Bluebird Sighting

The other day, I thought I caught a flash of blue when I saw a bird flying to a bush.  The distance and lighting made it difficult to be sure, but yesterday, there was no mistaking it--a male bluebird.

Despite him letting me get somewhat close, I still didn't get the best shots.  There should be ample time for that when they start nesting.

It definitely seems like spring now! :)

Better Luck this Time (I Hope)

Walking our "woodland", I, again, spotted a dried leaf hanging from the spicebush that I put in many years ago.  From past experience, I know that it contains the pupa of a moth...remembering which one is always an issue for me.  After (yet another) web search, I suspect it is a Polyphemus moth cocoon.

Unlike last year, there are six--seven, if you count the one from last year that never eclosed.

Here's hoping they have better luck this time...and it would be even better if I could get pictures.

Encounters

Surprisingly, spotting a luna moth on our property, this evening, was not enough to get me to post...it should have been (I'm thrilled), but it took another (near) encounter to get me to pull up my blog and share:

Robin

Although robins are quite common, and I rarely get too excited about them except maybe in the spring (although they are very welcome), over the years, I've noticed in a couple of photographs I've taken of them, that they can seem quite stately. 

They are a welcome sight after our long winter.  I am happy that they are comfortable around human habitation, and, although still a little wary, they often give me a chance to take some nice photos of them.

More Frequent Visitors

I don't recall squirrels being frequent visitors to our property.  Sure, I would see them occasionally, but, this year, they seem to have taken up residence.  Fine by me. :)

I enjoyed their antics earlier this year as winter was coming to a close, but spring was taking way too much long to break free from winter's grasp.  They have offered me a few opportunities for photos, but often these occur through a pane of glass.  I was fortunate today, to get these shots after spotting this little guy from the path through my "would be woods".

These are probably the best shots I've ever gotten of squirrels.  I love the profile picture with him coming down the tree trunk (a black walnut tree just a bit over the property line in the field behind our place.

He let me take several shots of him in different poses, before looking right at me (in the last pic) as if to say, "what are you looking at?" then taking off, apparently tired of the game.

Chipmunk

After an exceptionally long winter--a delayed spring, it is so nice to see so many critters out and about.  I am seeing more squirrels this year than I think  I've seen in the past.  A chipmunk or two have always been around...and it was nice to spot one again.  I'm guessing, he spotted me taking pictures of him through the window.

Latest Visitor

A northern flicker has been showing up in our yard recently.  While sitting in my new favorite spot (along a path I cleared last weekend along the wooded slope), I spotted him again, this time flying into the neighbors tree to perch a while before going back to foraging on the ground.

I wish the shots were clearer, but I like the look of the lichen covered trees in the background, the foreground branches, and the fact that you can see both his red, patch, black patch, and yellow tail feathers.

House Hunting 2018

After showing up at the end of February, I spotted the male bluebird today perched upon their favorite nestbox.  He could have been in the yard countless times between then and now without me having noticed.  He was a welcome sight on this gloomy day. :)

Tree Sparrow

I am not good with identifying sparrows...in the past, I have probably referred to this as a chipping sparrow, now, I believe it is an American tree sparrow.  To be fair, my Peterson's Guide referred to it as a "winter chipping sparrow" under the description.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong. :)

They are welcome, regular visitors to our feeders and to our property.

Goldfinches!

With mild weather at the end of 2017, I didn't start feeding the birds until November. By the time the weather had finally changed (and became brutally cold by the end of December), I was feeding regularly--mostly black oil sunflower seeds, but I also added a fruit and nut mix, some peanuts, and a nyjer seed sock.

Although, I saw bluejays, juncos, mourning doves, a white-throated sparrow or two, and a very occasional pair of cardinals, many other bird species were missing.  I hadn't seen any chickadees (normally the first to show up) since the fall...not a single tufted titmouse, no goldfinch, and until this past week, no downy woodpeckers.

This morning, brought a flock of goldfinches to our recently snow-covered ground. 

(We had 62 degrees yesterday...20 something today.)

...Oh, and I finally saw a nuthatch early this afternoon. :)

I enjoyed the new subject matter...with no further ado, I present the goldfinch:

Planning the Front Yard

Since moving in, I seem to have focused more of my energies and thoughts to the far reaches of the property and less near the house--I think mostly because we still need work done on the outside (soffit & fascia, gutters, paint job, and, hopefully, a covered porch one of these days).

Still, after neglecting it for far too long, I am longing to create more habitat and beauty out front.  I have added things through the years, but few and far between.  Over the years, my vision for the property has become clearer.  Lately, I am thinking about adding some small trees in front of the house--something that, originally, I was trying to avoid.  Lately, I find that I want something beautiful to look at when looking out the front windows.

Today, I began labeling what I already have added...and what I may want to add.  I will post this to Wildlife Gardeners as well...and hopefully get some suggestions for trees (small trees or large shrubs) that I wouldn't have come up with on my own.

This is an aerial shot from last year--mid-to-late summer, I would guess.

Snow Day 2017

Having an unexpected day off is nice.



After about two weeks of way above average temperatures in February, I was ready for an early spring--and even hopeful that we'd have no more winter weather.  Last week changed that with overnight temperatures in the single digits.  Although, I knew they were predicting some snow late last night into today, I was hoping to just have a two-hour delay.  That is what I got, but, once I was dressed for work (and not quite ready to go), our school closed.

Being off from work, I decided to finally start sorting through the tons of photos that I've taken.  Since I had been taking pictures, but never getting around to sorting them let alone posting them, I finally pretty much stopped taking pictures (except with my smartphone!).  However, instead of sorting photos, I began taking them again.  With the snow providing a beautiful backdrop, I began snapping picture after picture of the birds that come to the seed I put out for them.

After taking countless pictures, I switched the display from the traditional viewfinder to the digital display screen--that was when I was finally alerted to the fact that there was no memory card in the camera.  I had left it in the computer when transferring my last batch! :(

I will never know if those shots that I thought were so awesome really were.  So, I started again.  I was even able to recapture one shot of a few mourning doves still perched in the same spot in the distant trees.  The rest that I took still have the same mood as those lost forever.

Here are a few of the better ones:

      

 

Despite the snow, spring was in the air.  The trilling calls of the red-winged blackbirds filled the morning air.  Later in the day, I spotted a robin eating the berries from the sumac.  Later, perched outside one of our kitchen windows, the robin, too began singing.