This week heralds the return of the tree swallow en masse, though they were only sighted in my yard two days.  It also marks another first ever appearance of a bird--the northern flicker.  I'm hoping that this is a sign of good things to come for my backyard birding experience, as well as a sign that we are doing something right when it comes to creating a wildlife habitat.  We also had our first goldfinch of the year (like the other birds, they leave our yard in the winter despite the abundance of food--there probably is not enough shelter), and the chipping sparrows have returned.

The feral cats, which typically disappear in the summer, are still around, though again we've only seen two in our yard, Meowington and Tigger.  No sign of Blackie or White Paws. 

• Brown-headed cowbird: 64


• Dark-eyed junco: 52


• Housefinch: 38


• Mourning dove: 33


• Robin: 13


• Redwing blackbird: 11


• Tree swallow: 7


• Common grackle: 7


• European starling: 5


• Northern flicker: 1


• Chipping sparrow: 1


• Goldfinch: 1


• Killdeer: 1


• Crow: 1