Snag List

Looking up from my backyard, there's a black cherry/merisier (Prunus serotina) rising up above my toothache trees. The trunk is just across the fence in the neighbor's yard, and as with most wild cherry trees, it was probably planted by a peripatetic bird that ate des merises somewhere nearby and planted a lucky seed with its poop. The tree probably got so big by salutary neglect as it was far enough from the house and small enough for long enough that the homeowners let it do its thing. Now it would take a tree service to remove it.

Right now the tree is fruiting, which is usually good for a few birds, but it has a certain other charm that I love it for. Being a cherry tree, some of its limbs seem to fall victim to age fairly quickly.  One such limb rises high above the green leafy mountain and forms a nice inviting snag.

Over the years this snag has been changing, but it's always been worth looking at for birds. Last May 13, I looked up at the snag before leaving for school and saw this nice Olive-sided Flycatcher, a great yard bird.

That encounter got me to thinking about all of the birds I've seen ascend or descend to that snag. Hummingbirds love it, so Ruby-throats, Rufous, and Black-chinned have risen to the snag to survey their domains. Eastern Kingbirds have dropped out of the sky to rest on it. The number of birds that I've seen it is pretty long. A snag is a great thing to have in a yard.

Here's a sample of photos illustrating a portion of my Snag List from the lockdown, so from March 13ish-today.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Eastern Wood Pewee

Blue Grosbeak

Northern Mockingbird

Summer Tanager

Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

White-winged Dove

Tufted Titmouse

Great Crested Flycatcher

Mississippi Kite

Fox Squirrelbird

Carolina Wren