Over the past week, the Cicada (brood V) activity has really decreased.  I am still seeing quite a few fly up from the ground for about an hour or so in the morning, but the din of their song has slowly become more and more distant each day.  The carcasses cover a good portion of the yard and the base of the trees.  Several days last week, the sweet, yet acrid, smell of decaying Cicada was quite powerful.  From here, the Brood V generation has done it’s job.  I wonder how many of us will be here for the next round?

As for the birds, the presence of the Cicada has been clearly a big part of their feeding strategy.  I wonder if they look at a Cicada now and think, “Ugh!  Please….no more Cicada!!!”  As the song of the Cicada has declined, activity at the feeders has been increasing.  The woodpeckers have been the most obvious returned presence lately.  During that peak nesting time, they were only very seldom coming to the suet cages.  Two days ago, we had a lovely family of 4 Hairy Woodpeckers come to the suet.  We (my mother and I) observed the adults essentially show the fledglings this source of food.  The next day, the fledglings were seen coming independently.  Birds are fast learners.  We are also seeing similar behavior from the local Downy woodpeckers.  Red-bellied woodpeckers and White-breasted Nuthatches are coming again too.

It has been enjoyable to watch a young Carolina Wren try to work on it’s song.  It tries so hard to sing it out, but the pipes aren’t quite tuned up yet, so it is scattered and the notes are a bit “out of tune.”  Still, the little bird gets and A for effort.  House Wrens have 2 nearby nests and have young ones following adults.  Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice have also began returning to the feeders over the past week and are both singing every morning along with the resident Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Towhee, and Eastern Bluebird.  

After doing this avocation for 4 years now, I am noting more and more patterns.  This year it has been an awareness of how cyclical different groups of birds behaviors and songs seem to be.  One group waxes, another wanes.  This, I believe, is yet another reflection of the cyclical nature of all existence, which is a good reminder for us all.

Happy birding! 


Jon Cefus
Carroll Co. 
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