-
Hilton Head Critters
We returned from a week at Hilton Head Island with my family, and I wanted to quickly share some of the wildlife we saw. I’ll post family pictures at a later time. We were all hoping to see large alligators, and we saw one in the water while on our bike ride to the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. However, we didn’t see them lounging around the water’s edge like I remembered from childhood. The boys and I read alligator facts…
-
Fledgling Woodpecker
I was outside checking on the chickens when I heard a rustling sound in a shrub on the edge of a neighbor’s yard. When I looked closer, there was a baby bird flopping around in the leaves and low branches. It has the markings of either a Red bellied Woodpecker or a Northern Flicker, though I’m not certain this is what it is. There is a faint rust colored band on the back of the neck, and I didn’t get…
-
Bird Sighting: Rose-breasted Grosbeak
There is no excitement around here quite like my boys being vindicated in their claims that they saw a new bird on the feeder that we had never spotted before. They saw it this morning, and it came back after school. We give you a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
-
Birdbath Ice Sickles and Snowbirds
-
Resolutions for 2017 – Habitat for Birds
One of my favorite winter pastimes is backyard bird watching. We typically keep a steady supply of seed in the feeders, and occasionally put out a block of suet. Last week my youngest son and I made a fresh batch of peanut butter pine cone feeders, which the chickadees especially love. While I love putting out food for the birds, it doesn’t make me as giddy as seeing a bird land in a newly planted tree for the first time.…
-
Feeder Visitors – Nuthatches and Finches
It has been awhile since I’ve posted pictures of birds at the feeder. Until January’s ice storm, I’d actually forgotten to put out food. Today, the feeder is especially active as the sky is spitting down freezing rain. June Kitty has made a permanent perch of the windowsill, and her tail flicks back and forth as she watches her would-be prey. We are currently trying to solve a mystery. Joe claims to have seen a bird with an all-purpose beak,…
