Gold Mine

Day 190: The Goldfinches (now Spinus tristis, formerly Carduelis) are wearing their bright summer clothes now, and coming to the feeders by the dozen. The contorted filbert looks like a Christmas tree, the scarlet of Purple Finches here, bright yellow Goldfinches and Evening Grosbeaks there, blue Steller's Jays popped in for accents. That's not to say the LBJs are absent ("little brown jobs," female finches, sparrows, juncos, chickadees), although they're barely noticeable among the abundance of more brilliantly coloured birds. They're going through a coffee-can measure of black-oil seed per day now, and we're a long way from full population. There's a lot to be said for reliability, and I attribute the number and diversity of bird species in my yard to the fact that I've been feeding them daily for thirty years. And word gets around: "Hey, here's a consistent food source, good stuff!" I may never do a Big Year, but every day is a Big Day in Crow's corner of the world.