James Tuft 1/96 barquentine

[Don Boose]

Sorry for the delayed response on the perch-eating river otters, Glen. I lost visibility on this thread and it just bobbed to the surface today. No otters in the Conodoguinet, but there is what looks to me like evidence of beavers at the nearby Mount Holly Marsh Preserve (where Don3, Grandson Christopher, and I did a ridgeline drive last Thanksgiving), although the Nature Conservancy only mentions mink and muskrats. Mount Holly Marsh Preserve | The Nature Conservancy

Back yard is full of northern juncoes and white-throated sparrows.

Don

[Hudsonduster]

I'm a little forlorn, former birder as I am--looking now out by back window, into the breezeway between Brooklyn co-ops, the closest thing to avian activity is the black squirrel that ranges our fire escapes.

Now this obviously-old (grey-whiskered!) veteran has been around long enough to have learned the concept of Window Glass as Barrier...he'll pause in a given window and hop around, looking in to see if there're any CATS in there.
I swear. I've seen it, and I'm just sorry I couldn't get my iPhone working in time to catch this: my crazy orange tabby Firecat caught sight of the "prey" out there, leaped and slammed against the window--and OldBones didn't even flinch. The cat went crazy, jumping around to every corner, knocking the glass with his head--the squirrel was vastly entertained, four inches away.
Finally Firecat went up on his haunches and scrabbled frantically on the glass with his fronts, desperately scratching to get out--and OldBones came up to the glass and scrabbled on that side, in perfect mimicry. Believe that if you want, I have no reason to fabricate...

He eventually got bored and hopped off in search of a worthier adversary. Firecat sulked on that sill for an hour.

'Duster