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May 27
Look at these new members of my flock! My Merlin app just introduced me to some fresh faces:
Chimney Swifts (practically invisible because they literally never stop flying), a Northern Mockingbird, and this absolutely stunning Downy Woodpecker. Look at him—he’s gorgeous.
Welcome to the family.
Now let me tell you about the 24 hours I’ve had.
Yesterday around lunchtime, I go out to feed everyone and there’s a dead wren just laying there near one of the feeders.
Still warm.
It wasn’t there that morning.
No visible wounds, no sign of struggle—just gone.
RIP, little dude.
Gave him a proper double Target bag burial and sent him off to the trash can with full honors.
This morning I go back out and find more leftovers.
My Cooper’s Hawk—who’s not a juvenile anymore, he turned a year old this spring—left me the legs and half a wing from whatever he caught.
Normally they eat everything, bones and all. But no, this year he’s evolved.
Now he’s leaving me cleanup duty like I’m part of his staff.
That’s Target bag burial number two in 24 hours.
I’m walking off thinking I’m done, and I look up at my HVAC unit and there’s a dead mouse just dangling from the top grate.
Not sitting on it.
Not wedged in it.
Dangling.
Like he’s hanging there by his teeth or something.
How did he even get in that position? What was he holding onto?
It was so bizarre I just stood there staring at it.
So I go inside, turn the AC off, come back out with gloves and a garden tool, and attempt an extraction.
I knew this wasn’t going to work—I knew it the whole time—but I tried anyway because what else was I supposed to do?
The second I touch him, the whole thing drops down inside the unit.
So now he just… lives in there.
Decaying.
In my HVAC system.
I’m not built for this type of shit.
But I have to give myself the pep talk: toughen up, buttercup.
This is the life you created.
You build a backyard wildlife sanctuary, you get the beautiful moments—the new visitors, the ecosystem thriving right outside your door.
But you also get the food chain in real time, and sometimes that means you’re on corpse cleanup duty whether you signed up for it or not.☠️🤮🤣
#BackyardBirds #BirdWatching #WildlifeSanctuary #MerlinApp #NatureLovers #CoopersHawk #DownyWoodpecker #NorthernMockingbird #ChimneySwift
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The great tit nest in our garden has been full of squeaky chick noises that have matured into squawks and now finally the bird song app is recognising them as great tit noises - fascinating.
#birdlife #MerlinApp #DawnChorus
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Coffee in the back garden. Listening to the birds, enjoying the fresh air. Opens the #MerlinApp and all goes quiet! Are they literally looking down at my phone, seeing the app and vanishing?
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Lass gerne während dem Waldarbeiten die Merlinapp rennen, um zu schauen, welche Dinosaurier da gerade um mich herum rufen. Immer wieder spannend. ☺️
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Today the only new one was this guy! That was soooo exciting because it came totally unexpected!! 😍😍😍 #MerlinApp #cavpack #Merliners
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Todays birdies. We've had a little hike through a re-naturalized moor! #MerlinApp #cavpack #Merliners
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Mar 20
Birds heard by the Merlin app from my garden today I will need to keep my eyes open as the black redstart is regularly recorded but never seen have put sone seed on floor in a quiet spot not sure if that will attract it #birds #garden #spring #merlinapp #nature
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