Welcome to our blog!
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.
We hope you are inspired to create your own refuge!
9-13-19 Day of the Harvest Moon
Tonight is the Harvest Moon, the name given to the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox which occurs on Monday, 9/23/19. Dan tells me the moon will appear to be 14% smaller than the January Wolf Moon we all experienced because it is further from the earth now.
There haven't been many new migrants seen since last week, so I will highlight some more from the sightings of 9/4/19. First up is a Blackburnian Warbler. I believe this may be a young male. It's interesting to see how beautifully camouflaged it is in the second image.
There was a Magnolia Warbler foraging on this Rough-leaf Dogwood. The bird was too busy and hungry to come out in the open. See how its tail looks like it is dipped in ink? That is one way for sure to know it is a Magnolia, This tail pattern is unique to the species.
For the first time, a female Canada Warbler bathed in the 'bubble'. Typically, they go to the basin, if they get in the water at all. I took nearly 200 frames of this bird having a blast!
A Nashville Warbler stopped by to look, then foraged in the Smooth Hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens) behind the bubbler. These plants really attract a lot of warblers! They look for holes in the leaves, and that indicates caterpillar activity, the primary food source for them.
The usual suspects have been busy, too. Young birds, like this Carolina Chickadee have been exploring their world. A Hairy Woodpecker found beetle grubs in this stump.
Every summer, I witness an important little event with the Northern Cardinals. One of the adults, this time a female, brings a juvenile to the bubbler, looks up at me and then leaves. Is this a plea to babysit the little one? Or is it Trust, evidenced by leaving the young one in front of me to figure things out on its own? I like to think it's Trust. For years, we have worked to make this a safe refuge for the nesting birds as well as the migrants.
The funky-looking young female started exploring and watched an American Goldfinch come in to bathe. "Hmm, well, that looks like fun!" It bathed and later came in again for a drink. Lesson learned!
On 9/7/19 there were a few migrants around. This first year female Chestnut-sided Warbler was on an American Elm (Ulmus americana).
The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been busy at the feeders and in the garden. This female had the feeder for a minute or two until the male interrupted her. The young ones have been at the orange flowers of the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).
Yesterday, I saw just a single migrant, another Magnolia Warbler. It was around for a couple hours and found a fat, juicy caterpillar on a young Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) in the woodland.
While I'm waiting in the woods, taking the pulse of what is here, I am so grateful for the natural beauty of these native trees and lovely birds around me. It feels like a comforting embrace, Sanctuary, set apart from the profane, ordinary world. Nature - invite it in!
9-6-19 Manna from heaven
This has been a week with two remarkable days for the beginning of fall migration. The first traveler to reveal itself was a Red-eyed Vireo on Sunday, 9-1-19 about 12:40 pm. That bird was my cue to get outside and commune with the migrants.
About an hour later, a female Mourning Warbler popped up in the Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) behind the bubbler with an insect in its bill. This species is considered rare, partly because they are such skulkers and difficult to see. They prefer to stay in cover. This bird was the first female I had ever seen here, and the first Mourning Warbler I've seen in the fall. It's also only the second time I've managed to photograph one.
The Mourning Warbler was species #114 for the year and warbler #29 for the list. Tuesday was fairly quiet, with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds chasing each other and usual suspects about. In the evening, we were having dinner outside when I noticed birds up in the Virginia creeper, grabbing berries to eat. One young Eastern Wood-Pewee was captured with a berry in its mouth! A bit later that evening, I saw several Common Nighthawks flying toward the high school. They made #115 on my year list.
On 9-4-19, I saw Red-eyed Vireos eating more berries of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) early in the morning. Hmm, even though it was bound to be a warm day, maybe birds did come in the night before, ahead of a cool front. Boy, did they ever! Nine warbler species plus a wonderful surprise were soon to be revealed.
American Redstart, Wilson's, Black-and-white and Chestnut-sided Warblers were feeding and flitting around. They soon made their way to the bubbler. Two Black-and-whites were having so much fun that they soon caught the attention of another bird waiting in the wings.
The waiting bird had been seen earlier up in a white oak when alarm chatter was heard. Not sure what the excitement was about, couldn't find a snake or an owl, but the chatter brought in several birds to check out a squirrel's nest. OH! I saw what looked like a female Golden-winged Warbler, with a yellow wash of color. I had seen this bird once before, three years ago. OH, MY! What were the chances that this time it would come down where I could get a photo? It was indeed, rara avis. A hybrid of the Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers, it had a name all its own - Lawrence's Warbler. It did come down. It was a female, and looked exactly like my bird from 8-31-16. What a beautiful stranger! I am still in awe.
I think that last photo is my favorite. You can see from the composite photos below the two species together, and then the female Lawrence's Warbler compared with the typical female Golden-winged Warbler. All of these birds have been photographed here.
Genetically, these two species are 99.97% alike! A very interesting article on this phenomenon of their hybridization can be found here: Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers
To view a map of the sightings for this hybrid, look at this page:
My bird is not shown on this map yet, I hope to have word soon that it is an accepted record for this rare hybrid. As you can tell if you looked at the above map, there have only been three other documented sightings in Missouri. The last one in our area was in Tower Grove Park on 4-17-1990.
Happy Fall Birding!!
9-1-19 Catching up
We returned from a nice family reunion last weekend and have been catching up ever since. The weather station has recorded over 8 inches of rain this week. That moisture has given us opportunity to do some weeding, etc. It is looking like Fall out there. Leaves are changing, spiders are spinning.
The garden is still busy with visiting pollinators. An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was on the sweet coneflowers (Rudbeckia submentosum), skippers were busy on the Ironweed (Vernonia arkansana), and a bumblebee visited a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).
While I was watching for bubbler activity, an annual cicada landed on the cedar perch and an unknown fly species on a different branch. Sometimes, it's just fun to watch the cast of characters that live here.
The Bubbler Cam is recording, too. Earlier in August, we were surprised was to find that a slim coyote had been in the area. A couple nights later, a small opossum trundled through. The white-tailed does decided to browse on the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) one afternoon.
As in many gardens, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are at flowers and feeders. They're tanking up for the big trip south. We'll see three around a feeder for a brief nanosecond before they're off again, chasing each other. A Chickadee was seen sipping from the dripper, while the Carolina Wrens like to get in the bubbler for their water fun, then sunbathe on the deck.
The Barred Owls are still coming in to hunt or rest. If we don't see them actually fly in, they can be tricky to spot. The birds usually find them for us and their alarm calls are a reliable indicator.
My first two migrants were seen this week. The first was an Empidonax flycatcher, an Acadian, I believe because it looked so greenish. Got good looks but no photo on that bird. The second was this Red-eyed Vireo, got better looks and this one photo. It's time to get back in the saddle! The next cool front may bring in some more migrants.
The Bubbler is ready and waiting! However, with all the rain, there are puddles elsewhere. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Fall migration is upon us!
August is here 8-11-19
We're into August now with insects darting, buzzing, nectaring and laying eggs throughout the garden and woodland. A dark Eastern Tiger Swallowtail found Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) to sip on. A similar looking Spicebush Swallowtail rested on Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) after laying eggs, the zig-zag edges of the leaves in visual harmony with its wings, providing perfect camouflage.
A female Monarch also was busy egg-laying on Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) while an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail nectared nearby.
The Indian Pinks (Spigelia marilandica) had a few blooms left for this juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird to find. Another young bird went for the Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis), but both have tubular red flowers perfectly suited to their bills.
Squirrels had eaten the easy-to-reach white berries on the Rough-leaf Dogwoods (Cornus drummondii), so the American Robins have been literally going out on a limb to get the remaining few.
We've been heading out to the gazebo with our coffee first thing in the morning to enjoy the cooler, quiet period as the birds awaken. The Barred Owls have been out there several mornings. Of course, they had been active all night and were looking for a safe place to rest for the day. They often choose a branch with another above to give them some cover.
By afternoon, the male had been harassed by squirrels and was moving around. It landed in a Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) but a squirrel bothered it again. Eventually, it flew to the bubbler pond, looking for fish. In the following video, one can see the bird flash its wings, daring that squirrel to come closer.
The next morning, the larger female was in the maple by the pond. It had been raining and the bird looked pretty bedraggled. Though we hear them often, we were glad to have seen them both, it had been quite some time since we were granted daytime views of these birds.
Saturday, I was out in the garden for a while and found some Monarch caterpillars on the Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). These 'cats' will become butterflies in a couple weeks. There's plenty of native milkweed for them to feed on before they go into metamorphosis.
A Silver-spotted Skipper landed near me in the shade. The sun peeked through just enough to highlight the orange cone of the flower, a lovely moment to capture.
Across the garden in another patch of milkweed, a female Monarch was busy again laying eggs, while a fresh looking male nectared on the flowers. The female made its way over to the west patch to sip for a while, joined by other pollinators.
A Tiger Swallowtail came in to visit the Sweet Coneflowers (Rudbeckia submentosum), then it was time to come in and cool off. The garden is full of activity during the sunny afternoon hours.
Migrant birds are starting to move around.
Two of my friends have seen warblers at their water features, so be watching!
First Monarch of the year! 7-28-19
Where has the time gone? Our weeks have been busy with prep for a program, weeding, makeup tours, maintenance on the water features and deck, entertaining visitors and occasional photography.
The garden has finally been visited by some larger butterflies. Sunny, warm days have brought in Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, the male is yellow and the female here is the black form.
Yesterday, I thought I saw a Monarch flitting through the woods. The butterfly moved to the garden around the Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). I got the camera and then found it nectaring on the sweet and heavy blooms of Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). It spent some time on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), too. This is the first Monarch we've seen this year, a female.
Three young Cooper's Hawks have been terrorizing the neighborhood with their screams and wild-eyed looks. Every other bird flies to cover when they start coming in close. They often fly into the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) by the pond.
The second brood of Eastern Phoebes fledged on July 8. They scattered before I could find them to photograph. Since then, we've been seeing another adult Eastern Phoebe feeding a fledgling. The younger bird is now coming in on its own to catch insects. We don't know where their nest was located, maybe under a neighbor's deck. Our yard does feed the 'hood!
The deer have been more visible and active during the day. We regularly see two does and two fawns. The first fawn showed itself when it came to the bubbler area. Aha, so this was the culprit who had been feasting on my Solomon's Seal!
The Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis) has begun to bloom and the Coral Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) has a few new blooms, though it peaked in May.
These plants are both magnets for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. One day, there was a real standoff between two of them over the patch of Cardinalflower in the garden. The adult male was displaying its displeasure to the juvenile male, even though the younger bird had arrived first.
The adult chased off the younger bird, then hid under a mallow leaf.
Claiming its prize, the bird moved out and sipped nectar from every bloom.
At noon today, I went back out to take the pulse of the garden and look for activity. The temperature was rising and so was the breeze. I did not see any large butterflies while I was out there. The bumblebees were busy on the coneflowers.
I noticed a bronze fennel stem that was leaning over and practically denuded of its fine textured leaves. The cause? Black Swallowtail caterpillars, at least six of them! They looked to be nearly large enough to begin metamorphosis, which meant the eggs must have been laid a few weeks ago.
Note: I intentionally left the bronze fennel in the garden to ATTRACT Black Swallowtails, knowing it's a host plant for them! Seeing the caterpillars made my day.
The young Eastern Phoebe was using the cedar perch near the north dripper bath to preen after a short dip.
The young male Ruby-throat found a chance to slip in and nectar at the patch of Cardinalflower (Lobelia cardinalis) by the pond. What a lot of pollen on its crown from hitting the flowers!
It's always fun to end with a hummingbird! Enjoy the birds and butterflies, 'tis the season of mid-summer.