This Fall I have had a pair of Phoebe visiting every morning. Each morning the male sings from some spot. Usually a tall tip of a tree. But this morning on a water spigot. He dips and swoops, runs under the house eaves for bugs.
I am besotted with the Phoebe as much as I was last year with the Screech Owls. You just have not lived until you have seen a wobbly headed baby screech owl manage to get his head peaking out of the hole. And to watch one fledge was unforgettable. They sit in the opening and throw their body back and forth as if in a game of "ready, set, go". It must be scary and look a long way down to them. And who knew the first time they must climb a tree. I learned so much about them. And I learned that squirrels destroy their bird houses. I hope my pair of screech owls
come back this March. The first week they were nesting. I saw at dusk, both the male and
female bathing in the birdbath together. It was almost too much. I felt like a voyeur who had
pulled back the curtain on someones love making.
Ok, I have to go christmas shopping for someone who lives in England. And if I don't get their
package mailed this week they will never get it in time.
