The purple martins returned last month en mass and now occupy all of the units in the Martin condominium complex. This is a first and probably reflects the tightening of the housing market due to the flood of illegals (yes, I said illegals). The group is noisy in a happy purple martin kind of way which I find pleasant.
On the other hand, the swallows are nesting and messy as ever. Unfortunately beginning last year, they have brought a bunch of house sparrows with them. The constant sparrow chirping is very annoying and they are even messier than the swallows!!!
On another note, I saw a family of grey foxes cross the road ahead of me the other morning. They were happy and yipping as they called to each other. Not a common sighting but one I was glad to witness. Also, I understand someone released a bunch of turkeys several weeks ago. We have seen them here and there since. I would love to have them settle into the area but the coyotes make long term residency highly unlikely.
The weather has been very pleasant and cool for this time of year. More rain is in the forecast. The farmers are happy as the corn and wheat grows.
