Just Monday morning, Marie Venus called to report upwards of 40 turkeys on the front lawn of her neighbor just across Olmstead Lane in Ridgefield. Interestingly, a group of neighborhood crows were perched overhead, eyeing the gang very closely. Perhaps they feared competition for the scraps that several of the neighbors feed them. A pair of hoods Not too far away from Olmstead Lane is Deer Hill Drive where Nancy Fox reports she has had a pair of hooded mergansers on her pond for more than a week. It's the first time this handsome species has visited her place.
Hooded mergansers winter along our southeastern coast, and are just arriving in the area.
Some may move on while others may set up nesting sites here, though they typically breed farther to the north and west. The birds seem to be enjoying the weather. They are plentiful, but difficult to see, except for the road runner, a strange looking bird. On Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, I was about to open my door to go to work and through the window I saw a creature coming out of the woods toward the house. I stopped and watched as it came closer.