Fred banded another immature male Black-chinned today at Steve's house as well as 2 immature male Ruby-throated and an immature female Ruby-throated. That's 14 birds in 2 days! My banded bird from yesterday has not shown itself today but I did have a mature male Ruby here. I had seen one on Monday and I think it may have been being chased off by the immature male since it has pretty much occupied the yard all day today.

Ah I wish my possum had stuck around. I fed him part of my ham sandwich, well I left it on the floor for him, and it (and he) were gone the next morning, never to return. As far as unwelcome furry guests, I do seek to control the numbers of the mice in the barn, via passive/aggressive predator measures, despite the fact that I consider white-footed field mice to be one of the cutest creatures on the planet. Cats, snakes, and weasels are all enlistees in my rodent control volunteer army. There are only a few specimens of wildlife that I relentlessly exterminate. Hornets and wasps top the list and I shoot for a zero population of these stinging insects every summer. They are followed by the fleas, ticks, and internal parasites that seek to victimize myself and my family, both two and four footed. These particular unwelcome insects, arachnids, and nematodes are the only pests to provoke me into chemical warfare, as my general rule is to shun pesticides and herbicides. If my house sparrows had left with the blackbirds, they would have been no problem. Not that my blackbirds leave, they are full time residents each summer. I would have welcomed raptor sparrow predation, but I've never seen a hawk touch ground here, although they frequently circle overhead above the woods. They probably have a collective memory of being shot at unfortunately, and seek prey in distant meadows away from human habitation. The rapidly multiplying plague of house sparrows that descended on my property, bent on colonization, was something I liken to a swarm of locusts. I've never seen anything like it. I now understand why they have so many enemies, and I am generally very tolerant of invasive wildlife. I even like feral pigeons! Then there are those pests who have bested me. I sadly concede defeat to the red lily beetle. (RIP my beautiful tiger lilies.) I also see no reasonable means of eradicating the Japanese beetles, now that they have found me. Instead I am planting only those flowers this year that seemed to have resistance to the beetles last year, and giving up on those that were a sought after delicacy. Thankfully my perennials are among those with resistance, so none have become casualties. Turning to non-pests, "my" pair of tufted titmice are checking out last year's nest in my barn, thinking about refurbishing it I guess. They're next to impossible to photograph, as is their partially hidden nest up in the rafters.

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to try to participate this year :-)

Marilyn...I've been a member here for a long, long time and although I don't post often, I never missed one of your posts before you left. I'm so glad you're back...for what now are selfish reasons that I thought you'd like to read. At the moment, I going through a very rough time with my furry soul mate...a 15 year old Himalayan named Tasha. We've been to the vet and I'm sitting here waiting for test results. In the mean time, she's a very sick kitty and will only take home made food from my finger tips. I fear she has failing kidneys...but only the tests will tell...and I'm trying desperately to patiently awake those test results. In the mean time...reading [and identifying with] your animal tales is giving me a kind of temporary solace that I'm so appreciative of right now. Thank you for being you and for sharing yourself here. Your generosity is making such a difference in my life right now. Anne