Day 161
Although we don't have the excitement of seeing whooping cranes every day, birdwatching is a daily routine at the farm. We keep a small collection of seed and suet feeders stocked continuously for our feathered friends. While we have an array of regular visitors who use our feeders, we also have a number of regular visits from a few others.
Our sandhills do make regular trips to our immediate backyard, stopping to graze at corn at a feeder separated from the rest. They are always quite cautious but have actually gotten used to us being outside while they are snacking.
The corn is also quite an attractive treat to other birds, especially turkeys. The turkey population has exploded in your area over the past few years. Even in more urban areas, these birds have become accustomed to interacting with the human world. It is no different at the farm. We see turkeys in large groups. We see turkeys in pairs. We see turkeys all alone. And when we see this interesting bird, it is usually by the corn feeder. They are much more skittish than the cranes, but watching them run away when they are nervous is actually quite entertaining.
Some of our bird visitors don't come for the corn.
We have a pair of cardinals that love (or hate) the side mirrors on either vehicle. Whether they think their reflection is a different bird or they are just very enamored with their own appearance, I haven't quite seen this behavior before. Multiple times throughout the day, they are sitting on or next to the mirror. The bird poop on the window lets us know if they were there and we missed their visit.
We also get daily flyovers from some of our other bird friends. While the geese and ducks announce their visit with lots and lots of noise, another visit is usually quieter and much more majestic in their flyover. The great blue heron is quite an interesting bird. With an appearance that resembles sometime from the time of the dinosaurs, we love seeing our neighborhood heron visit the farm. Sometimes, it lands in our ditch or at the pond two doors down.
