Last night Hubs and I were sitting on the porch swing. We began to hear a hoot owl so we got up slowly and sat on the porch step. There was the most majestic site up on our neighbor's chimney top. 4 short hoots and then 2 long hoots over and over. It was too dark for pictures. But his silloquette (sp ?) was enough to keep us entertained until he flew over our heads and over our roof. Two geese flew very low over the backyard this morning. They were white and sort of chubby. You can tell that I got my masters in oranthology. (Actually I have a PHD at being a 'booger head'. You can just call me DR. Boogerhead.) Ya'll Spring is here and we are blessed to witness Nature at her busiest. Jeanne- Did you make that pebble bird bath? It is so attractive. Just ask that Robin. I would probably cry if I saw an Eagle Sandy!!!! I have only seen 'one' in my entire life. They are exquisit. Your neighbor got lucky!!!

Oh it doesn't sound good, I think it's unusual for a goose to be by itself. The geese here are just beginning to flock for migration. According to BNA ... "Breeders are monogamous, with life-long pair bonds formed usually during the second year. Offspring remain with their parents throughout the first year of life, traveling together in large flocks of family groups" Their diet ... "Canada Geese depend primarily on grasses, sedges, or other green monocots during periods of increase in lean body mass, primarily the growth period in summer (Sed-inger and Raveling 1984) and spring premigration and migration periods (McLandress and Raveling 1981a, Coleman and Boag 1987a). Postfledging and during fall and winter, most populations rely pri-marily on foods higher in carbohydrate, such as berries (Sedinger and Raveling 1984) or seeds, including agricultural grains (Joyner et al. 1987). Almost all populations of Canada Geese have readily adapted to use of agricultural crops, which predominate in diets of most populations during portions of annual cycle in which they are available. Canada Geese, primarily B. c. maxima and B. c. moffitti, have also become ac-climated to urban environments, in which they graze on domesticated grasses throughout the year (e.g., Conover and Kania 1991)." Also, according to BNA, not all flocks migrate, some stay in the same area as they breed. The map shows all of California as their wintering grounds. Sandy, I'm not sure if the dogwoods here were affected or not. I don't remember hearing about it but it could be. I believe that dogwoods here are not as prolific as the redbuds, nothing like the dogwoods that I remember in Virginia as a kid. I do have elm trees here, although they are young trees - I'm hoping they are related to the elm trees that were found just 40 miles from here that are dutch-elm-disease resistant and have now been cultivated. The birds seem to like the elms, ecspecially the warblers. I am worried about the ash borer getting here, my woods are full of ash with two large ones that shade the house. I will be very unhappy if I lose them!

Hello ladies and happy every Holiday I missed. To those of you who do know me, I am back and mentally back on track (I think). To those of you who don't, well I was I am a member, love everyone here. Went away to do some great mission work and had some very tragic things happen. Many hours of therapy later, and actually returning to the Dominican I think I have healed, I am not bitter, sad, or frightened to leave my house any more. I am able to talk about it and I feel that I can share with postive feelings now. But enough of that. Am I to late for April? Please tell me that I can play in April? Max is 4 and we just looked at Co-op preschool. HE is a mama's boy and didn't want to go to big boy school yet. Maryanne~ I have a box for you that I need to send, but um lost your address.. So Merry Christmas when it comes. Ahh. I just don't know what to say or who to say it to because I am scared I will leave someone out. I tried to read as many posts as my brain can handle, but I am sure that I will need some help. Babies and ornaments, tornados and ahhh.. I am not in Kansas anymore. Please feel free to email me with any personals that you'd love to share. I apologize for being gone so long. If there is anything that you want to know email me. If I need to re-join let me know if there is room. Mayanne_ my big sis.. I hope all is well, miss you and thanks for all your support thru this, even though I was a bad lil sis and became an introvert. But guess what? I am back and better. Missed you all Laura.... beans

I've been studying photos and comparing and I agree that it must be a very young American goldfinch. What I find amazing is the richness of the color on this bird. I couldn't find any photos of a juvenile goldfinch that had this same coloring, only those with lighter brown and some hints of yellow, so I am assuming that this would mean the bird is a fledgling that hasn't developed the whole plumage range of colors yet. An interesting puzzle for a new birder -