Great American Backyard Bird Count

Once again, I have participated in the Great American Backyard Bird Count. I counted birds at my feeder station here in Cross Lanes, and also at Grandview State Park, Raleigh County, up at our farm in Greenbrier County, and along the Sunrise Carriage Trail, and in Coonskin Park in Charleston.

The number of birds counted seemed to be down this year. At my feeder station I can attribute this to 2 separate situations, both unrelated.

1. Several of our neighbors have had large trees removed from their property over the last year.

2. About 11:00 AM on Friday, the first day, I had a Sharp Shinned Hawk attack the birds at my feeding station. As the write up for this bird notes, this is typical behavior for this bird. What happened in my case, and yes, I think he (she) was successful, was that it scared the birds away for at least the rest of the day.

Thus it is with the natural world. Never seeming to conform to our schedules or our needs.

Honduras -- The Mayan Ruins of Copan 16

Tale of the Turtle (and its tail)

As mentioned before, there were several statues found in the courtyard at Copan. While some were of creatures, I had never heard or seen before, even though a few of them were, our guide assured us, based on animals in the area, this one needed no explanation. I could see it from both sides. Of course, I do not recall seeing any of these large tortises in the area, but we were not too far from the Pacific Islands where they are well-known inhabitants.