It's spring!

[altivo]

Robins are all over the place now trying to outsing the cardinals and chickadees. Woodpeckers are drumming on tree branches

Comments

[aerofox]

Yes, I've seen lots of robins around here ^_^

Though, I'm not looking forward to having those screechy NOISY killdeer around again. I wonder if its our choice of driveway gravel that keeps attracting them? Its about the colour of their eggs :P

[altivo]

Probably. They like to nest on gravel. We usually have one or two in the gravel around the back of the library building.

[quoting_mungo]

Lucky you. My horse has already been shedding like crazy (not quite full shedding mode, but very close) for a couple of weeks. Horsehair everywhere, seemingly regardless of how much we brush him.

Can't wait for summer.

-Alexandra

[altivo]

Oh, they'll all shed soon enough. Usually Tess starts first, though, and she's still very fuzzy.

[quoting_mungo]

Mmh. Fuzzy horses are lovely.

I just wish he'd wait until it was warm enough he doesn't have to go inside at night. Would be much nicer for him, I imagine.

-Alexandra

[altivo]

Ours go inside at night all year. Always have unless the weather gets really hot and sweltering. I wouldn't always do it that way, but my mate insists. He acquired that style of management from the boarding stable where we had our first two for a while when we were rebuilding the barns and fences here.

It's more work, but it does have some benefits. Mosquito-born disease is a big issue with horses here, and keeping them indoors when it's dark reduces the exposure somewhat, for instance.

[rustitobuck]

So the squeaky noises in the blue room must be birds! I didn't go out today.

I think some birds are nesting under my window air conditioner.

Probably the horses aren't shedding because it still has been getting chilly occasionally, could that be it?

[altivo]

My observations over the past ten years had led me to think that the horses shed based on the length of daylight. Some years they have started when there was still a lot of snow on the ground, but this year is a puzzle, as it's definitely later than usual and they all look like teddy bears still.

[cabcat]

*sits by the snow peas willing them to grow with his feline powers* Oooooo grow peas grow OOOooooOOOOO.

Aww you do have a lot of little birds about :) I'll get out my yakitori set...delicious!

[altivo]

Some of our little birds are quite clever at dive-bombing kitties.

Thanks for helping with the peas. If you can get them to sprout, we'll share the bounty. XD

[altivo]

I have conflicted feelings about wrens. They have some very nasty habits, such as poking holes in the eggs of other species and especially the Eastern bluebirds who are among my favorites.

[altivo]

I rarely see the wrens around here, but I hear them often enough to know there are plenty about. Yes, wrens are noted for vandalizing bluebird nests. Unfortunately, they are smaller than the bluebirds, so you can't exclude them from a nestbox by using a smaller hole.

Why such a behavior would have evolved? Who can say? The two species do compete for similar food, live insects that they catch on the ground or on plants rather than in the air the way swallows do. I know the wrens don't actually eat the bluebird eggs. They just sabotage them.