A few days ago five turkeys - four males and one female - came around to the pasture. (No hunting is permitted on our property. It is turkey hunting season here in TN, but those that squat on our land are safe!) It was obvious they were all vying for the female's attention, and four of them looked on enviously while one guy strutted his stuff!
A friend made us two new birdhouses. My husband put one up fairly close to the house and I had my doubts about anything using it. Well, thankfully I was proven wrong several days ago when the chickadees took it over. Then, a few days later, the bluebirds decided that they wanted it. It was fun to watch the battle of wills between them, but in the end the bluebirds drove the chickadees away. These pictures aren't that great; it was a foggy morning when I took them. Look closely and you can see one bluebird on top of the house and two chickadees in the bushes to the right of the birdhouse. The chickadees are planning their next move, but the bluebirds are confident that by the end of the day, they'll win, and they did. Soon we watched them bringing grasses in to build their nest.
The turkeys here are doing the same thing,... 'tis the season! In a few weeks the hen turkeys will be in the back yard with a dozen little chicks toddling behind them.
ReplyDeleteOh Aleta, I am so glad that you have a Bluebird nest box now. You'll LOVE watching them... Keep me posted.
ReplyDeleteI know that hawks need to eat also---but I sure do love the Mourning Doves. Oh Well--tis life.
Hugs,
Betsy
Crazy coincidence. I'm blog-hopping this morning, following links here and there. Just this morning, about an hour or so ago, I buried a sharp-shinned hawk I found dead in a nearby woods.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from another nature lover.
Wow, Frank, that IS amazing! I wonder what killed it? I guess they die of old age too, and usually the vultures find them before we do.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
Cedar -- Yes, we get the little chicks too and they are so much fun to watch!
Betsy - We love to watch the bluebirds. Actually, these two new bluebird houses make a total of six that we have now! Plus we have a martin house that the tree swallows use. Most of the bluebird houses get bluebirds, but the chickadees do manage to take over a couple! I agree with you about the mourning doves. We love them, too. But -- that's nature!
Thanks to all of you for stopping by!
I have a Cooper's Hawk that occasionally gets a bird in my backyard too and although it's hard to find that pile of feathers (especially a cardinal), I always tell myself that there are way more other birds than Cooper's Hawks in this world and that hawk's gotta live too.
ReplyDeleteLove those turkey pictures--that's the one bird I don't have in my backyard and sure wish I did. I love watching them too!
One of the guys I work with put a bluebird house on the fence around the side of the building. We can watch them fairly well from our office. The bluebirds moved in a day or two after he hung it!
ReplyDeleteLucky you! You have an array of wild animals at your place. Mine is much too open for many "wild" animals.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and I enjoyed it very much. I too am a nature lover and wish I lived in the country where I could watch the day to day activities of wildlife. We see the odd deer, skunk and racoon but that is all. I did have an orioles nest last year and I hope they come back again this year.
ReplyDelete