather enjoy bluebirds thank you very much.

We have been really pretty lucky this summer. So far we have only had a handful of hot, sticky days. Normally by this time we are really starting to hit the hot, humid weather that Illinois is known for in the summer and we are all dreaming of vacations on Winter Park real estate. I am sure that the near perfect days of high 70’s with little humidity has varying effects on the bird population. While some are probably loving the cooler temperatures, some are probably wondering what happened to summer. I think of the tiny hummingbirds that are using up so much of their energy at night to stay warm. Come to think of it, I have yet to see a hummer this summer. I hope they temperatures won’t keep them away all season!

About 2 months ago I got a pair of geese. They are pretty much full grown now and what is amazing is their feet. They almost look like they are wearing a pair of Ecco shoes. (I don’t know what Ecco shoes are but just go with it.) Their feet are just big and rubbery and funny looking. Yes, I have always know that geese have big webbed feet. I have never really been able to examine them up close before though. Geese feet just crack me up. Its okay to call me weird. I already know that, too.

Here along the Mississippi River we have been fighting flood waters. Yesterday the kids and I spent several hours filling sandbags and helping on the levee. Despite the flooding I heard plenty of birds singing in the treetops. I supposed that unlike their water loving cousins (ducks, geese and the like) songbirds are unaffected by the high water. I wonder what kind of effect the flooding has on the water birds. I imagine that perhaps some babies are lost as well as nesting sites destroyed. Beyond that I don’t know. And really my mind isn’t prepared to contemplate it. Too many other things are occupying it right now.

This post is brought to you by Briggs and Riley.

We have had a little chipping sparrow that can be seen and heard throughout the day. He perches mostly on the one end of the clothes line and trills away. I almost think that there should be one of those engraved plaques on the clothesline post with his name on it he sits there so much. I mean, really, a song sparrow took his spot today and I thought a fight would surely break out! I love that these little sparrows sit not too far from a window. Their song just makes me happy.

The Bobwhite Quail have really been thick this year. I hear them calling from all parts of the pasture and creek line. We even found one that had been hit alongside the road by the pasture. We have always had a healthy population of quail on our place but this year there really seem to be a lot. I have yet to see any in the pasture but they are fairly close to the house and barn a lot of times. I have been hoping to get a good picture of one. If I do, I would like to check into custom picture framing for it. If I don’t, I still enjoy listening to them.

The other day there was a log floating down the river. This is not an unusual sight. Logs and whole trees float down the river on a regular basis. But this particular day on this particular log was a group of gulls hitching a ride down river. I am not sure if they thought they had got on one of the Disney cruises or if they were just tired of floating on the river itself. At any rate, it was a very interesting sight.

A while ago I wrote about purple martins and how it was a goal of mine to see one this summer. Well, several weeks ago I went to an Amish store with a friend. As I was waiting for her to finish paying, I was piling my stuff in the van. I realized that a large swallow like bird kept flying overhead. I turned to watch it and saw a purple martin house. Then I realized that there were purple martin houses lined up in front of the house like a row of cheap hotels. And there were purple martins EVERYWHERE! Yes! I not only saw one purple martin but I saw about 30 of them. Check that one off the list.