I have been enjoying my "yard" this year, particularly since I spent almost
all of the spring and summer of 2014 away, at sea. Fostering the wildlife
on a piece of land has its rewards, what I personally regard as the
"intangible harvest" of our farm. The birds figure heavily into this.

Although I have long read about rose-breasted grosbeaks visiting feeders,
and although we have always had nesting season grosbeaks here, they have
always been only occasional visitors to our feeders, until this year. For
some unknown and perhaps unknowable reason from the summer of 2000, when we
moved in, until the spring of 2015, this has been the case. I have seen
them at the feeders (black oil sunflower) perhaps half a dozen times each
and every year. This year there are at least two males that are daily,
almost always present at or around the house and feeders, often singing and
bringing a new delight to the scene. My non-birder but knowledgeable wife
Jane remarked on them when they first stared showing regularly. They are
such showy birds. This morning a nearly fully grown juvenile perched on an
adjacent garden hook while its father cracked sunflower seeds from the tube
feeders and fed them to the eagerly begging and trembling youngster. No
leisure time this Father's Day for the grosbeaks...

The usual suite of nesting warbler species are present around the field
edges and forest. This morning's walk yielded the voices of common
yellowthroat, yellow, blue-winged, redstart, Louisiana waterthrush,
ovenbird, and hooded. Two days ago as I checked on the progress of the
black raspberries I scared up a chat.

Yesterday a fledgling wood thrush hopped up from the forest floor as I
explored following the recent torrential rains. Four and a half inches here
in the past week... the well will certainly not go dry, and my trusty Muck
Boots (a brand of "Wellingtons") are getting lots of use. Wood thrush song
permeates the forest soundscape.

All three mimids are around, including the sometimes elusive brown
thrasher. A thrasher this morning was acting rather agitated as my old dog
Nancy and I walked down the berry trail, possibly signalling the presence
of a fledgling nearby. Nancy (14) couldn't care less, can barely hear, and
none of our farm cats accompanied us this morning, so "nothing to be too
concerned about Mr./Ms. Thrasher."

Barn swallows have nested again this year in the horse barn, and at least
one successful brood of tree swallows have emerged from my "bluebird"
boxes. House sparrows remain an issue, as well as multiple house wrens. So
it goes.

Many other species also present and playing their respective roles in the
struggles and successes of life... All in all, the conclusion of a very
satisfying spring season.

Bob Evans
Geologist, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County

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