Living The Bird Life

 Thanks to the emergence of Brood 10 cicadas, the guineas are enjoying a smorgasbord unlike any they have ever known!

Where normally you will see our guineas patrolling the fields, 

with their funny, little heads down scouring the ground for bugs...

they can now be seen quite often perched on the pasture fences enjoying a feast of stuporous cicadas that have just emerged as adults from their nymph stage shells. 

 (Apparently, cicadas have not joined the slow fashion movement... as they are just leaving yesterday's clothes behind.  Perhaps they should up-cycle them?)

You might remember weeks ago we captured a video of a pileated woodpecker via our game camera.  We had noticed that something was shredding an old stump next to our woodshed.  Personally, I was hoping it was a bear...because I love bear pics and video, but, it was a woodpecker.  We re-hung the game camera and changed it to photos to see if ole Woody returned....

and he did!

as well as a couple of other voyagers...

"Oh, hello!"

Better watch out, little mouse... there's a cat roaming about!

We have planned to open up the chicken and runner duck gates to allow all to free-range on June 1st.  Fingers crossed that the foxes are finished teaching their kits to hunt... because during that time period, they seem to kill for sport.  Also, we have not seen any hawks in the area of late, either.  Hawks have plenty of small mammals to hunt at this time of year and are less likely to go after large birds.

We walk a delicate balance living so close to nature.  We want to allow our birds to be out on pasture land as much as possible, but must temper this desire with the knowledge that there are times of the year that are safer than others.  What fun Elwood and the girls will have getting back out into the grass.  Not to mention the fact that our eggs will be so much more delicious and healthy!

I may have mentioned that "The Girls" are trying to hatch out a few of our runner duck eggs so that we can add a couple more ducks to our flock.  The eggs are in their incubator now... time will tell.  They did successfully hatch out three chicks a couple of weeks ago.  

Once grown, these three hens might come to live on the farm.  I am hoping that they can keep them in their own back yard, because it is apparent that they are quite attached to these little birds!  If they come to live here, I was told that they will expect outdoor movie nights!