We own no dogs. This isn’t because we don’t like dogs, as long as they belong to someone else. It’s because we enjoy watching wildlife.
The other morning, I needed to fill the water fount for my baby chicks. There is a hand pump on a cement pad over an old dug well. Something was curled up on the pad. What?
I cautiously approached to find a young fawn curled up on the platform. We often have fawns in the small pasture, but not in the barn compound. Does like leaving them near us for safety.
Watching Wildlife at the Bird Feeder
Lots of things happen around and on the bird feeder. Usually, it’s the various kinds of birds. Lately other visitors are showing up.
Gray squirrels move in and sit at one end of the sunflower tray eating. The birds come and go from the other end of the tray. When the red squirrel shows up, the birds and gray squirrels flee.
Now the chipmunks are back. They bound through the grass with their tails held high. The posts are no problem. Even the lip around the edge of the feeder is not a deterrent. Each chipmunk moves in, stuffs its cheek pouches and leaves.
At the Hummingbird Feeders
Four quart feeders hang from the eaves of a shed. They are busy with hummingbirds. These swoop in, chase each other, sit and drink and whirr off.
Earlier orchard orioles visited the feeders. One year a pair stayed to nest. Usually they visit for a few days and move on.
A new visitor is a downy woodpecker. Evidently this one has a taste for sweets. It scoots up the corner of the shed, flits over to the end feeder and drinks from several holes before flying over to the suet cake.
Dogs and Watching Wildlife
Dogs bark, chase and need attention. I might appreciate having the backyard groundhogs chased off to the hills, but I would also miss the squirrels, chipmunks and deer. Opossums can be a nuisance as can raccoons.
Several years we had gray foxes raise their young around the house. Having a dog would rob me of these opportunities. I prefer watching wildlife.
