A few exciting birds

Birds are a big part of my garden. Without them things would seem lifeless and boring, so I'm always happy to see them anywhere. There are certain birds that are more exciting than others though, and I've seen a few recently.

Starting with this barred owl. There are a few of these in the area so we hear them often, but seeing them "up close" in our yard is always a thrill!

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This one was more alert than usual, very keyed up. He (?) saw me at the window and really took notice -- which is strange.

Then I realized the probable reason: there was another one nearby and they were both making those weird owl mating calls. That explains the hyper-alertness. (Daytime owls are usually pretty chill in my limited experience.)


The other source of feathered excitement shouldn't be a surprise:

It's the ducks!

They've been in the pond almost every day, just hanging out. They're sort of creating havoc by ripping up some of the plants and generally stirring things up, but I still love seeing them paddling around my little pond.

I saw them mating yesterday, so if they can find a good spot to nest around here ducklings may be in my garden's future.

That would be amazing!


Not that birds in general aren't pretty amazing in themselves.

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