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!
Merry Christmas! 12-25-19
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
What a beautiful sunrise on this peaceful, Christmas morning!
It's time to share our sightings of birds and critters since the last post. American Robins have been showing up on warmer days to use the Bubbler. On the 10th, birds of different sizes came in looking for food, including a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Dark-eyed Junco.
American Goldfinches were busy at the seed feeders and American Crows were checking the trees for bark butter.
We were very excited to find this clip on our Bubbler Cam the evening of Friday, December 13th. A beautiful, healthy fox was here!
We took an opportunity to become snowbirds and flew south to enjoy being with dear friends, have some beach walks and look for an alternate set of 'backyard birds'! We missed the snowstorm at home, but not the Snowy Egrets, Brown Pelicans and Sanderlings on the beach.
We returned home and checked the trail cam that Dan had set up. Here are two clips from the snowstorm event.
We were also back in time for Christmas Eve birds, like these Blue Jays and Carolina Chickadees getting spruced up for their celebrations!
I spent a bit of time outside with the avian visitors today. A Hairy Woodpecker was working on a log for larvae and a Red-bellied Woodpecker was grabbing seeds from the feeder. One can actually see its namesake red belly!
A White-breasted Nuthatch was caching seeds in an unusual spot - the pond cypress 'knees', and a robin took its turn to splash away in the basin.
Last but not least, this Eastern Bluebird was spotted in the neighbor's yard on an oak branch. Gosh, it's a beautiful day with birds singing like it's springtime. Lovely, yes, but too warm for December at 70.6 degrees!
Next posting will include the end of the year report for our best year yet! We hope you were good and Santa was good to all of you...
12-9-19 Into December now
Boy, it's a gray day today, although we've had some sunny, welcome ones to bask in lately. On 11-18-19, I was a bit surprised to see 3 male Northern Flickers. One had flown up into a snag when I was able to catch these two displaying to each other. What big-time showoffs!
It was a nice enough day to be outside for a while, and this Carolina Chickadee rested a moment in the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) overhanging the pond.
A few days later, a large flock of robins came in, mobbing the stream bed. There may have been 60 or more, but they left very quickly.
At the same time, a Red-bellied Woodpecker investigated the Sugar Maple closest to the pond.
At first glance, you might think this is the same bird. However, this is a Northern Flicker, checking the base of an adjacent Sugar Maple. Both birds were looking for insects. The flicker's red patch is heart-shaped.
Dark-eyed Juncos have been around, they're a common winter resident in Missouri, There are six subspecies and one is called the "Oregon" group. Individuals are seen routinely in small numbers throughout the state during winter. This may be one of those, with the rusty-buff colored sides. The more common "slate-colored" is shown in the second photo.
Details, details! Curious about the Dark-eyed Junco subspecies? You can look at some of the many intergrades on this page:
The only 'new' species to be photographed since the last post is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Two were seen 12-1-19 and they were both females. The second bird looks like a first-year bird. It's a bit scruffier and doesn't have as much yellow on its belly.
A nice flock of Mourning Doves came in on 12-2-19. Here are 8 of the 9 seen that day.
House Finches do come in to drink and take seeds from the feeders. The large flock of robins came back on 12-6-19. That day, I estimated 40-50. Again, they swirled away as word spread about a possible predator in the area.
I check the "Bubbler cam" nearly every morning to look for anything unusual. It's always a treat to see a mammal or two!
Along with this little Pine Siskin, we wish you
Happy Holidays!
11-17-19 Snowy, cold and quiet days
The snow fell softly last Monday. Visibility was poor at times and birds like this Northern Cardinal took cover, conserving energy. It rested in a Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), the shrub's twiggy structure providing some protection.
The winds picked up as the temperatures dropped. There was at least one Brown Creeper to be found, here, hugging the Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) near the pond. Out in the garden, the Leopold bench had a seat cushion made of white. The drooping fronds of the Pond Cypress (Taxodium ascendens) gracefully waved up and down, to and fro.
Life mimicked art at the East feeding station as the chickadee watched and waited its turn to grab a seed.
In the woodland the next morning, a Brown Creeper was seen at the base of the black oak stump. A different bird, as it looks to be rustier in color, a rufous morph. An American Goldfinch came to drink on the bubbler rock.
Back in the Songbird and Butterfly garden, American Beautyberries (Callicarpa americana) looked as if they had a topping of whipped cream to entice the birds to come in and feast.
White-tailed Does moved through the garden with one of the larger bucks on their heels. This buck had seven points, having lost one already in heated combat over possession of the females.
Since Tuesday, it has been fairly quiet. Bird activity has been limited to very early or near dusk, and brief at the feeders or at the bubbler. It feels like the birds are hiding out. Perhaps there are hawks around that I haven't caught sight of, but the birds are not taking any chances. They are wary. Well, everybody's got to eat. Oh, that reminds me, we'll be gratefully celebrating Thanksgiving with family. The next post will be sometime after things settle a bit.
Happy Thanksgiving, to you and yours!
11-11-19 November sightings
It sure looks like November today, windy and raw with our first light snow falling!
Let's go back a bit. A beautiful Northern Flicker came to the bubbler on 11-4-19, taking over the basin from the robins and really getting a thorough dunking. They're such a colorfully marked bird, yet blend into the woodland.
The first of the season 'snowbird' showed up right afterward, a Dark-eyed Junco. White-throated Sparrows have been around, but are more difficult to spot at times in the leaves. The Brown Creeper is seen almost every day now, and they are masters at clinging to the bark.
Mourning Doves will often just hang out for naps around the bubbler, particularly when they feel safe under a large perch.
American Goldfinch numbers have really picked up. Some days, I've had three dozen or more. They really can blend in with the fallen leaves, and are hard to count in the garden. How many do you find in the middle photo? Look for six.
All the splashing activity has also attracted other species. Some male Eastern Bluebirds have been visiting the pond when the goldfinches come in. Yellow-rumped Warblers have shown up, too.
American Crows have remembered that I will put out bark butter, and they came in and cleaned off the tree trunks. They are certainly not clingers like the creeper, but somehow they manage when a free meal is involved. They are intelligent and wary. It took years for them to come to the bubbler.
Two days ago, there were at least a dozen goldfinches taking turns in the bubbler basin when a single Eastern Bluebird joined in. Seeing a bluebird sure has a way of lifting spirits!
The first fall flock of Common Grackles came in on 11-9-19 and I estimated 80 birds. They swirled in and left again fairly quickly. Perhaps a hawk was onto them.
Finally, for #80 at the bubbler this year, a family of Cedar Waxwings came down to drink. The youngest bird sure looked a bit of an ugly duckling, but by spring it will be as lovely as its parents.
Yesterday morning about 10:30, I was cleaning off a table to bring in before the weather changed. I heard the sound of large animals crashing through the woods! Three large white-tailed bucks were chasing a doe. They circled our neighbor's house and two of the bucks were locked onto the doe's movements. They soon came hurtling back across the street. The Rut is on!
To view all the photos since the last post, begin here: Photos since 11-3-19
Time to Fall Back 11-3-19
It's that time of the year again, since we turned our clocks back an hour last night. The sun will set at 5:00 p.m., and the evening will seem...well, long and dark. We'll all eventually adjust and start looking forward to spring!
Last Saturday was drippy and the temperature hovered around 48 degrees all day. We did get a gentle, welcome rain that tallied 1.74". An Eastern Phoebe was in the woods, hoping for some insects to hawk. The following day had a bit more action with 25 species, including Yellow-rumped Warblers and a 'court' of at least five Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
A young Cooper's Hawk spent part of the afternoon trying to flush a bird or critter from the brush pile, to no avail.
On Monday morning, 10-28-19, I spied the little Winter Wren again, about 8:15. I saw it in the swale near the back property line and eventually, it made its way to the bubbler.
With that tail held erect and a quick hop away, it flew off towards the garden. I haven't laid eyes on it since. It has been great fun being able to get photos with that species here on at least 4 days this fall. Dang, that little bird is cute!
Tuesday brought in an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, but it stayed high in an oak and out of camera range. A Brown Creeper and two Ruby-crowned Kinglets were seen.
Wednesday morning about 8:40, I was watching the feeder activity when I saw a Barred Owl fly into a Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata). It turned on the branch, tucking itself into a spot with another branch above it for cover. It stayed there all day. The last time I checked was about 5:00 p.m. I would not have found this bird if I hadn't seen it come in. What a great hiding place. Notice how the owl's own spotted plumage blends in with the lichen patches on the bark! Perfection!
That morning also brought the first young buck, rubbing his antlers on a young dogwood. The rutting season is nigh. Did you know that deer just love hiding out in the invasive bush honeysuckle? There is still so much of it in the area. Where there is invasive bush honeysuckle, there can be 5 times the deer and 10 times the number of ticks that bring disease to us! Wow, there is a long list of reasons to eradicate this plant, but that sure is a good one.
The American Goldfinches have found the feeders we've put up now. They move easily back and forth from the garden to these mesh feeders filled with sunflower chips and niger seed. Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens and other birds do the same.
The Eastern Phoebe was back again on Halloween, looking for treats. The House Finch and American Robin took their chance to get a quick bath or drink though the temperature didn't get above 37.7 degrees.
Yellow-rumped Warblers will be the main warbler species we see now, unless another Orange-crowned would show up. At this point, most have moved on to their winter homes south of us. I did see a late Nashville very briefly this morning, but that's pretty rare. So, the Yellow-rumps have taken over the bubbler for now and they know how to have a good time!
Stay cozy!