Visiting Migrants

Quote of the day:
“I just can’t visualize the same government that has been at war against poverty for 43 years, at war against drugs for 36 years, and at war against terror for five years, having much success in a war against the weather.”
--Grant W. Kuhns

San Diego County has more varieties of birds than any other county in the U.S. So I hear. Many avid bird watchers come here from all over the world.

I wouldn’t call Merrie and me “avid bird watchers” exactly. We’re still figuring out our cheap binoculars, years after getting them. But Merrie is an avid bird feeder, and our indoor cats regularly respond to to the results.

We have both resident and migratory birds here. The other day there were three Hooded Grosbeaks crunching on the black sunflower seed. They are striking orange, black and white birds. Merrie tells me they are on their way from Mexico to Canada. They must like it here--they’re still hanging around.

A couple days ago a pair of Western Tanagers appeared. You can’t miss them. They’re yellow with orange hoods. They’re still here, too.

A while back I mentioned Sophie’s battle against our resident ground squirrel. Not only was she not successful in chasing the squirrel away, the other day I saw three in our yard. What a dog.