May 17, 2023 Dawn smells like damp oak leaves. Like monsoon. Unusual for May, dew points in the 50s overnight mean everything is wet. My skin. The birds. I scan the trees always anticipating the next new yard bird, or even the next rarity, like this week’s surprising, out-of-season Townsend’s solitaire, which I’ve seen only once in May (
Over 60 years of living in a hot valley between sky islands has limited our observation of numbers & species of birds that visit & enjoy permanent residence here. Your observations, poetic descriptions & wonderful photos are very much welcomed & appreciated! Unfortunately you are correct in noting a
dramatic avian decline, however it’s not limited to birds, ALL other living creatures (except humans, stray cats & dogs ) are in precipitous decline. It’s been decades since we’ve had jack rabbits, badgers, leopard frogs, skunks, scrub jays, etc regularly visit our semi-rural desert area. Solutions are hard & next to impossible to implement.
Same thing happened at our place in regards to Rufous-crowned Sparrows. They were a no-fail daily sighting until the last few years. I'm finally seeing them again. Same with Black-chinned. Had an atypical May 5 Townsend's Solitaire too.
Funny you should mention the UK as we are in Scotland (Orkney) today having been in England and Wales the past few weeks. I took a video of a Chaffinch feeding a fledgling yesterday so interesting reading about the decline in the UK.
Regret missing most of May at home and the rain I'm reading about!
The Big Yard: Notes from a Pajama Birdwatcher
Your photos are beautiful, but this is such a sad story.
Over 60 years of living in a hot valley between sky islands has limited our observation of numbers & species of birds that visit & enjoy permanent residence here. Your observations, poetic descriptions & wonderful photos are very much welcomed & appreciated! Unfortunately you are correct in noting a
dramatic avian decline, however it’s not limited to birds, ALL other living creatures (except humans, stray cats & dogs ) are in precipitous decline. It’s been decades since we’ve had jack rabbits, badgers, leopard frogs, skunks, scrub jays, etc regularly visit our semi-rural desert area. Solutions are hard & next to impossible to implement.
Same thing happened at our place in regards to Rufous-crowned Sparrows. They were a no-fail daily sighting until the last few years. I'm finally seeing them again. Same with Black-chinned. Had an atypical May 5 Townsend's Solitaire too.
Funny you should mention the UK as we are in Scotland (Orkney) today having been in England and Wales the past few weeks. I took a video of a Chaffinch feeding a fledgling yesterday so interesting reading about the decline in the UK.
Regret missing most of May at home and the rain I'm reading about!