Elmer, the pigeon, should be safely back in home in New Jersey by now. His owner, Bob, picked him up yesterday morning. Much to Elmer's delight, he shared his traveling quarters with a female pigeon who had been picked up in Delaware earlier in the trip.
Elmer's racing season is over for the year, so he now has many months to recuperate and enjoy the summer at leisure. By the way, one of Elmer's flockmates won the race that discombobulated Elmer, with an average pace of 48 miles per hour! That's faster than any of our Thoroughbreds ever dreamed of.
Bob told us that he credits the Internet with saving the lives of many racing birds that might otherwise be lost. People who, ten or fifteen years ago, would not have known how to care for an exhausted bird can now easily find the information on care, feeding and tracking down owners.
We'll miss Elmer (he appreciated mealtimes every bit as much as our equine residents do) but are glad he's been returned to family and friends.
Meanwhile......in TREES bird news........We've already seen quite a few young Mockingbirds this year. At least 5 of the 7 Bluebird houses the Girl Scouts built last year appear to contain nests. A pair of barn swallows have taken up residence on the weather station on the porch, in addition to those in the barns and sheds. We're glad to see all of them since this spring's wet conditions are encouraging the bugs to create way more bugs than in "normal" years.
There are also a plethora of sparrows everywhere and, just discovered, a mourning dove nest in a crabapple tree near the house. What is fairly astounding is that any of these nests are still in their trees after some of the storms we've experienced. They are a testament to nature's engineering skills.
Elmer's racing season is over for the year, so he now has many months to recuperate and enjoy the summer at leisure. By the way, one of Elmer's flockmates won the race that discombobulated Elmer, with an average pace of 48 miles per hour! That's faster than any of our Thoroughbreds ever dreamed of.
Bob told us that he credits the Internet with saving the lives of many racing birds that might otherwise be lost. People who, ten or fifteen years ago, would not have known how to care for an exhausted bird can now easily find the information on care, feeding and tracking down owners.
We'll miss Elmer (he appreciated mealtimes every bit as much as our equine residents do) but are glad he's been returned to family and friends.
Meanwhile......in TREES bird news........We've already seen quite a few young Mockingbirds this year. At least 5 of the 7 Bluebird houses the Girl Scouts built last year appear to contain nests. A pair of barn swallows have taken up residence on the weather station on the porch, in addition to those in the barns and sheds. We're glad to see all of them since this spring's wet conditions are encouraging the bugs to create way more bugs than in "normal" years.
There are also a plethora of sparrows everywhere and, just discovered, a mourning dove nest in a crabapple tree near the house. What is fairly astounding is that any of these nests are still in their trees after some of the storms we've experienced. They are a testament to nature's engineering skills.
No comments:
Post a Comment