I got to play outside today, for the first time since last Fall. I raked an area where some bulbs will be coming up shortly, and then went to clean the flower gardens along the sidewalk. I cut back ornamental grass and spent plants, and hacked back part of the vinca that’s trying to take over the garden. I have crocus in bloom, and lilies, tulips and daffodils are pushing their way up through the soil. The iris are greening up, and I’ve moved the plants I wintered over to rest at the edge of the sidewalk.
\nI rested for a moment as I finished loading up the wheelbarrow, and a noise caught my attention. A flock of birds were passing over the house. I watched until they were out of sight and then went looking for the bird books because I don’t have the faintest idea what they were!<\/p>\n
\nThe birds were flying in a V, but just north of the house, they circled around and then soared over the subdivision in confusion. A second skein of birds joined them, and they circled some more before they headed west, toward a wetland that has been created for the egrets and herons that visit in the summer.
\nThe birds were LARGE. They were flying higher than Canada geese usually fly. They talked to each other with a sound that was half way between a croak and a coo. I couldn’t see any detail on the birds, but they looked dark, and they resembled the profile of a cormorant in flight (according to the bird book), widespread wings….long trailing feet, long neck leading.
\nI’ve seen them once before in the Fall when they are going south. Dear Husband told me they were buzzards, but I can’t find that in the bird book, and vultures don’t look like they would have a long enough neck.
\nSo, my birding friends, what did I see??<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I got to play outside today, for the first time since last Fall. I raked an area where some bulbs will be coming up shortly, and then went to clean the flower gardens along the sidewalk. I cut back ornamental … Continue reading