Watching nesting ospreys in Colorado or eagles in Iowa via a live camera feed is Better than ‘Survivor’ according to recent a National Public Radio story. So, it seems I am not alone in my fascination with the birds. Last week when a a line of thunderstorms threatened the Midwest, I kept an eye on the Decorah nest and the weather forecast, picturing baby eagles being tossed from the nest or worse, but they came through unscathed.
The skies cleared over the weekend and a viewer who lives much closer than I, drove to the maple tree and spent a few hours watching the nest from her lawn chair. Her report with pictures is posted on the Raptor Resource Facebook page.
Back at my house I suspect that there is a nest or two nearby, but haven’t walked through the trees to investigate. From my desk I’ve watched two ladder-backs pecking at the seed cake and two robins sipping at the bath. They’re regulars, in both cases a male and a female visit daily, but I only see one of each pair at a time. Last night just before dark the robin with the bright yellow beak and showy red breast (the male) took a long bath. Splish, Spash: Why do Birds Take Baths? a post on The Nature Conservancy’s blog attempts to answer the question.
The lovely thing about birds is that we can observe them from almost anywhere, the country, the suburbs, even the middle of the city. This poem, Eye to Eye with a Hawk, about housework and a raptor on the fire escape, was posted on The New York TImes‘ City Room blog.
Enjoy your week and go outside!
