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!
Spring has sprung! 3-21-24
Spring Apparent!
The first full day of spring was balmy at 58 degrees and activity was noted in every direction.
Wood poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) are opening now.
Wish I could share the yummy fragrance of the shrubby Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum). It wafts through the air and awakens the senses.
The nodding blooms of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginiaca) change from pink to blue.
Wooly Blue Violets (Viola sororia) welcome tiny native mining bees to gather pollen. Violets support 25 different pollinators such as these!
Northern Cardinals are nesting in their favorite spot in the Coral Trumpet Honeysuckle vine (Lonicera sempervirens). The male insists on protecting its mate and nest by chasing off intruders, including its own reflection. The bird begins about 7 am and continues until after 7 pm. The bird will not be dissuaded and covers three floors and three sides of the house! (It may have earned a new nickname, Bam-bam!) It did this last year and lived to nest again.
The Eastern Bluebirds have made great progress on their nest in a week. No eggs yet.
The female found this downy white feather, and chose it to embellish or 'feather' its nest. Nothing but the best!
The Carolina Chickadees have been busy, too. A slow-motion video was the only way to capture what they're doing.
The female Eastern Phoebe has returned and was seen carrying material to their nesting place. The pair had cleaned out the Carolina Wren nest and it is looking more like a real phoebe nest now. I'm not sure yet where the Carolina Wrens are nesting, but we see them every day and the male is singing as if on territory. I suspect they may be in one of the old oak snags. We'll be watching.
ALL of the new baby birds will soon be eating insects, especially caterpillars of many sizes, shapes and colors!
We encourage our native birds to nest by putting up the nesting boxes. However, the House Sparrows and Eurasian Tree Sparrows are NOT native birds. They are introduced species that have naturalized and are seemingly everywhere. They use up resources for our native birds, so we will not support their nesting activity, and remove nests made by them. It's the only way to give our native birds a chance.
This was exactly the case in the second Eastern Bluebird box we put up. The Eurasian Tree Sparrows took it over, so we removed all the material and then took down the box for this year.
PS It would be rare to have two pairs of nesting bluebirds, the standard distance between boxes is 250-300 feet even up to 600 feet apart.
Everything we do in our yard is to help native birds and we do that by supporting native bees, butterflies, moths and other insects. That means leaving our leaves where many insects complete their life cycles. That means NOT using pesticides that will kill these insects. After all, the insects become essential food for our native birds. The results have been amazing!
Here are a few examples from my latest program.
Recently, Dan and I watched this program by our mentor, Dr. Doug Tallamy on the
Winter Learning Series from the Missouri River Bird Observatory.
If you also want to help our native birds, this is the program to take in!
Nature's Best Hope
(The link will open a new page for you.)
Spring Forward! 3-10-24
Spring Forward!
Ready or not, here we go...
Virginia Bluebells are showing their leaves and buds now, and daffodils are in full bloom all around town.
The Eastern Bluebirds come in together several times a day, taking turns to bathe. On Saturday, I thought the female carried some cypress fronds to the nesting box. We'll give them some time yet before we open the box to check.
Back on 2/27/24, a Cooper's Hawk was photographed bathing in the stream bed of the large pond. When I checked later, I saw these Mourning Dove tail feathers near the far south edge of the pond.
This bird had been staying in cover, but finally came out to be documented a few days later, on 3-1-124. It managed to escape the grasp of the hawk with its life!
By comparison, this dove's tail is intact and as one can see, it is quite long.
The first of year Eastern Phoebe was seen on 2-29-24, Leap Day and photographed on 3-2-24. First it was in the garden on this Pokeweed stalk, then it was fly-catching in the woodland. It is still in the neighborhood, and may be our resident breeding male.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers continue to move around the neighborhood.
Even though Brown Creepers are infrequently seen as a rule, we have sightings nearly every day here.
Dark-eyed Juncos are pairing up before they move on to their breeding areas all across Canada!
The Carolina Wrens are sometimes seen hanging out around the brush pile. They started a nest on top of the old Phoebe nest, but still seem undecided about its completion. We heard them fussing one day. The Eastern Phoebe may have had words with them!
This Hairy Woodpecker female is often seen at the peanut feeder or the suet.
We have been spending time now out in the garden. Our policy is "Minimal Disturbance!" So, that means we plan our time to go out when the birds are taking a break and we work as quickly as we can for an hour or two, then come back inside so the birds can return to the feeders and water features.
On Wednesday, 3-6-24 it was just mild enough to give the Bubbler a good scrub, with water only. We work fast!
Enjoy the changes of Spring...
3-8-24 "Meet the Warblers!" Exhibit at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center during April
Blackburnian Warbler
Uncommon Transient
May 1, 2020
Margy Terpstra ~ Kirkwood, Missouri
This is one of 34 images that will be on display through April 27, 2024 at
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.
Wood Warblers have often been called the gems of the forests, the butterflies of the bird world. Their arrival is highly anticipated in spring
as they move through our area along the Mississippi Flyway from central and south America to their breeding grounds.
This migration is a wholly American phenomenon! The wood warblers are only found in the Americas
and their adjacent islands in the Western Hemisphere.
They are considered Missouri birds because they spend part of their lives every spring and fall here in our state.
I would like to thank the staff at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
for inviting me to display this collection.
It is truly a joy to be able to share my images of these beautiful neotropical migrants,
which I've been photographing since 2003 in our Shady Oaks yard.
The exhibit is free! You are invited to stop in at Powder Valley, stroll through the Art Hallway
and see these beauties up close.
The area is open every day, but building hours are restricted, see below or check the website for
more information:
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center
11715 Cragwold Road
Kirkwood, MO 63122-7000
314-301-1500
Building Hours:
Sun Closed
Mon Closed
Tue 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wed 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thu 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Fri 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sat 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Ups and Downs through Leap Day 3/1/24
We have gained almost two hours of daylight since the Winter Solstice.
Spring is on its way and that means ups and downs, in temperature and moisture.
A Yellow-rumnped Warbler has been residing here in our woodland. On warmer days, it has been seen sipping sap at the sapsucker wells on the Sugar Maple by the pond. Then, it will sally out to catch insects and land in nearby shrubs. Conditions have been very dry, and it is often seen at the bubbler.
The bluebird nest box went up at noon on 2/20/24. This pair of Eastern Bluebirds are pretty excited about their prospects! Nest building should begin soon, the pair were seen mating Wednesday, 2/28/24.
A Cooper's Hawk was seen on a warm afternoon, Monday 2/26/24 when it reached 78.1 degrees. The next day would be the warmest yet, and the hawk returned to take a long and leisurely bath in the stream bed. It was totally drenched and used this perch in the Bald Cypress to shake and dry its feathers.
Red flag warnings were up both Monday and Tuesday. When I walked through the east beds to look at plants, the leaves were crispy under my feet. These were dangerous conditions, extremely dry and windy. Birds were thirsty!
Birds like this Tufted Titmouse were at the bird bath frequently. Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees and more kept up a steady parade at the bubbler, mainly to drink.
The drying, gusty winds kept the birds low in the landscape, nervous about hawks and continually taking chances to drink. Mourning Doves, the Yellow-rumped Warbler and Eastern Bluebirds were just a few of the many to stop by.
Around 1:30 pm, I stepped out to talk with Dan and immediately heard the first Pine Warbler of the year. Hope it will come in closer!
The high on Tuesday 2/27/24 was 83.9 degrees! By Wednesday morning, the temperature had plunged nearly 60 degrees to 24.6 degrees.
Activity remained high because the birds were still looking for water. Both white and tan forms of the White-throated Sparrow were early birds.
Pine Siskins were back eating seed at the feeder, for a quick meal in the cold.
Five Rusty Blackbirds and a single Red-winged Blackbird were in the swampy thicket foraging for good, A few of these also came to the bubbler.
The ubiquitous Yellow-rumped Warbler had an eye to the sky. Birds are always aware of danger! Hawks need to eat, too.
Mourning Doves settled into the leaves to rest in the sunny, cold conditions.
On Leap Day, Thursday, 2/29/24, our first Eastern Phoebe of the year was seen as it landed right outside my window in the sugar maple. It pumped its tail a few times and continued on. This is the earliest I've seen one, last year's first sighting was on 3/1/23.
A Brown Creeper came in and it looks to me like it has a tiny larva on its bill. One Rusty Blackbird was still around, and in the afternoon, our little Yellow-rumped Warbler was back on the sugar maple.
Get ready, it's almost time to turn those clocks ahead one hour!
Spring Forward
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Up to the GBBC Weekend ~ Great Backyard Bird Count 2-19-24
February flies!
Now we're finishing up the weekend of the GBBC. Here are some of the highlights of the past few weeks.
Pine Siskins continue to be seen at the water, in the native trees and at the feeders.
A single male House Sparrow has been showing up at the bubbler and at one feeder. If you've not seen these two naturalized species together before, here they are in one photo for comparison. They are introduced species that dominate and displace our native birds.
This immature female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has been seen frequently at our sugar maples.
We have seen some sure signs of spring! Just by chance one afternoon, I caught this pair of Eastern Bluebirds in a quick mating gesture. The pair then bathed together. Their nesting box is going up soon!
Six American Goldfinches were seen nibbling at American Elm buds for carotenoids, an essential ingredient in their diet.
On Friday morning, 2-16-24, these Wood Poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) were already poking through the leaves. We still had some winter weather to experience that day.
The White-throated Sparrow studied the sleet as it began to come down. Snow, too?
A lone Rusty Blackbird was seen in the garden, dragging its right leg behind it. Would it survive the imminent weather?
The Brown Creeper came in for some bark butter as the sleet changed over to snow.
Mourning Doves, House Finches and American Goldfinches toughed it out and clung to perches.
Eastern Bluebirds carried on.
American Goldfinches and American Robins found some perches close to the ground to settle upon.
About 2:30 pm, the snow intensified and so did the feeding frenzy!
To get the full picture, here's a short video of the snow as it accumulated during the day. Some of you don't get to experience this if you live in warmer climes, and surely you miss the quiet beauty! Try to identify the birds that come in.
After the snowfall, the temperature dropped into the teens. An American Crow investigated the bubbler the next morning.
This White-throated Sparrow woke up, cozy in its Christmas tree cover.
Saturday morning was clear and bright. Pine Siskins were feeding in the panicles of the Bald Cypress.
The ever cheerful Carolina Wren belted out its morning song from the spicebush (Lindera benzoin).
For all the photos since the first of February, begin here: