• Since Mother’s Day, the two hummingbird feeders, hanging from a pole adjacent to a patio, had been very busy and particularly so once the babies hatched in July. Much to the surprise of the owners and fillers of the feeders, an intruder was spotted gorging on the sugared water. They quickly identified it as a baby Downy Woodpecker and were amazed to watch it appear several times daily for a period of two weeks. I wonder if anyone else has witnessed such a happening.

 

• This summer, for the first time, Gray Catbirds have been very much in evidence in a garden in the Marina area and also on the walking path. These birds are relatively shy but are easily identified by their mewing call and beady eyes. Doubtless they have been spotted by others in our region. A resident, who had been watching the antics of a pair of these birds, was dismayed when she heard raucous noises emanating from a large honeysuckle bush alongside her balcony. She rushed out of the house to see what was going on and to her dismay found a red squirrel had snared a baby catbird and was devouring it. Despite her yells and hand-clapping, the gorging continued until she approached the bush from another angle and the squirrel took off with its victim. The frantic parents stopped their dive-bombing tactics and mewing and have never been seen since.

 

• A gardener was mystified by earth being dug up and spattered all over her plants and a small, but obviously deep hole. While out watering some annuals with her watering can, she decided to pour some water down the hole to see how deep it went. Suddenly, an object exploded from the dirt and disappeared behind some bushes. The woman realized that it was a somewhat drenched and disturbed chipmunk. It is obviously more stalwart than one might expect as, in spite of the hole being blocked with a couple of stones, it has re-dug another entrance to its apparent home deep underground.