Brave little furballs raid bird-food on our deck,

sunflower seeds I'd set out for the nut-hatch, for Bobi the Bad's "Reality TV" entertainment.

Prince and Bear

are hooked on this show and watch in uncharacteristic quietude.

Ah, Prince of the unfortunate, unmatched ears,

Soon, the dogs move to the door,

and Prince starts scratching the glass to get out. Squirrels got a head start, so, yeah,

I let the dogs out.

And Prince is giving 'em hell, those thieving squirrels.

The nuthatch, sad to say, hit a window and fell to the deck stunned, but the dogs were indoors at the time and paid no attention. The nuthatch apparently recovered and flew off. Our daughter emailed her ornithology professor about this incident and he assured her the sudden absence of that bird is a good sign. No cat or dog was out to make it disappear.

I didn't get a picture of the nuthatch, but in past years, a rare cuckoo crashed loudly and fell dead on our deck, while a pine warbler (I think that's the right ID) lived. It looked a lot like this little fellow:

source

Now we also know this:

Many birds are able to fly off after window collisions, but if they are knocked out or stunned and on the ground they should be gently picked up and placed in a warm, dark, sheltered place for at least two hours. ... If it's hot outside, the bird can actually overheat, so it's still best to bring the box inside. source: What Can I Do to Help a Bird That Has Collided With a Window?

It's been a rough winter,

worse than the usual prolonged Midwest deep-freeze. Should we feed the birds, or shouldn't we?

The squirrels are waving their little paws: Yes! Yes!