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!
"Not a goldfinch!" 9-18-18
The rains did cool things off for a few days. It was only 58 degrees here on Monday morning, 9/10/18. With that front, the male Ruby-throats moved on south, leaving just the juveniles and females behind. Despite the constant chasing, they are gaining weight. What a little potbelly! In between feeding at the Jewelweed and salvias, they will even check out the dripper baths to get in a quick splash.
A few migrants have been coming through as well. Nashville Warblers, American Redstarts and Chestnut-sided Warblers have been at the Bubbler.
A Red-eyed Vireo spent quite a bit of time checking out ways to access the water, as if committing it to memory.
It got pretty warm again and things quieted down. Only the usual suspects were around, like American Goldfinches. If not just one youngster, there would be a few. There's safety in numbers!
Some days it seemed like every time I checked a bird, it was a goldfinch, until yesterday. Even though it was a very warm day at 89 degrees, there was a lot more bird activity in the woods. I found five warbler species from about 10 am to 4:30 pm. "Not a goldfinch!" But, can you tell which one IS the goldfinch and identify the other two? THIS is the ultimate challenge of fall birding when the warblers are in their drab, protective colors to blend in with the changing leaves.
If you guessed the bird on the left, you are correct. That one is the American Goldfinch. Next is a female Bay-breasted Warbler and to the right of that one is a female Blackburnian Warbler. It takes a lot of studying and yearly review to separate these birds from one another in their fall plumage.
Here is the Bay-breasted Warbler. I think there was more than one individual around partly due to behavioral differences. The bird in the threesome above didn't blink when it came time to jump into the water. The bird below never got in.
This female Golden-winged Warbler was hesitant each time I saw it. So, even though it approached the Bubbler several times throughout the day, I believe there were not several birds but just this one shy individual who kept circling around the woods and checking it. The little beauty was not quite brave enough to get in.
There have been a few more butterflies around. A Clouded Sulphur rested on the leaf of a Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum).
A Cloudless Sulphur was nectaring at the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) in the garden. Wow, talk about camouflage. This butterfly and plant were made for each other. It's difficult to see unless one follows it flitting about before it lands. It looks so much like another leaf.
An Eastern Question Mark butterfly is much more obvious when its wings are open than when they're closed. In the second photo, one can see the silvery white 'question mark' on the hindwing which gives this butterfly its name. (My thanks to Wendy Williams who caught my initial misidentification of Eastern Comma!)
Here is a page that compares the Eastern Comma and Eastern Question Mark Butterflies: Side-by-side comparison
There are also other interesting caterpillars about, like this Banded Tussock Moth. Oh, there's so much to see out in the world of nature! I'll keep you posted on happenings here at Shady Oaks.
Into September now, 9-8-18
Hummingbirds and butterflies have dominated the garden over the last two weeks, and there is so much I could share. The big story is that I discovered a green Monarch chrysalis and watched it carefully for several days. On Friday, 8/31/18 the color began to change and a bit of orange and black became visible. I checked it first thing on Saturday, 9/1/18 and the metamorphosis was nearly complete! I didn't dare leave my post. Once the outer casing begins to open, the Monarch fully emerges within less than a minute. I watched and waited. Oh! Did it just move??
Yes, barely a minute had elapsed. The butterfly hung on, swinging to and fro. How tiny the wings, how huge the abdomen! How in the world did all of that fit inside the chrysalis? The wings must fill with fluid and stiffen, the Monarch will hang for nearly two hours before it can fly. It will eliminate waste a few times in this process and this liquid is also orangey in color.
It's a BOY! The swollen black vein on the hind wing tells us that. It moved higher on the stem, slowly opening and closing its wings. How wondrously strange and new it must feel to have changed form so completely.
At this point, the breeze had picked up. I carried the butterfly carefully down to the garden so it could rest in a sheltered location and nectar at the flowers when it was ready.
To view all the photos from the Monarch's emergence from its chrysalis, begin here: Emergence of the Monarch
Ruby-throated Hummingbird numbers have really increased with all the young birds around, chasing each other endlessly. They're learning about the world around them, nectaring at flowers and feeders, perching on stems and sculptures, and getting stronger every day. The adult males have their ways of keeping them in line, showing their dominance.
There have been a few migrants showing up as well. Magnolia, Blue-winged, and Tennessee Warblers have been trickling in with a few other birds.
Heavy rains are here and a cool down is expected. With that, more migrants should be moving through and it will start to feel like fall.
Birds are on the move 8-24-18
My attention has begun to shift as this past week has brought in a few more migrants. It will take a couple months yet for all the birds to move through, so there is a lot to look forward to. The Eastern Bluebirds were still around, looking for those last few berries and checking out the drippers.
Ruby-throats and butterflies are at the flowers constantly after the sun rises. Sometimes they play well with others, sometimes they get into spats and tussles.
I don't usually get to see Monarchs at the buttonbush blooms (Cephalanthus occidentalis), but one of the small trees still has a few juicy balls of nectar to feed the many pollinators.
Monarchs are occasionally seen at the Sweet Coneflower (Rudbeckia submentosa), usually resting. They do love to feed at the Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Tiger Swallowtails have been seen, bouncing about the garden before landing on the same plants.
Several Spicebush Swallowtails have also been taking advantage of the nectar sources.
On Sunday, 8-19-18, I was at my computer working, when I realized there were a couple warblers at the Bubbler, a Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian. I ran downstairs and got a quick look before they flew off.
Tuesday was warm and drippy in the morning and then temperatures cooled off a bit. On Wednesday about noon, I had a gorgeous male Canada Warbler feeding in the dogwoods.
A Least Flycatcher splash-bathed a couple times, then went about looking for its lunch. It downed one caterpillar, then flew to a more open branch. Something seemed to be stuck in its craw, and it had to go!
The little bird seemed a lot happier after getting rid of that tickler in its throat! I saw the flycatcher again this afternoon, between storms. It was going after tiny moths that had started moving about. An Eastern Phoebe and an Eastern Wood Pewee called, these larger flycatchers were looking for small prey as well.
The hummingbirds are busy chasing each other, challenging the access to flowers and feeders. To see six or seven at a time is the norm right now as more juvenile birds come in.
As daylight continues to dwindle, many more of the migrant bird species will pay heed to the changes of the season and start their move southward. They begin their journeys, for many birds it's their first migration. Deep down, it's in their nature to trust that there will be plenty of food sources, natural cover and fresh water along the way. The real question is will they be able to find good rest stops all along the way to their winter homes?
The Dance of Life 8-15-18
It has been eleven days since I last posted and so much has happened! We were away visiting family for four of those days, too. Butterflies, caterpillars, hummingbirds, bluebirds and even a warbler have livened up the sanctuary. So, here goes...
I found another Red-banded Hairstreak, maybe we will have a little colony of them here. This one was a bit tattered. Later, I was able to catch one very close with the macro lens. What a tiny gem!
On the sad news side of things, I took off my rose-colored glasses and finally realized that the Black Swallowtail chrysalis was... empty. It must have been a meal for another creature. Such is life sometimes.
The Rough-leaf Dogwoods have produced an incredible amount of berries this year. American Robins had been perching in the small trees, waiting, willing them to ripen.
I had been hearing Eastern Bluebirds for several days. "Queedle" or "turee," so they say. Maybe, it's best just to listen to it to get the idea.
It was kind of driving me crazy, we've never had them around in the summer. Sure enough, like their Robin cousins, they were also waiting to eat the berries. I saw two juveniles on Thursday, 8/9/18.
That evening, I had finished packing and come downstairs. As usual, I went to the window to check the Bubbler and to my surprise, there was a Kentucky Warbler! Another new summer sighting!
We weren't in a big rush to get away the next morning. Good thing, because the Eastern Bluebirds were back. I saw four of them, and the male was in the dogwoods near the driveway, feasting away.
We returned late on Monday. A Monarch was still in the garden and Ruby-throats were chasing each other, all was well. I was eager to get out and see what was happening the next morning, before the rains started. The berries were nearly all gone, so I didn't expect to see bluebirds. I headed down to the garden.
The young Ruby-throats were the busiest, chasing each other and hitting the blooms, resting in between. They love the graceful, nodding flowerets of the Azure Sage (Salvia azurea), the sturdy spikes of the Eastern Blazingstar (Liatris scariosa), and the full clusters of the Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). Over and over they would zoom in, sometimes four birds at a time were buzzing past me and darting around the flowers.
I've had more Monarch females laying eggs this summer than I've seen in several years. Most of them have been deep in the best milkweed patch of the garden, but one day an egg was laid on a plant at the edge, right in front of me. I was able to find the egg and get close-up images.
Four days later, the tiny caterpillar had shed its first skin and was now in its "2nd instar" stage. To read about the development of the Monarch from egg to larva, or caterpillar, to pupa and adult butterfly, look here:
Another caterpillar on a nearby leaf was a bit larger and further along in development.
On Tuesday, 8/14/18 this Monarch happened to land on a milkweed stalk, the leaves of which were being slowly eaten by, what else, a caterpillar!
I followed this butterfly and it landed closer, perched on a coneflower. It looked fairly fresh, yet one wing had been torn or possibly eaten by a bird grabbing for it. Again, this is all part of life in this natural, sometimes imperfect world.
There was a female laying eggs again yesterday, even on tattered, insect-ridden milkweed! And, it seemed everywhere I looked, I found caterpillars.
For the first time, I watched one crawling on the ground towards the hydrangeas nearby, where it will find a branch and pupate for its final stage of metamorphosis.
I took a break and came in for lunch. As it turned out, I was far from finished for the day! The robins and the bluebirds were back to finish off the berries. Two of the young bluebirds decided to bathe. They are a bit easier to see on the Bubbler rock. Back to eating berries, their camouflage made them harder to find.
I returned to the garden for a while, the light was soft with the dewy clouds moving in. This Ruby-throat enjoyed the Ironweed (Vernonia arkansana).
Another Monarch nectared at the Eastern Blazingstar (Liatris scariosa). It had been a very good day indeed with all of this life dancing in the garden!
Wow, I took almost 1100 photos on Tuesday. I go through them all and post a few of my favorites. On a daily basis, I add photos to the different galleries to keep up. One can always check those in between postings. August has been quite exciting!
For birds: Birds since 8/4/18
For butterflies: Butterflies since 8/4/18
Other Wildlife: Wildlife since 8/4/18
August has begun 8-4-14
Young birds continue to adjust to their surroundings. Every morning we hear Northern Cardinals, chipping to keep in contact with their family. A female brought a black oil sunflower seed to this fledgling and then left it on its own to figure out how to get a drink.
With the cool front that came through, we received almost 2 inches of much needed rain. We've also seen an uptick on the numbers of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. These males looked kind of bedraggled as they are into their summer molt and getting new feathers. Young challengers are approaching the feeders and we often see two or more birds at a time.
The hummingbirds are seen early in the garden, hitting flowers like the Azure Sage (Salvia azurea) and the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis).
I'm still keeping an eye on the chrysalis of the Eastern Black Swallowtail. It can't be much longer before the emergence of the butterfly!
I've seen female Monarchs on several different days in the garden, laying eggs on Marsh Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). They tuck their little treasures into the flower clusters, safely hidden. Many eggs are deposited on plants throughout the garden; the effort takes most of the sunny hours of a day.
A female Spicebush Swallowtail was nectaring at Salvia Black and Blue (Salvia guaranitica x Black and Blue). This looked to be a very fresh butterfly.
In between feeding, the swallowtail rested on plants like Coral Trumped Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).
The Monarchs also need time to feed and rest. Sometimes, they are more difficult to find in prime habitat. By blending in, they can protect themselves and their offspring.
Those hot and hazy days have returned and the garden is waning but still productive in August! Sweet Coneflowers (Rudbeckia submentosum) abound, attracting small pollinators.
If you look carefully, you'll find lightning bugs asleep among them. The cut flowers will last 10 days or more if you choose to bring some inside!
This morning, I found a new butterfly species for us, a rare Red-banded Hairstreak. It is such a joy to discover new creatures finding our sanctuary.
Enjoy summer's bounty!