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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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A mild start to 2019
Happy 2019!
Bright days have alternated with gray, now the new year is fully underway. The first days of the year have been mild. Every day has warmed above freezing and last Monday was near 68 degrees. It has been a bit slow with species showing up, yet I've had interesting birds. It's always a good day when I see a Red-breasted Nuthatch!
Of course, the White-breasted Nuthatch is a resident bird and a nester in our area. So, how does one tell the difference? I had them both at the peanut feeder one day. Putting a composite photo together, it's easier to see the size and color differences. I think of the White-breasted as wearing a tuxedo, with a full black crown, gray back and white breast. It does have some rusty coloring around its vent. That species stays a bit longer at a feeder each time. The Red-breasted Nuthatch has the full cinnamon-colored breast, and is sharply marked with the black crown, white eyebrow and the distinctive black eye line. This compact little bird is very quick moving.
Another bird that has been slow to show up this winter is the Pine Siskin. On Wednesday, 1-2-19, I finally saw 4 birds. Since then, I've seen up to 9 individuals. They flock together with American Goldfinches. Seed-eating finches also need to drink a lot of water! So, they stop in at the bubbler or fountain often.
Another bird who frequents our winter landscape is the Brown Creeper. We've been seeing one nearly every day as it works its way up tree trunks looking for insects or perhaps a bit of bark butter.
This may be the first time I've seen a Hermit Thrush in January. I usually see them in April, sometimes as early as February. Perhaps the mild weather is the reason this cousin to the robin has been around. It enjoys holly berries, too.
A bird that is very common in many yards, though not native here, is the House Sparrow. Some years, I never see a single bird. Our yard is too wooded for them, thank goodness. They are considered pests, using up resources for our native birds. On Friday, 1-4-19, I was a bit surprised to see a sparrow fly in close to the bubbler, then it joined two other males at one of the feeders. So far, they haven't been back.
Some evenings, we thought we were hearing the Barred Owl. So, we'd mute the music or tv but the bird wouldn't call again. Yesterday, our suspicions were confirmed. However, since we were away, I can't count the bird until I've seen it or heard it myself!
Now, we're under the first Winter Storm Watch of the year. There's a saying: "Bad weather brings good birds!" Well, that has all of us backyard birders wondering what species might show up!
For a look at all the bird images for the new year, begin here: 2019 Birds at Shady Oaks
It's a wrap! 12-31-18
It's the last day of the year, and it has been a very good year here in our small sanctuary. The final tally stands at 112 species, with 28 warblers in the mix and 90 species at our water features. Tomorrow, the new year list begins.
A few interesting things have happened since I posted last. On Christmas Eve morning, I checked the video clips from the Gazebo and Bubbler cams, as usual. This clip made me curious, I thought it was a fox at first. Watch for the animal in the upper right corner of the frame.
I couldn't be sure, so Dan checked the Trail cam, which is out in the garden. It was soon clear that the animal was a coyote. We had last caught a video clip on 10-18-17, over a year ago. Look for the animal on the left side of the frame.
The Red-breasted Nuthatches had not been seen since 12-17-18. The weather had been relatively mild, so I assumed they had been having luck finding insects and other seeds to eat. We had put up the small peanut feeder in hopes that they would come back in and find it, and on 12-29-18, two birds were seen there.
This is the type of situation where photographs really help. The bird that came in on the left most of the time is a bit paler and may be a female. It's just so much fun for us to see these birds since we don't get them every winter.
It was just warm enough yesterday for a few birds to get in and bathe, at 40 degrees! A Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee and Brown Creeper took the plunge.
Woodpeckers have been active, too. Red-bellied, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers have all been coming in for tidbits.
...We wish you all a Happy and Healthy 2019...
Winter Solstice 12-21-18 at 4:23 pm CST
Today is the shortest day of the year, and aren't we all ready for a bit more daylight? We'll soon turn that corner and days will gradually get brighter and longer. In the meantime, there are just ten days left in this year.
There have been a few avian visitors that have stopped by in the past couple weeks, joining the usual suspects. A Pine Siskin came in again on 12-6-18 just for the day. It's the striped bird on the right.
I spied this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on 12-8-18, and confirmed it was a female when it showed me its white throat.
American Robins use the water features all the time, and will stop by the fountain for a drink if the bubbler is too busy with bathers.
A Hermit Thrush waded into the bubbler basin and then checked out some American Holly cuttings with berries on them that I had left nearby.
On Tuesday, one of the robins didn't hesitate to gulp down a few of those berries.
Cedar Waxwings still come in on some days in their family groups, often mingling with American Robins for a bit of safety.
This male Hairy Woodpecker has been seen almost daily, hungry for bark butter.
The Brown Creeper comes more regularly when the days are colder.
Sometimes, we hear one of the Barred Owls. Last Wednesday, one flew in and watched from this perch for over 20 minutes. Wary prey never appeared.
We've been playing musical feeders, trying to outwit the squirrel brigades. Sometimes, they behave and eat acorns, as they're meant to do.
We'll see how long they'll leave this peanut feeder alone. This Tufted Titmouse was the first to grab a nibble.
So, the years go round and no two years are ever exactly the same! That's what keeps us backyard birders looking all the time. My best year was 2011 with a total of 115 species of birds. So far, I've had 112 species for 2018. There are a few birds that still could make an appearance. One that is probably a regular in many of your yards is a Northern Mockingbird. Yes, that's right, I have not seen a mockingbird here yet this year! They like more open habitat and our yard is so wooded that I usually only see one when it comes in to get water in the winter, like this bird on 1-11-2016. They are considered uncommon in winter.
There just may be a surprise left, waiting in the wings. Time will tell...
In the meantime, we wish you the peace and joy of the season.
Nomads and Feeders 12-6-18
As of now, we have 13 assorted bird feeders up. That doesn't include the various trees, stumps and cut logs where I hide a little bark butter, a peanut butter mix that I get from our local Wild Birds Unlimited store. The primary source of insects still is within the whole garden and all its layers of plants, including the valuable leaf litter. We feed birds! And, we provide water for them in at least three places, all year long. It's good for the residents as well as any others who may find their way here.
On Monday, 11-26-18, I went out to clean leaves out of the bubbler basin and put out some bark butter. I turned back to the bubbler to see our first Pine Siskin of the season. There were at least two and maybe three that day. They came and needed it all. They are very striped with finely pointed bills and a bit smaller than an American Goldfinch.
They were one-day wonders but we'll probably see them again this winter. They are considered to be in the group of irruptive finch species. We may yet see others in this group, it's a banner year for movement. Take a good look at this information and watch for these other birds at your feeders. The link will open a new page.
This Could Be The Winter You Get Evening Grosbeaks at Your Feeder
We still have Red-breasted Nuthatches, and I'm keeping a watch for Purple Finches, too. We've had a Common Redpoll and Red Crossbills show up, so they are possible again. White-winged Crossbills, Evening Grosbeak? Bring 'em on!
Like the finches, the Red-breasted Nuthatches also favor the black oil sunflower seed. I mix it with safflower, which many of the birds like, yet it seems to deter the Common Grackles. I've watched these nuthatches take bark butter, then a seed and fly to a tree further away, to cache the seed under the bark for later. Are they using the bark butter to plug the seed into the nook? Maybe one day I'll be able to catch them at it.
As you can tell, they are quite small but unafraid of larger birds, like the Northern Flicker. Speaking of flickers, there have been four individuals here on any given day lately, two mustached males and two females. They hit the feeders and look for bark butter, but primarily will work in the leaf litter, probing for insect larvae, as one can see in the video below.
A Song Sparrow has been around again, I have not seen one since April. It took a Groucho-like pose on the deck.
The forecast of snow always seems to increase activity at all the feeders. The birds sense the change coming. These House Finches dominated the new feeders in the west part of the woodland. The hanging platform accommodates several birds at a time with a shallow layer of the same seed mix in there.
There are two feeders for the finches like this one that contain a blend of sunflower seed chips and niger/thistle seed. American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, House Finches, chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers will use this feeder.
The water features can get busy with an influx of birds on the move. Six Cedar Waxwings took turns to bathe in the stream bed one afternoon when a flock of robins and grackles came in, and a Brown Creeper slipped into a corner of the basin a bit later.
So, keep an eye out during those pretty snowfalls. Wanderers of any size and shape may pass through...
Happy St. Nick's Day!
Big Bucks, Big Snow! 11-20-18
There was an article in our local Webster-Kirkwood Times about the managed bow hunt for white-tailed deer at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Area on the weekend of 11-3-18. Powder Valley Bow Hunt a Near Bust was the title. The hunt was three days long and eight hunters managed to get one doe and one ten point buck. They should have been here the following Tuesday, 11-6-18, it was Wild Kingdom! All day long, three bucks were in and out of our half-acre yard along with one doe. It was just a bit disconcerting to see these large animals, the alpha buck charging the other two, huffing and puffing, determined to keep its prize.
I'd barely sipped my coffee when the first challenger moved out from behind the black oak. That woke me up!
The doe stayed somewhat hidden near the neighbor's compost area, and eventually bedded down in their honeysuckle patch.
The largest buck was moving back and forth along the path, sniffing and charging to the west when a challenger appeared. Needless to say, the bird feeders were not filled that day!
This activity went on all day long. The next morning, they were nowhere to be seen. Feeders were refilled once we were certain they were gone. Bird activity picked up again the next few days. A Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet and a leucistic White-throated Sparrow came in to feed and bathe.
There are still two Red-breasted Nuthatches being seen at the feeders. They have attitude! They are certainly a favorite bird of mine and I hope they will stay through the winter this year.
This young female Northern Flicker was looking for insects at the base of a black oak.
Last Thursday, 11-15-18, brought a record snowfall for November. We had 5"-6" here and counties north of us had up to 9.8". It was a busy day at the feeders and water features.
Thanksgiving is now upon us. We are so very grateful for family, friends and neighbors and the love they share, for nature's bounty of beautiful creatures and the lessons they teach us in how to share this big blue ball called Earth.
... Happy Thanksgiving ...