Sunday 3rd May 2009 – Poisoning Pigeons in the Park

I'm gaining notoriety with the Audubon Society.

I take a picture of an unfamiliar bird in the garden: pretty, isn't it? "What kind of bird is this?", I ask (aren't digital cameras just wonderful?).

"It's a Robin".

"Get out of here, I know what a robin looks like. That's never a robin. You're having me on." This bird is clearly a kind of thrush, about maybe 10" long, from beak to tail. With an orangey-brown breast.

"It's a Robin".

"Oh, no, it isn't".

"Oh, yes it is".

And so on until a neighbour is dragged in who possesses the Audubon Society's 'Field Guide to North American Birds', which we consult. And there, in picture 400, is the bird we're, eh, 'discussing'. And what does the caption say? 'American Robin'! I don't give in without a fight: in the small print, way on at page 548 (I know how to prolong an argument), it confesses that the creature is of the family 'thrushes'. It's latin name is 'turdus migratorius', which is rather how I think my hosts were seeing me at that moment.

So when Al Jolson was singing "When the Red, Red, Robin comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along", this must have been what he had in mind.

In towns, which is what I'm familiar with in America, you only ever notice pigeons. But when you get out to the country, there are a myriad of unfamiliar birds. I'm not much of a photographer, so I couldn't capture too many, but here are just a couple from the kitchen window.

These two are determined to build a nest in the front porch. They get a bit shirty when anyone tries to get in or out of the front door. Fortunately, nearly everyone except me comes and goes by car, and the garage door opens by radio, so the front door is rarely used. They're Barn Swallows: or so I'm told. And I'm in a mood to agree now.

I couldn't resist this last one. There's a large wildlife refuge opposite. It's got several large lakes. This chap (they think) was in some dispute, very noisily, with another, almost certainly over you-know-what, and came to rest on the house next door. He's a Canada Goose, and you can see what size he is.