You're Welcome, Wisconsin

They were here all last weekend, but I haven't seen them in a while. The rose-breasted grosbeaks that were hanging around my feeder have departed for the north--to Minnesota and Wisconsin and Ontario, there to do their yearly business of raising more grosbeaks to send back through next year. They winter in South and Central America (like I would if I could). They zip through every year, hanging around for a week or so, cleaning out my sunflower seed in a manic hurry, gathering up energy for their trip. As my friend Hipparchia has pointed out, I feel paternal toward these birds. I don't begrudge them a crop full of seed--they pay with their flashy colors and cheerful (if somewhat nondescript) song. I also don't begrudge the birders in Wisconsin the pleasure of enjoying "my" birds all summer long--I just ask that they take care of them while they're enjoying them.