Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and privilege it is just to be alive. – Marty Rubin, author (1929-1994)

The most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. – Lynn Thomson, bookstore owner & author of Birding with Yeats

Outside the window three bluebirds are splashing in the “water feature.” There are three bird baths, and each one will be dry by the end of the day. After watching them through the window I can see why. There’s a lot of splashing going on. They are beautiful birds, and I feel blessed they chose to spend time with us. Just now the bluebird splash party has increased to five or six attendees. A small sparrow tried to join in the fun but instead broke up the party and all the birds took off. Shortly after their departure a chickadee lit on the edge of the bird bath and took a quick drink before taking flight. A single bluebird returned and had the whole place to itself.

The birds may not be aware that just around the corner of the house Wilhelmina is hiding under the Boston fern. We’re not quite sure why this fern became her favorite hiding place. A few weeks ago, when the rain was falling, I moved the potted fern from its hanger on the porch to beside the flowerbed in the yard. In doing so it might flourish from the rainwater, and it did.

A few days later we noticed Wilhelmina inching her way into and under the fronds of the fern, making herself a little hiding place. She continues to enter her new hideaway and spends most of the day peering out from a tiny opening. I suppose while she is enjoying the hideaway we’ll leave the Boston fern to her.

Further out from the front yard a flock of Blue Jays arrived. They too are beautiful colorful birds with blue, white, and black plumage. They were a little rowdy. According to “All About Birds” from Cornell Lab of Ornithology Blue Jays are very intelligent and form “Complex social systems with tight family bonds.” Blue Jays stay year-round in the South; however, I have not seen many if any since that one day when the flock arrived and later left. It is possible the winds from Hurricane Francine sent them our way and then they left for higher grounds and perhaps somewhere without a cat peering out of a Boston fern. 

“All About Birds” confirmed something I read about Blue Jays and thought to provide for them, but the birds came and left before I had gathered the new food. Blue Jays do not particularly like bird feeders. They prefer a tray feeder, or a feeder called a “hopper,” maybe attached to a tree but not a hanging bird feeder. They particularly like peanuts in the shell. The peanuts were the item I meant to buy but forgot. Maybe it’s not too late.

The only problem with peanuts will be the squirrels. Squirrels have been out of sight for awhile but are now on the run, both gray squirrels and fox squirrels. We have a “senior” fox squirrel with an entirely white tail. I see him near the oak trees, wondering where he hid his acorns.

Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].