Not to worry ...
Our southern woodlands are full of good food for them like the sumac berries above ...
or these bright red dogwood fruits.
The countless sparkleberry bushes are full of plump juicy berries for the weary feathered traveler.
The yaupon holly tree is planning ahead for later in the winter when your birds are still here, but planning for their flight home.
So cheer up, they'll be back, and while your winter woods may be lonely, dark, and deep, ours will be crowded and bright with a mix of sunshine and birdsong.
PS: Send more ducks. I just love wild ducks.
Ahh, the onslaught of the tourists, come to eat the bountiful fruits and then leave as soon as the temperatures start to climb, to return north to kinder, gentler climates in order to raise their kids. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe thank you for taking care of them that we may enjoy them later.
Yes, the birdies are fortunate to have you for a friend.
ReplyDeleteFC-I so agree with you about loving duck! Especially with a good orange sauce!
ReplyDeletehmm. we've got plenty of duck-like creatures i'd be very happy to send. they're very pretty, with their brown and cream bodies and their black heads. really. i think you need more canadian geese. please?
ReplyDeleteYep, my south Florida yard is ready too. The Kestrals are already here along with the cat birds. I've been keeping a diary for many years of just when different birds arrive. It's amazing how close the dates are each year. It's about to the point that I can tell you within a week which bird will arrive when.
ReplyDeleteI had the weirdest dream about trying to use grapes as lights (you know, like Christmas lights) last night, and it was very VERY strange to open your page to a bunch of grape-looking berries that I swear you've taken right from my psyche.
ReplyDeleteVery bizarre indeed.
Are those sparkleberry thingies edible? My demon golden rainshower tree is all decked out for fall. Hurrah! Fall in FL!
ReplyDeleteThey got the kids who did all the vandalizing. Sadly, I had pegged exactly who it was. They can break your heart, can't they?
Wayne,
ReplyDeleteLove us and leave us. Even the fish are migrating offshore now.
Pablo,
Well, I WAS once a 12 year old boy with a BB gun. Providing habitat and sanctuary is how I make up for my transgressions.
Lightnin,
I was thinking more of their grace than their gravy ;)
Ericka,
Uh oh... another wildlife success story. I read about the fecal count on the Hudson River being high to increased flocks of wild fowl.
Don't you have coyotes?
POPatricia,
Good for you. I tried a second blog to do just that kind of record keeping, but just couldn't keep up.
Mrs. S,
Are weird dreams a sign of impending labor? This could be the day!
Imaginemel,
I think they are edible only to critters beside us, but I'm not sure. They are in the blueberry family I believe.
Glad they caught the vandals. Yes, they do have a knack for heartbreaking.
My birds are probably well on their way after the weather we've had lately. If we had any ducks left in Minnesota I'd send you a few; care for a Canada goose instead? But I'm keeping the chickadees and downy woodpeckers; I need something to cheer me up through the winter!
ReplyDeleteDeb,
ReplyDeleteOkay, you can keep a few. I'll keep an eye out for the rest.
I am glad my buddies will be eating well, but I miss them all...especially the almost tame catbird that sang from the side porch railing or in front of the big doors or followed along with me when I went to the barn mornings.
ReplyDeleteTake good care of him if you see him, please.
And I am so sorry about your pond. We have so much darned water, even our little temporary ponds are still full. Too much water. Way too much water. It is wrong somehow.
*sigh* yeah. i remember what a big deal it was to spot a canadan goose when i was a kid.
ReplyDeleteyes, as a matter of fact, we do. and last summer, our security cameras here at work captured a coyote snarfing down on mom goose and the eggs. (they were nesting in a bit of shrubbery in our parking lot.) but there are WAY more geese than coyotes, they tend to stay in their flocks, and you DO NOT want to piss those things off!
ThreeCollie,
ReplyDeleteI saw your soggy corn and it is a case of too much there and too little here. I'll keep an eye out for your bird :)
Ericka,
I admit to not having much goose experience. I guess they are a bit noisey too.
Maybe we need a coyote restoration project.
I'm sending you 342 sparrows post haste.
ReplyDeleteAt least I'm trying to, but they won't leave.
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteOkay, but keep your alley rats.
:)
... unless you send lots of hawks.
A lot of our friends have abandoned the sunflower seeds in the bird feeder but we still have the ever faithful titmice, chic-a-dees and cardinals.
ReplyDeleteMac,
ReplyDeleteI have a small sunflower seed mess on my porch because I forgot to secure the bird seed bag and the squirrely boys found it.
Thank goodness the birds have plenty to eat on their long journey. The only bird I saw this weekend was the mocking bird and he was tormenting the cats.
ReplyDelete