I Think We're Going to Need a Bigger Feeder

Yes, I was thinking of that famous line from Jaws when I wrote this. But, it's true! You can see, these ducks climbing all over each other trying to get at the food; quaking up a storm and just being, well...ducks.




In the photos, you can see some of the ducks running toward the camera and the other feeders, where there were an additional eight or so ducks gobbling down some food. We get this "duck convention" at least twice a day now, with more coming all the time. Usually it is 20 + ducks at the morning and evening feedings, with a few stragglers flying in throughout the day.




This is in addition to the plethora of other birds and squirrels that filter in throughout the day. Oh, and let's not forget the Starlings, who have just recently re-discovered our yard and remind me of yet another classic movie: The Birds.

Ducks Я Us

Yesterday, I was awakened by a loud banging sound coming from our roof. I figured that maybe Santa was paying an early visit this year (yes, I've been SO good), but before I could even get out of bed, I heard a commotion coming from our backyard. Looking out the back door, I saw fourteen (yes, 14), ducks fighting and eating from our feeders. That banging I heard on our roof, were the ducks landing and then taking off to finally land in our backyard.

We usually have only four to six, all pairs, feeding from our yard, so this mass invasion came as something of a shock. My wife tried to get some good photos, but with our POS camera, these are the best she could do. Unfortunately, the ducks flat-out refused to stay still for this photo-op...

The Bird Cop

Here is a typical Fall day at our feeders. As you can see (sorry for the bad photo), it's pretty busy...

Stormy Weather

We had a short, but powerful storm move through last night. Here is a tree limb that was torn off of our neighbor's tree...





Although this storm packed some pretty powerful winds, it did not hold a candle to the thunderstorm we had last week. That storm lasted for well over 30 minutes and some of the thunder was so loud, that it actually shook the house.

This is for the Birds

Here are a few of our backyard guests...

Waiting for Dinner

This guy here (we believe it is a Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk), comes around every week or so to dine on some of our dinner guests. He usually gets one and then will sit on the fence and eat it. However, today he was out of luck, so he just sat there for well over 30 minutes looking around. You cannot see it in this photo, but there was a squirrel feeding at our squirrel feeder. Sorry about the picture quality, but our camera leaves much to be desired.





A few weeks ago, I opened our patio door to go outside, which naturally scared the birds and caused them to fly off. Well, a Sharp-Shinned or Cooper's Hawk swooped down and grabbed an Oregon Junco midair. When he landed, the hawk covered the junco with his wings and then just glared at me. Naturally, I stepped back inside.