Our Newest Additions

Yesterday, I stopped at a native plant nursery looking to add more biodiversity to the summer-blooming natives I've already added.  Here is what I got:

queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra)

ox-eye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)

cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Phlox paniculata -which had a visitor before I even put it in the
ground...this tiny bee actually followed it as I moved the pot, to
set up the group shot above!

Looking More Closely

It is rare for me to pick flowers from the natives I'm adding to the property.  So far, I really have so few, and I feel the nectar, pollen, and eventual seeds that they are providing for wildlife is vitally important.  I hate to take away from the little I've provided.  However, the oldest butterflyweeds I have planted are blooming profusely...so I took three small sprigs.  With them, I took a few non-natives that are blooming (I'm trying to rid the property of these anyway), and then I grabbed a few of the daisy fleabane...that is when, as I reached for a second stem, I saw an already large caterpillar chomping away at one of the flowers.  Of course, I let go and went to get the camera.

I have to wonder what else I'd see if I learned to look more closely more often.

I've yet to identify it, but here is what he looks like:

Chomping away!  Just look at those petals fall.
What a messy eater.

I went back for more photos.

...and today, I noticed there were at least two of them!

Oh, and here is the bouquet I came up with:

His Favorite Perch?

I spotted the hummingbird atop the dead elm tree again today. I'm assuming it gives him a great vantage point--as it does for other birds that use it.  That is just one more good reason to keep snags on one's property--who would've thought a hummingbird would make use of one.

Now I just have to invest in a telephoto lens...

Poor Vision, Great Eyes

For having such poor vision all my life, I've got some pretty good eyes!  As so often happens, I spot a bird or two perched atop the dead elm at the edge of our property.  Usually I have to zoom in and take a picture to upload on the computer before I know what it is.  Today, I spotted a tiny bird on the uppermost branch.  I figured I'd be learning a new bird, once I saw it up close--it never occurred to me that it would be a hummingbird.  I'm shocked that I even noticed it at that distance.

Regular Visitor or Resident?

I was pleased to see a cedar waxwing perched on a dead branch of one of the wild cherry trees--of course, I didn't know what it was from the distance, but, after it flew to the quaking aspen in the blueberry patch, I was able to identify it through the zoom of the camera.  Normally, I have to wait until I upload the picture, but it was close enough, that, once I knew what it was, I was able to see recognize it with the naked eye thanks to its colorful wax-wings.

I've seen them in the yard a few times since last year, and I have to wonder if they might not be nesting here.  That would be thrilling to me.  If not yet, once I have more fruiting shrubs and trees, I expect they might. :)

At It Again

Normally after the bluebirds fledglings have left the nest, within a few days, I clean out the old nest and wipe down the inside of the nest box (and around the entrance hole) with a bleach and water solution.  This year, with the house wren nesting across the yard, I put off the clean-up.  I figured after all the energy that it took to feed and care for the young, a little break would be welcomed.

However, after I noticed a photo I'd taken earlier in the week showed the male bird checking out the entrance hole again, I went out to clean the box a day or two later.  Since I was unsure what if the male bird would keep checking after finding the old, messy nest, I decided to leave the door open for 24 hours, hoping that would draw the attention of the pair if they were still in the area.  The next afternoon, I came back and closed the door...and waited to see what would happen. 

Again we were gone, but when I checked again within four days of cleaning it out, I found a completed nest!  :)  I'm pleased that they didn't go looking elsewhere.

 From the research I did online, it appears that once the house     wrens eggs are laid, they stop attacking other birds' nests..."as if a switch was flipped".  So, I'm hopeful that there will be nothing to interfere with the bluebirds having a fully successful second brood.

Nature Taking its Course, I Guess...

We have been busy and away too many weekends in a row lately.  I have not been able to keep as much of an eye on things as I'd like--not that I think I could've done much to change what appears to have happened.

I knew the bluebirds were back and had been feeding their young.  They were the first cavity nester to begin nesting in the meadow where I have several nest boxes.  Later, the tree swallows appeared--in bigger numbers than I've had before...although the last two years, I've found their nests and eggs abandoned.   I also had--what I thought was a Carolina wren.  I'd seen a pair late this winter/early spring, so, when I saw a wren at a distance, I assumed it was the Carolina; however, it was a house wren.  House wrens are notorious for piercing the eggs of other cavity nesters--and apparently open-nesting birds as well.

With that said, house wrens are native birds--I don't like their behavior, but I have welcomed nature to my yard.  It appears that only two of my bluebirds brood survived to fledge.  I always seem to miss them actually leaving the nest, but maybe some day I'll get it on video.

For now, here is the footage I got that shows the two babies getting fed by dad: