I'm not sure why the buzzards were circling today, but something in the fields must have been stirred up by all the rain we've been having. Everything definitely looks greener, but I've noticed more holes in the driveway over the last week or two. That means the rodents are working overtime, and I think that must have attracted the buzzards.

I didn't see any of the big birds in the driveway, but for a while they were landing in my backyard, just off the porch. It was hard to take my eyes off them. I have a lot of respect for buzzards and the very important work they do. I wouldn't want to get too close to one, though. I'm pretty sure they smell, considering their disgusting habits.

One thing I saw today that I've never seen before was a buzzard flying off with a field mouse dangling (and wriggling) from its beak. I guess they don't ordinarily get close enough for me to see that much detail. I'm sure it happens all the time in the fields surrounding my house.

Buzzards are frequently overhead, but I don't often see them close to the ground. The pickings must be better on the other side of the grove of trees, or across the road where the sunflowers grow, or across the other road where the cows graze. By contrast, my own fields are probably not as full of life. The rain seems to have changed that, for now.

I don't get sentimental about buzzards the way I do about the red-shouldered hawks. I'm not sure why, because the hawks' diet isn't much different, and their call is a dissonant screech. They have a shorter wingspan and don't soar quite as high or for as long at one time. But they look majestic in flight as they circle over the fields, and the silhouette they cut into the sky is a beautiful sight.