Hummingbirds!

I finally got a half-decent shot of a hummingbird!
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

We have a family of hummingbirds that visit our feeder. They seem to enjoy the fact that they can perch and eat instead of hover and eat. There is a youngster who is getting pretty friendly. I thought it was a girl until recently when it perched and looked right at me... turned its head to the side to show a little dot of a ruby throat. It's a boy!
Recently i had to take down the feeder to refill it... as i was cleaning i heard this little squeak and i turned to see the hummingbird at the back door! ... looking in rather expectantly. Needless to say, i finished up quickly and got that feeder back outside (where it belongs). Fun little critters these hummingbirds.

Bee Balm is Good Food!

Bee Balm is Good Food
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

We have a multitude of hummingbird moths this year. In the past we might have one visiting the garden. This year it is common to see three on the same bee balm. They are also quite friendly and unafraid this year and buzz right on by me to get to the good eats.

ah, the life of the wildlife managers...

From Joseph...

I had a bit of an adventure when i went outside-- rescued a chipmunk from one of our water buckets! ... at first i thought a large FROG had somehow gotten in there and was swimming around, but... it was a chippy... reached in there with a long pole; he grabbed on and i pulled him out... i mean, if the CATS get 'em, that's ONE thing... he lay shivering on the driveway in the sunshine; i went up and got the mail... when i got back i wasn't sure he was still with us! but then he started moving... i went up to the kitchen and got him a couple peanuts, shelled one for him. at first he seemed vaguely interested; then it was: "AAAAHHH! HUMAN!!!" and he ran under the pot near the stepping paver... i put the peanuts over there to perhaps aid in his recovery later...

Observations...

So, i was sitting out on the patio last Sunday morning enjoying a cup of coffee. I discovered:

• One must be prepared to duck if sitting in a nut hatch fly zone. They do not veer off of their course to the suet feeder.
• Young bunnies love to run in trenches (like the one surrounding the birch trees). And the will run in endless circles. Nascar bunnies...
• All birdbaths are for the use and pleasure of the Robins... and they can turn the water to a murky, muddy mess very quickly.
  

I'm not in your garden to eat it...

I'm not in your garden to eat it...
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

I'm nesting!

I watched her pruning the creeping phlox for building materials. She isn't very afraid of me... i think she read the "wildlife habitat" sign.

a different kind of alarm...This morning i awoke to the

distinctive "gobble, gobble, gobble"... i know that a turkey had ventured up near the house. Of course i didn't see nary a tail feather of my alarm clock.

Observations and Mr. White too!...

This morning I was entranced by the neighbors' locust trees. They had been in full bloom and now the petals were dropping. It looked like a snow shower with all petals softly falling to the ground.

I put out my usual hand full of peanuts for the blue jays this morning. And went back inside the house to watch the jays and all the funny things that they do. I watched for a time the comings and goings of the jays. But then there was a group of three jays on the table and each one was bobbing up and down making that funny "whoop" sounds that jays make. It seemed like some sort of jay ritual of gratitude.

When Joseph got back from his route today he mentioned hearing a Bob White in the neighborhood. Later when i went out to water plants i heard a whistle... thought it was the neighbors whisting for his dog. But sure enough it was the Bob White. I ran inside to grab my camera and when i returned the bob white was gone, sigh... but a short time later i heard the bob white call and patiently waited. Then Mr. White came waddling through the yard. First tot he birch tree where i have placed a shallow pan of water. After getting a drink, Mr. White wandered up and around the house. What a blessing.

Blues for Happiness...

Today when i got home from work i was talking with joseph in the driveway. I caught a glimpse of some blue flying into the paperbark maple. Much to our surprise it was a bluebird. It took off from the tree and headed right over our heads. No mistake it was indeed a bluebird.

We saw the bluebird a short time later... it proceeded to take a bath in the saucer like water basin that i placed under the birch tree. Later on we saw two bluebirds, possibly three.

Today, wWe are feeling very blessed.

Goings and Comings...

It seems that the baby bunnies have all disappeared! I was getting overwhelmed by the seven if not more of them... but now i miss them. I miss the of trail maintenance from their nibbling. I came to realize that baby bunnies don't nibble where plants are thick... they nibble on the edges. I'm not totally sure as to what became of the bunnies... but i did notice a cat in the vicinity a day or two after the disappearance. Or maybe the bunnies evacuated to another location.

and the mockingbird has moved on... Last weekend it had me a little crazy with it's loud and long mocking of bird songs... in rapid succession... over and over again. So on one level i am relieved that it has moved on and sad that it has moved on.

but the newest bird to make it's presence know in a catbird. It isn't nearly as exasperating of a sound as the mocking bird... and a very dapper bird to watch.

and a pair of hummingbird are enjoying the coral bell flowers. It seems to be one of their favorites. This evening i stood and watched the male ruby-throated hummingbird feeding on the coral bells. I was delighted to watch it land on the stem of the flower, gently bending down... not too far... and it continued to feed. Then it flew off zipping less than a foot in front of my nose!

Bunnys Galore...!!!

So last week i thought that i had one baby bunny in the garden... then two, then three... triplets. Then this morning as i gazed out the window that overlooks the garden i got the total picture. One, two, three baby bunnies on the lower path... AND one, tow, three on the upper path... AND some rustling leaves in another spot. SO, SIX BABY BUNNIES for sure and possibly seven. YIKES!!! And each one of those hungry little baby bunnies with sharp teeth is dining in my garden!

I did notice that they are very beneficial for trail maintenance... last year i could barely walk on the paths because the california poppies were sprawling all over the place. I just wish i could get them to eat the sweet woodruff that is running rampant... or even have the decency to do as my little baby bunny did last year and eat the dandelions. So, to prevent the little buggers from eat everything in my garden... out came the liquid fence and its nasty taste. Hopefully it will get them to move onto other plants outside my garden!

Hanging pots and a hummingbird...

I had a glimpse of a hummingbird a week ago and hadn't seen one until this morning. The ironic thing is that we brought in the two hanging pots because the overnight temperatures was in the 30s. And so when i looked out the back door this morning, what did i see but a hummingbird looking for the hanging plants. Of course i stopped what i was doing, got dressed and took the two hanging planters back outside.

Do Crows do that?

We've had an abundance of crows in the area this spring. We've also found an abundance of birds nests on the ground. Some of them we attributed to high winds... nests that were small or not complete. But then we were also finding bigger nests on the ground. Nests with mud construction. Nests that had been wrapped around branches in the tree. I'm starting to wonder if the two events might be related... (the multitude of crows and many bird nests on the ground)... do crows knock nests out of trees? Do they go after youngsters in the nest?

Baby Bunny... aka "Flash"

So we now have a baby bunny zipping around in the garden. I catch glimpses of him on occasion. Not nearly as photo op ready as last year's baby bunny. So the baby bunny is hanging out in the garden. Seems to be reasonable with what his chomping on... so far.

Yesterday tho' the baby bunny did something that seemed really odd to me. The baby bunny went hopping on over to a crow that had jumped off of the bird bath. I captured the event (albeit a little out of focus). Momma bunny was close by but it still seemed really odd to see the little bugger approaching the crow. The crow seemed equally perplexed and took off before baby bunny got too close.

Dirty Birdbath...

Last year I added a white birdbath to a newly constructed flower bed. Last year the birdbath was in constant use but did not get nearly as dirty as what i am seeing this year. I know that this month has been a whole lot wetter than last year... but the robins aren't THAT dirty. I'm routinely changing brown water. This morning I think i discovered what the cause of all this dirty water is... I glanced out to see a big crow in the birdbath!

Crows & Bluejay...

So this morning i put out the suet feeder and my one bluejay was there as always waiting for peanuts. I'm a sucker for the bluejay perched on the back of the patio chair bobbing up and down making a little whoop, whoop kind of sound while facing the door. I swear i am referred to as the "peanut lady" and the jays all have my number... some of them more so than others. So the lone morning jay is begging for peanuts and i throw out a a handful to make him happy. And this one bluejay proceeds to take a peanut and fly over to the neighbors yard and hide it. The come back for another and fly away to hide it. He manages to hide a half dozen peanuts before any other jays find out that there are peanuts to be had. The funniest part of the whole story is that a crow was strutting around and "finding" the peanuts that the jay hid.

Rabbit, Crow, Crow, Crow...

This morning i glanced out the back door and watched a rather large rabbit chowing down on dandelion seeds and stalks. It would snap off the stem and then very methodically chomp away on the stalk as if it was a piece of spaghetti. I'm glad that we let the dandelions grow for the rabbits and also the birds that have been enjoying the seeds. I noticed the chipping sparrow is fond of dandelion seeds.

A short time later I looked out again to see that the rabbit was in the mulch near the patio nibbling on grass (and probably bird seed) while three big crows were scavenging for seeds. The rabbit looked rather unnerved by the crows... she would nibble and stop, and start then stop again. I'm not sure how a rabbit feels about a bird that is much bigger than it... and has been known to chow down on dead bunny...

I opened the door to move the crows along... the bunny looked relieved.

Wingnut eater...

This morning i glanced out to see birds at the feeders, a rabbit under the feeder... and this little critter on the wall near the steps. He was chowing down on maple "wingnuts".

Mock- yea, ing-yea, bird-yea...

We have a mockingbird in the neighborhood. I was even serenaded from the pine tree outside the back door. This mockingbird is very well versed in its mockings. I was especially impressed with its imitation of killdeer in flight. I mentioned to Joseph that i felt that the mockingbird was the equivalent of a Robin Williams of the bird world. It just keeps the jokes coming... one after another after another. It's fun having them in the neighborhood.

Flyboy...

I have a group of bluejays (nine) that beg for peanuts. Sometimes they will watch the windows and doors and make all manner of calls to get my attention... i think they refer to me as the "peanut lady". Some of them are tamer than others. The one pictured gets in there for first dibs when i'm only about six feet away.

Girls rule!

On Mother's Day morning i stood in the kitchen watching the birds out at the feeders. It was a very cool May morning and i had put out seed for the birds.
I noticed someone different hanging out in the grass. At first glance i thought Towhee and told myself... no, that's not a Towhee, there's no black on it. At second glance i declared that indeed it was a Towhee and a female one.
The next girl to make an appearance was the Red-Bellied Woodpecker. I refer to them as pink-bellies. And the female Downy Woodpecker made her appearance.
The last girl that I noticed was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! We don't see them very often so it was quite a gift. Happy Mother's Day from all the girls!

Certification

Certification
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

I felt that it was only fitting that my first entry in this blog be about our certification of wildlife habitat. The National Wildlife Federation has a program that promotes wildlife habitats... from apartment patios to many acres of land and everything in between... making a place for nature to thrive. Limiting pesticides, providing water sources and food sources through plants, tree and shrub choices.