[Mnbird] A week in birds

[Allen Batt]

  Most of the long-winded birds have quieted, with the Indigo Bunting, Vesper Sparrow and Dickcissel being notable and welcome exceptions. Robins, House Wrens, Mourning Doves and Blue Jays play smaller parts in the diminished chorus. 
  Sadly, there was a dead crow in the yard. I infrequently find one hit by a vehicle on a road. They are typically blue-eyed crows—immature birds that hadn’t realized the perils of traffic. The late crow in my yard was a juvenile. 
  A mother fed her fledgling Downy Woodpeckers at a suet feeder. Food was dropped from that high chair, but she was relentless. All good moms need patience. It was nice to see the red caps on the young ones, in striking contrast to the lack of red on the mother’s head and the red nape of the father. 
  There’s a good crop of young robins, spotted like feathered fawns, moving about the lawn this year. A male Eurasian Tree Sparrow seems to have been initiated into a flock of House Sparrows, a place where hybridization could occur. I see no sign of gray on his chestnut crown, so I doubt he’s a hybrid.
  The rain pauses only long enough to catch its breath. As I write this, mosquitoes are planning their menus with me as the daily special.   
  Despite the soggy, hangry skeeters and the dead crow, I’m blessed by all the incredible things I see just by looking.

Al Batt