The silence is deafening....

One of my favorite hobbies is keeping a watchful eye on all that nature has to offer daily around the ranch.  Of course we're in an area that has an abundance of wildlife, including white tail deer, coyotes, wildcats, squirrels, rabbits, and those pesky armadillos. Then, there's the bird life and birdwatching.  It's something that Miss Elizabeth and I have enjoyed for years, and even keep track of all the different species we've seen in our lifetimes.

We encourage and attract many different birds by providing them with a variety of feeding options, landscaping and housing. A stroll around our yard often yields the chance to view bluebirds popping in and out of the many houses that have been erected specifically for them, goldfinch sampling the thistle seed at their very own finch feeder, and hummingbirds by the dozens hovering around the multitude of nectar feeders, honeysuckle bushes, and flowers.  In the winter we attract woodpeckers and other species to the suet and peanut feeders.  Of course plenty of water is available both summer and winter at several locations.

Currently, we're watching anxiously as this year's bevy of purple martins is preparing to take flight for their long trek to South America for the winter; taking with them the youngsters who have been testing their wings for weeks as they gain strength and stamina for the trip.

Each spring we eagerly anticipate the arrival of the first pair of scouts, followed by pair after pair of adult martins. We prepare by erecting a couple of our four martin houses until the masses arrive, then we put up the others.

It has become a ritual, and the chirping and chattering of these fascinating birds is as much a part of our summer as green grass and the leaves on the trees.  Many mornings and evenings will find us sitting on the back porch watching their aerial acrobatics as they swoop and dive for the many flying insects that lack the foresight to avoid the area.

Last year, at the end of the season, we counted over thirty nests in the vacated houses.  This year I'm pretty sure we'll exceed that number, as each of the four houses has twelve compartments and most of them appear to be occupied, but not for much longer. It's usually early August when we awake to an eerie quietness outside. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to realize what's missing, then the sadness as it dawns on us that they're gone.

So, what does this all mean....another year is nearing an end, and time to start preparation for the fall and winter.

We received our first martin house as a gift from my father-in-law in 1975, and have been attracting purple martins ever since.  He passed away in January, and for the first summer in 37 years he wasn't here to enjoy the birds he so admired. I have no doubt he continues to view them from a far better vantage point now, but we miss his presence.  Very soon the silence from the back yard will be deafening, but in some ways it already is......