The Eastern Towhees returned to our garden this fall.
If you have never seen one before you can imagine a robin dressed for the prom in full tux. They are big, like mockingbirds, with suave-looking dark wings over top of orange and white chests. Although not rare or even threatened, they are an uncommon sight in an tiny urban yard like ours.
They are also entertaining hunters. We had fun watching from inside the window as they picked over leaves, kicking backwards to uncover tasty insect meals.
I found it very validating to see those birds again this season. You see, I spend a lot of time trying to convince people to plant nectar-rich flowers and seed-bearing perennials, and often tout the habitat value of the berries we leave on our shrubs all winter. But I think what might be attracting the largest amount of wildlife to our urban yard is something that costs us nothing and has allowed us to reclaim countless hours each fall: We gave up raking...
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