I’ve been a bird-lover all my life. We had pet parakeets at home all through grade school, high school, and even when I was in college. I had a pet bird in my first apartment and in my first house. We’ve had pet birds at the library off and on for years. I’ve loved them all. Donna Dahlberg taught me how to rescue sick and wounded birds. My successes were always temporary. We saved a wounded pigeon once at the old library and when we released him into yard, he flew out into the street and got run over by a car. That was disheartening. I have porcelain and crystal birds all over the house. I have bird statues in the garden, including the traditional pink flamingo. We have five birdbaths in the yard (a heated one for winter) three birdhouses, and many bird feeders. The highlight of my life is seeing a cardinal on the deck. Lately, I’ve had some bird concerns … serious concerns. For example, I went out to the flowerbed one day to water my football mums. As I approached the area, I spied a baby blackbird about four feet away. I began sprinkling the mums with my red watering can. Suddenly and without warning, the feathered beast came running toward me with his head down, wings out, and mouth open. He screeched and I thought he was going to attack me. I was paralyzed with fear. Then, he stopped and stood there, staring at me with his mouth open. In retrospect, I believe he thought I was his mother and I had a tasty worm for him in my beak. Very unusual behavior, indeed. A couple days later as I was walking home from work, I happened to look up and there were two turkey buzzards circling over my head. I thought, "What am I? Dead?" It’s not as if they were three feet above my head, they were circling above the trees, but still it was rather disconcerting. The very next morning, I got my parrot Barkley out of his cage for breakfast. Normally he gets bird food, two sunflower seeds, and some human food. I was excited because I had leftover crappies broiled with butter and lemon pepper, plus a piece of baked potato and a small spear of steamed asparagus for him. What did he do? He got mad and bit me because I forgot to give him his two sunflower seeds. I think you can see a pattern forming. If you’re sitting out on the deck reading a hot summer novel, keep an eye out for unusual bird behavior and let me know if you see anything alarming. New on the shelf this week is "Captive of My Desires," by Johanna Lindsey. Devastated by her