Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My New Water Feature (mi cascada nueva)

A water feature is a sure bet to attract birds.  I finally have a water feature or, as it is called here, a small cascada.  Hooray! 

The rainy season ended in October, and the countryside is turning brown.  Nows the time for my water feature to bring in the birds.  And it sure is. 

I looked out my kitchen window yesterday around 11 a.m. and spotted the following species splashing about: 

Rufous-backed robin
Nashville warbler
Wilson's warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Orange-crowned warbler
Black-and-white warbler
Black-throated gray warbler
Townsend's warbler
Lincoln's sparrow

I also heard the following in nearby trees and shrubs:

Blue mockingbird
Orange-billed nightingale thrush
Berylline hummingbird
Broad-billed hummingbird
Canyon towhee

All are commonly seen this time of year.  I'm not sad that there wasn't a rarity in the bunch, because I know one day I'll look out and will spot something unusual.  I just know it.


As you can see, I need to surround the cascada with appropriate plants.  But that means I must dig up the dirt, screen out the rocks, and amend the dirt with oak-leaf compost.  Not an easy job but one I'll tackle before rainy season starts in May. 



Oh, I almost forgot to mention this little nocturnal creature.  It's called a tlacuache in Mexico; an oppossum of yet to be determined species.  S/he likes having water handy as well.