Happy St. Paddy's Day

Happy St Patrick's Day to all our Irish friends and those that are not Irish. I got pinched this morning at Arnold’s . Yes, I forgot to put green on. Sandy was off to Atlanta, TX  this morning with her sister Pam. They were picking Mike’s (Pam’s husband) mom up to take her to a doctor in Texarkana, TX. Sandy is real good in her ability to deal with the doctor’s and knows the right questions to ask. She comes by this naturally as she is the main care giver of her mom and also helps me with my mom.

This afternoon I was setting outside trying to get pictures of the different birds in the area next to the motorhome. Those rascals don’t light long enough for you to take pictures. About the time I aim and get ready to shoot they are gone. While out there I heard several crows or perhaps grackles really making a ruckus. They were cawing back and forth. Soon others joined in and really made a lot of noise. I tried to see if I could see them and find out why they were so loud in their cawing. Never did see them in the thick trees where the noise was coming from. Being an old city boy I had no idea what this was all about so….when my BIL James returned from his job I asked him about this. He said…..”probably there was a hawk in the area and they were calling all their buddies in to chase him off”.

I also found this information on the internet “Crows chase hawks and owls for the same reason that mockingbirds chase crows: to purge their territory of a potential predator. Crows especially hate Great Horned Owls, their main predator, and take particular delight in harassing these hapless raptors as they nap during the day, often calling in friends to participate in the chase. The few predators that crows, especially fledglings, might face (besides unfriendly humans) are raptors. Adult crows often participate in a behavior known as mobbing, in which they drive the threatening bird out by chasing it en masse. This may also be a means of demonstrating to young crows "this is what trouble looks like."  If interested  click here for more information.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.