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!
Signs of Spring 3-27-22
Signs of Spring mean more than Daffodils!
Visits by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and flocks of Cedar Waxwings signal the change is coming.
Yellow-rumped Warblers are seen, sometimes catching insects on warmer days.
Brown Creepers are often foraging on the bark of trees, in this case, a persimmon (Diospyros virginiana).
Red-breasted Nuthatches find plenty to eat, even checking the buds of American elm (Ulmus americana) for a treat.
The Song Sparrow has been singing for weeks. It popped up onto the woodland gate, more easily seen one day.
The Carolina Chickadee checked a leaf blown into the hydrangea for a tidbit.
Rusty Blackbirds come in some days in flocks of 80-100 or so birds. It's so hard to tell for sure! They are perfectly camouflaged in the shadows, overturning leaves for insect food or bathing in puddles or the basin. It's only when they fly up into the trees that their numbers seem to swell. Spring is a time of high contrast in light and in the weather!
Yesterday, in the midst of all the blackbird activity, I turned to see the Pileated Woodpecker in its fine bright plumage. It worked on several trees and ate some suet before calling and flying off to the south.
This Eastern Bluebird pair have continued to spend time here every day, finding insects on warm days and taking mealworms to supplement their needs. They seemed determined to make our yard their home! So, we put up the nest box again on 3-18-22, even though it was a bit late. Yesterday, our effort was rewarded!
This is the first time we have ever had nesting Eastern Bluebirds. After such a tough year for this species, we have high hopes for their success!
This morning, we had two Eastern Phoebes, fluttering around each other and the former nesting area. We think it may be the same pair that raised five chicks a few years ago. Maybe they'll stick around, fingers crossed!
Spring is springing!
SPRING FORWARD! 3-13-22
LET'S CELEBRATE SPRING'S IMMINENT ARRIVAL!
Check out the new Spring Warblers Gallery to review:
Spring Warbler Species at Shady Oaks
Into March 3-9-22
Don't forget - Spring Forward Saturday!
We've seen other signs of spring, despite the next batch of snow in the forecast.
Eastern Bluebirds are getting brighter, noisier and chasing each other about.
American Goldfinches are turning more yellow. They often perch up in the oak leaves on breezy days, soaking up the sun.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler was fly-catching the day it warmed up to 81 degrees!
Rusty Blackbirds are coming in small flocks of a dozen or so at times.
Two female Brown-headed Cowbirds came in a week after the males.
An Eastern Phoebe showed up about 10:00 am on 3-4-22 for #46 for the year. It was finding insects on its migratory stop here.
Dark-eyed Juncos and Brown Creepers will be around into April.
The lighter pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches are being seen every day, but I think the richer colored pair may have moved on with the strong southerly winds last week.
The male Song Sparrow has been singing a bit west of us now, but one of the pair came in to bathe.
Another new bird for the year, #47 popped out of the leaves on 3-7-22. The Eastern Towhee is not a bird I can count on seeing every year, and this was not a soul-satisfying view! The first photo is all I managed before it disappeared. The second photo was taken on 10-26-15 when I got a full view of a male.
This morning, I was filling feeders and heard the sweet trill of #48, a Pine Warbler up in the pond cypress. Perhaps it will show us how beautiful it is! In the meantime, watch for green peeking through the snow...I'll be watching for more birds as they move through our space.
February has flown by! 2-28-22
February is the shortest month and we've now gained 1 hour and 45 minutes of daylight.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler and sometimes two Brown Creepers are still being seen every day.
There have been some tough, cold and icy days for birds like the Carolina Chickadee with its deformed leg and the White-breasted Nuthatch with the crossed bill. The nuthatch has broken the upper mandible and still hammers away at the peanut feeder to get food. I wonder how this one will feed young successfully.
Two American Robins have been coming onto the deck for bits of mealworms and bark butter. They both want to be first on their breeding territories. This one was soaking up a bit of warmth from the fountain on a very cold morning.
A very large mixed flock of blackbirds came in on Friday, 2-25. It was a dark day, but I was enjoying the rich variation in the plumage of all these birds. (When you see browns and blacks, make the most of it!) I estimated 50 Rusty Blackbirds and if you study this first photo, you'll see four Brown-headed Cowbirds in the right foreground. There were ten cowbirds that I counted under the south feeders at one point, the most I've seen at once.
Notice the Red-winged Blackbird just in front of the branch? It was the only one in this large flock that I could find.
Two Brown-headed Cowbirds joined a Rusty Blackbird to drink at the bubbler.
The Red-winged Blackbird also came in for half a dozen sips of water. This brought the Bubbler count up to 34 species for the year. I also saw a House Sparrow at the feeder, briefly, before the birds all lifted away. We're now at 44 species for the year, highest count at this point that I've documented since 2011 when I started making annual lists for myself and my two friends, Connie and Wally. They both usually get more species than I do, but the variety between the three of us is quite amazing.
In this last icy storm, we also have seen some slate-colored Dark-eyed Juncos which are typical, as well as the Oregon form of Dark-eyed Juncos. Note the dark hood, chestnut brown back and buff-brown flanks.
American Crows have been coming to drink after grabbing a bit of bark butter off the trees. They will forage in the leaves in the woods, too. I think these birds have a harder time now that we're all using bins for our trash instead of bags.
American Goldfinches are beginning to get brighter yellow plumage, and the dominant Eastern Bluebird is stunning. Birds are definitely thinking 'spring' as they chase off other males.
The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has been seen on several days. On Friday, it chased off another male, which was new for the year.
That Friday storm also brought in two more Red-breasted Nuthatches! I saw three birds at one time as they waited to get on the feeder, then the lighter pair waited together on the same branch a bit later. The pair that have been here all winter are richer in color, and I call them M1 and F1; the new pair are lighter in color, M2 and F2. So, the photos in order are M1, M2, F1 and F2.
Just like the birds, aren't we all ready for Spring???
ps. As I went to post this, I saw that we have crossed a milestone with over 100,000 visitors to our website!
Thank you all for visiting!
Into February 2-10-22
January ended with two more days of documenting Common Redpolls!
It is difficult to know for certain how many birds were in this little flock! There was a slightly different mix of male and female/immature birds each time they were seen and then, it was only for 30 seconds or so. My highest count was 3 males and 4 females at any one time. We had put out fresh thistle or nyjer seed in a tube feeder in the garden for them, but the birds were never seen at a feeder. My guess is that they were eating seeds in trees like our Pond Cypress or Catalpa where siskins will feed, or in neighboring Sycamores or River Birch. They may have been in the garden, and I just missed them - they're the size of a goldfinch, around 5" and truly frenetic!
The Common Redpolls are the rarest of the three small finches that might be seen in Missouri. We're all familiar with the American Goldfinch, which is resident year-round. The Pine Siskin is also an irruptive species, coming south to look for food and we've had them in good numbers some years. There is one other form known as the Hoary Redpoll, which is extremely rare. It is much frostier looking and the bill is smaller. It is still described as a separate species, but may soon be "lumped" with the Common Redpoll, as they are very closely related.
Keep a lookout for the Common Redpoll at your feeders, you might get lucky, too!
There are some fascinating things known about these birds. They tunnel into the snow to keep warm! Check it out! Common Redpoll
To see all the Common Redpoll photos and others, begin here: Common Redpoll images
Our first winter storm came in on Wednesday, February 2. With it came two new sparrows for the year, an American Tree Sparrow and a Fox Sparrow. The first image shows the American Tree sparrow on the left with a Song Sparrow on the right, in Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum). Secondly, the tree sparrow is on its own, on the snow covered wall. The Fox Sparrow was staying in the shelter of the Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum x Blue Muffin). Happy to see these birds, we don't have them come in every year.
An immature Cooper's Hawk has been terrorizing the smaller birds. We saw it with a black feathered prey, hoping it had caught a European Starling. It sat on that log for over 3 hours, digesting the meal as snow fell. Then, it was off again to find dinner!
While the Cooper's rested, a Red-tailed Hawk was seen scoping out squirrels.
The next day, both sparrows were seen again. The American Tree Sparrow was drinking at the pond and the Fox Sparrow was again staying close to the Viburnum when it was not under the feeders foraging for seed.
This Eastern Bluebird summed up the general feeling out in the storm. Conditions were tough. All the birds had been singing, tuning up for spring. Males have been chasing other males. We have gained over an hour of daylight, so surely, spring can't be too far away!
The Cooper's Hawk came back, trying to chase birds out of cover. The Carolina Wrens have their secret hiding places and have been very cautious. We ended up with over 7" of drifting snow.
The sun came out and birds continued to look for food. The American Tree Sparrow popped out of the basin and rested in the hydrangeas behind the bubbler. That was the last time we've seen it; the Fox Sparrow must have moved on, too.
This peanut feeder has had more interest than we've ever seen. Even the bluebirds were scrapping over it when I was a bit slow to put out more mealworms.
The Red-breasted Nuthatches claimed the feeder as theirs, but they've had to share. The male won't go to it if other birds are there, but the female? Ha, she has spunk!
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet came back again to bathe on that sunny day.
The Red-shouldered Hawk has also been making appearances. Everybody's gotta eat!