Bird Nerding Out

One of the things that I love about living on this farm is the bird watching. I'm not so dedicated that I put out feeders, sit beside the window, binoculars and camera poised, but I enjoy watching the bluebirds, chickadees, robins, mockingbirds, cardinals and juncoes that land in the shrub in front of my study window. The coolest one of all, though, is the pileated woodpecker that likes to hang out in the big magnolia tree in the front yard. For a shy, skittish bird, it has the loudest, most distinctive call, and basically looks like a teradactyl or whatever that half-bird/half-dinosaur is called (archaeopteryx?). I'd seen precious few of these birds growing up in Richmond, but they seem to particularly love the patchy woods and old trees at Tandem Farm. Lucky for me.

Isabel has a favorite bird, too. His name is Earl.