Tuesday, July 5, 2011

PARTRIDGE IN THE SPRING

This past spring we had a pair of partridge that spent time in the backyard quite often in the afternoon or early evening.  I am sure they were the same pair along with other partridges who would come in for an afternoon snack of niger seed during the cold winter months.  The DH would cast niger seed on the snow swept ground for these birds.  

This spring, the pair came to feed on birdseed and also rest.  When the female was eating or resting, the male bird would be on the lookout for any potential or real danger.  The only danger in the backyard is the dog.  At some point after the birds had been in the backyard for awhile and the dog wanted to be let out, we would open the back door and he would sometimes stay on the deck and watch what was going on in his kingdom.  He didn't always notice right away that the partridge were there.   Once he noticed that these birds were on his territory, he quickly trotted down the few steps and ran in the direction of these birds.  They would quickly lift off and fly away.  

I am sure that if the dog didn't occupy the same backyard, this pair of partridge would have nested here.  Access to seed and water from the pond was very tempting.



No comments:

Post a Comment