For several years we tried to have a garden here above Sulfur Creek. We mined out a large area, built several rock walls out of the mining effort, then built a fence. Now we had quite a problem with the crew closing the gate on the garden. The dogs liked to dig holes in the dirt and the rabbits loved the tender vegetation so we were constantly after the crew to keep the gate shut. I would be in the house and thought I heard the gate blowing in the wind. I would yell at the crew to close the gate and then go to the door to be sure they did.Most of the time the gate would be closed and I would think `Boy they sure are getting fast at doing what I tell them.' Then I began to notice that the gate was closed and the squeak was still sounding. I began to look around for another door open but I couldn't find one. As I listened I realized that the sound was coming from the top of the telephone pole! There sat a shiny black bird making a noise just like a rusty hinge. Out came the Peterson's guide and I found that my pole sitting hinge bird was a bronze headed cowbird. Now Peterson says that the bronze headed is not found in this area but the song of the brown headed cowbird is very different than the bronze. There have been several times that the bird I have identified in Peterson guide has been listed as not living in our area. I have seen some pinion jays as well as Mexican jays in our yard. You can usually tell the birds that are just passing through. There are times that you know you have seen them often enough to you know they are living here.Since the summer I saw my first cowbird, I have seen lots of bronze headed cowbirds in the Dripping area, especially around the middle school football field. The song is very distinctive. Maybe the birds have moved into the area since Peterson wrote his book. Since Peterson's guide is probably the very best, I guess we'll have to adjust to the shifting populations of birds. One of the birds that I'm afraid we'll lose as we become more heavily settled is the hawk. It is one I'll personally miss but that's another story.
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