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It's all about our discoveries in our private Shady Oaks Sanctuary for birds, pollinators and wildlife. We gauge our success by the diversity of species we observe and document with our photography.
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Birds are on the move! 9-13-26
It begins slowly with a warbler or vireo. Then, there's a big push and mini-fallout of birds.
We are into Fall Migration!
American Redstarts were the first to show in August and they're still being seen as they trickle through.
Another warbler, the Northern Waterthrush was checking nooks and crannies for insects.
Bay-breasted (left) and Chestnut-sided (right) are warblers that often travel together. And, they squabble over water rights.
Two Bay-breasted bathed together.
This Chestnut-sided took a turn.
A Blue-winged Warbler looked on but wasn't successful getting in.
A lone Black-throated Green Warbler came when it was quiet.
A Swainson's Thrush stepped down through the canopy to bathe.
Flycatchers nest here. This Eastern Wood-Pewee has been heard daily.
Eastern Phoebes are also in the flycatcher family. The pair are still around, especially on hot days.
This small flycatcher is in the Empid family. It's an Acadian Flycatcher, the greenest of the group with yellow flanks. Best identified by call, it sounds like, "tee-chup."
Now for Vireos, this is the Red-eyed Vireo.
Finally, a new bird for the year, #98 a Philadelphia Vireo showed at the bubbler, splash-bathing. Always welcome, this is a lovely little bird.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are chattering to each other and chasing to show dominance. We are still seeing males.
This male showed up the morning after a stormy night. It was cat-napping to recover, eyes closed.
Females and immature birds are often seen, two at a feeder.
Males defend the feeders by keeping watch in cover.
This count is from last night. I've already seen two new first of season warblers, Tennessee and Black-and-white. It's time to get back out there!
For all of the birds seen since the last post in August, use this link:
8-6-26 Into August now
It's August now, and it's pretty hot and humid.
Resident birds and animals are still busy finding food and feeding young.
First, let's take a look at some mammals in this video of clips from the Garden Cams.
(You might want to read the notes before you start the video, it goes by quickly.)
First up is a red fox, moving through the front bed near the dripper bath. On the next clip is a coyote, which we do catch on the cams occasionally. However, this is the first time we've had a red fox within just a few hours of a coyote. When coyotes move in, foxes move out. This fox has been in and out of the garden a lot, and with prey, most likely a young rabbit. Then, listen to the fawn, it sure sounds like it's calling, "I'm here! Ma! Ma! Ma!" Finally, a Blue Jay calls as the sated fawn and doe emerge from the woods.
Curious chickadees have visited the bubbler and even harassed a young American Robin. "Move on! It's mine!"
Blue Jays, immatures and adults are vigorous bathers, and fun to watch.
Northern Cardinals are also regular visitors.
This female House Finch was eating the just-forming seeds of native Smooth Hydrangeas.
One of the Carolina Wrens took time to sun-bathe on the old cedar arbor.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been defending the two feeders we have filled right now. They don't sit long before they chase another male away. It's time to put up a third feeder because more are on the way!
On one cooler afternoon, I set up to watch for hummingbirds at the Cardinal flowers in the garden. Two males chased each other around the blazing spikes before I could get on them. I waited, and not long afterwards, a female or possibly immature bird took advantage of its time alone to take nectar at the flowers.
The advantage for the Cardinal flower is that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a prime pollinator of this plant. It picks up pollen on its crown feathers and visits the next plant to spread the pollen there. It's a win-win for both plant and bird.
The BirdCast Migration Dashboard began operating again on the first of the month.
Already, birds are on the move. We're watching for more migrants to arrive here anytime now.
Stay tuned!
7-26-26 Summertime
It's a month after the Summer Solstice and we've lost 30 minutes of daylight.
Today, the extreme heat has returned. It's 97 degrees but feels like 103. Phew.
A white-tailed fawn has been one of at least three seen lately. Sometimes they're out in the open, and at other times, tucked in by the pond or in the woodland where they rest, waiting for their mamas.
The Eastern Bluebirds tried again to start their third brood, but the Eurasian Tree Sparrows were seen inside the box. We took it down after confirming the invasion. The sparrows are not native birds, so we discourage them.
Four immature Fish Crows visited the bubbler on 7-10-26. This is at least the second time there's been a visit by this species, it became bubbler bird #127 on 7-14-24.
As you can see, immature American Crows are bigger, bulkier birds with larger bills.
On 7-13-26, we had a nice cool morning with 67 degrees, which coincided with the ripening of the berries of the Roughleaf Dogwood (Cornus drummondii) . A Gray Catbird was wary but took a few as I watched.
American Robins would gulp them down, often more than one at a time.
Eastern Bluebirds came with their young offspring. They were not shy about grabbing them, either! What a feast, it's lasted for days. There are still some berries ripening.
One of the Gray Catbirds came to bathe when the sun popped out. The chestnut undertail coverts are most visible in this kind of situation. Usually, these birds stay hidden, skulking in the shadows of plant cover.
The Downy Skullcap (Scutellaria incana) has been showing off its violet hued blooms, attracting small native bees. Everything is lush right now, we've had 7.5" of rain this month, with five more days to go.
Stay cool and safe out there!
Migrants will be on the way soon.
6-21-26 Summer Solstice
Happy Summer Solstice!
And, a special Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.
Dan got the dripper bath operating on 5-20-26. Smaller birds as well as American Crows have taken advantage of it.
A Red-eyed Vireo was one of the later migrants to splash-bathe in the bubbler basin. Vireos and flycatchers relish the chance do this. These birds carefully gauge the depth before their plunge.
Eastern Bluebirds and Northern Cardinals are at the bubbler daily.
Eastern Phoebes are carrying insects to their second brood. Not certain when they will fledge, but sometime in the next two weeks, I think. Still have not seen those little 'bobbleheads' in the nest.
We put up a clean nesting box for the Eastern Bluebirds on 5-10-26. The Eurasian Tree Sparrows beat them to it this time. I cleaned out their nest material four times before we decided to take the box down a few days to discourage them.
When we put it back up, the male bluebird kept coming to check it. The bird finally convinced the female it would be okay again to build their nest and both were at the box frequently.
The nest was built and two eggs were laid in it by the afternoon of 6-15-26. When I checked a few days later, expecting to see five eggs, there was only one! What? This has never happened before.
I checked again on 6-20-26, still only one egg. This is a head-scratcher because we do have a cone style baffle on the pole. Can't imagine a raccoon getting around it, or a snake for that matter. In almost thirty years here, I've only seen one garter snake. The mystery remains.
We've seen both male and female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at the feeders, one of those evenings the male was performing its swooping display to the female as she drank. I suspect the female has a nest close by. The sugar water fuels its insect catching ability, which is so necessary to feed its young.
Young speckled American Robins line up to drink and bathe at the bubbler. Some are not sure what to make of it all just yet.
A White-tailed Fawn has been spending the early morning hours resting in the vegetation in the woods behind the bubbler. It is growing quickly.
This is the largest family of Raccoons that we've seen. Apparently, mama can count!
A special thank you to my backyard birding friend, Connie Alwood for letting me try out one of his cameras for a few of these photos!
(Second photo of Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird on nest box, female Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Fawn.)
It is time for me to turn to needs that had been put on the back burner during migration.
In the meantime, enjoy the summer!
Migration is winding down 5-28-26
The merry month of May is nearly done.
Migration is winding down so let's look at the most recent migrants and residents, too.
American Redstarts have been flitting through the canopy and catching insects for the last two weeks. The adult male is first in black and orange plumage. Next is a female in gray and pale yellow hues. Last is a first spring male, with black feathers sprouting forth in its transitional state. Note that its yellow tones have an orangey tinge.
Early one dark morning, this female Canada Warbler was first seen in the hydrangeas behind the bubbler, then popped out to investigate. Poor light made it difficult to follow and I was only able to get this one image before a squirrel spooked the bird. However, it shows enough to confirm the ID. See the 'necklace" and white eye ring?
These two females are sometimes confused, but the 'necklace' belongs to Lady Canada.
The males are quite striking!
Bay-breasted Warblers have been seen on three different days, and two of those with a female.
Here is the female, again in poor light conditions. Some birds prefer this kind of light, it gives them some additional protection.
The female Bay-breasted is sometimes confused with the female Blackpoll. Key ID features to look for are the buff to bay toned flanks and darker legs on the Bay-breasted.
The female Blackpoll has striated flanks, and pale to orangey legs. These features can vary during transition, that's why a photo to study always helps.
This female Chestnut-sided Warbler really put a spin on its wings!
On to some resident birds now.
I watched the male Eastern Phoebe splash-bathing in the stream bed and realized two little juveniles were cuddled together, observing from this overhanging branch of oak leaf hydrangea. Some might say, "Why don't you prune off that ugly branch?" And my reply would be, "Not yet!" Flycatchers like these little birds need open branches to rest on, take off from and return to with their insect meals. As long as the branch is stable, there's no hurry.
Young Eastern Bluebirds often come in together to check out the bubbler. I had to laugh at myself when I saw the second photo. I was so intent on getting the lower bird in focus that I never saw the upper bird!
Eurasian Tree Sparrows had taken over the bluebirds' nest box so we took it down for a few days to discourage them. The male bluebird is now interested in protecting the box again. We'll be watching.
This year, there are four young American Crows that have decided they own the bubbler now! They're pretty hilarious to watch as they completely cover the bubble to wallow in it. Their presence has made a dent in the number of smaller birds coming in.
Seven minutes after they left, the Bay-breasted came down. He bathed a while, but kept checking above!
To see all the May photos follow this link:
It will open in a new page. If you just want to see photos without captions,
click on Slideshow. Press spacebar to pause.
Enjoy!