Let me say this first, just to clarify the title of this blog. The murder that I witnessed wasn't actually in the town of Port Townsend, but here on the property that I am currently housesitting.
One day last week, I was at home minding my own business, when I heard an almighty racket outside in the back yard. I went out to explore what was going on. Up in the sky there was a flock of about a dozen crows, cawing up a storm. Now to any ornithologist worth his salt, he would recognize this flock by its most common name, a murder of crows. In fact, there are other terms used as well, as can be seen in the following link from "The Crow Society".
http://crow.bz/main/murder.htm
Crows are just one of the many species of birds that are here, and it is always so pleasant to spend time outside, just listening to them all day long, but especially in the morning.
A new type of bird which I hadn't seen before showed up the other day. As far as I can tell, it was a Western Tanger, with a primarily yellow body, black wings and an orange head.
Of course there are plenty of robins, and sparrows, as well as my hummingbird friends, and one of my favourites, the swallow. I guess that one of the advantages of doing a house sit without any pets, is that I am much more aware of the critters in the yard. We humans like to think of ourselves as being very different from the bird kingdom, however, when I look at the sketch below, it seems like there are more similarities than differences.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithology#/media/File:BelonBirdSkel.jpg
We're all part of the web of life. What a shame it is, that as a result of industrial civilization, we seem to be doing everything we can to help as many species as possible go extinct. One day it will be our turn.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/17/un-environment-programme-_n_684562.html
Aside from the many birds here, I'm always amused by the antics of my dear, deer friends. Just this morning, I managed to get this short video. This is my assistant gardener, helping me to keep the weeds at bay.
And finally, here is one more video to round out today's blog. There is no picture because it was shot outside at night, but I did it in order to capture the sound of an owl in a tree. It was quite possibly the same owl that I photographed, and added to my June 28th blog. Turn up the volume on your computer and have a listen. It makes a sound at both the beginning, and the end of the video. Enjoy. I certainly did.
Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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