June 25th: Open wood, 7 feet tall.
July 2nd: Open field, solitary
Note the polinators.
September 3rd: same plant as above, now dried
September 3rd: seeds
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Red Hills Soap Plant
June 25th: Open wood, 7 feet tall.
July 2nd: Open field, solitary
Note the polinators.
September 3rd: same plant as above, now dried
September 3rd: seeds
White-Breasted Nuthatch
For the first time we notice the chestnut marbling under the tail. It seems so out of character for this black/white bird.
Is it seasonal?
This overexposure shows a beautiful sunburst pattern.
The nuthatch walks up and down the trunks of oak, always headfirst.
It will visit a feeder. I've seen it take shelled sunflower and wedge it under the bark of an oak.
Is it seasonal?
This overexposure shows a beautiful sunburst pattern.
The nuthatch walks up and down the trunks of oak, always headfirst.
It will visit a feeder. I've seen it take shelled sunflower and wedge it under the bark of an oak.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Late Summer Turkey Chicks
A week ago, from an upstairs bedroom window...
...10 fresh chicks.
They must have hatched in the nearby wood.
This summer we've hosted only two groups: a hen and lone teenage, and another group of hen and two teenagers. Larger flocks with several hens and a dozen youngsters were the norm in previous years.
I figure it's the irrigated grass and the spillage from the bird feeders that convince turkey to make this home. Once they settle here, they wander no farther than several hundred yards from the house, march by the back door 5 or 6 times a day.
Yesterday morning out the office window...
...there are only 9 chicks.
The chicks are tiny and resemble a swarm of insects. Mom moves at a glacial pace, head erect, looking for trouble, while the chicks fight their way through the jungle of grass. They will stray up to 20 feet away from Mom. A liquid murmur from Mom, and peeps from the chicks, keep the band together.
When she occasionally stops to peck herself tthe babies run and gather at her beak to see what's she's found.
Yesterday afternoon, from the kitchen window...
...down to 8 chicks.
I've seen her rest in the grass, puffed up like a butterball, the chicks nowhere to be found. They were huddled underneath!
This morning we count 7.
[UPDATE: two hours later, she's down to 6]
Hawk? Fox? Coyote? House cat?
This little family is painfully helpless. I could step out the door this moment and pick them up, one by one, and put them in a grocery bag.
[UPDATE: day later, there are still 6 chicks. (Five are burrowed into her feathers.)]
[UPDATE: Sept 5th, 4 chicks]
...10 fresh chicks.
They must have hatched in the nearby wood.
This summer we've hosted only two groups: a hen and lone teenage, and another group of hen and two teenagers. Larger flocks with several hens and a dozen youngsters were the norm in previous years.
I figure it's the irrigated grass and the spillage from the bird feeders that convince turkey to make this home. Once they settle here, they wander no farther than several hundred yards from the house, march by the back door 5 or 6 times a day.
Yesterday morning out the office window...
...there are only 9 chicks.
The chicks are tiny and resemble a swarm of insects. Mom moves at a glacial pace, head erect, looking for trouble, while the chicks fight their way through the jungle of grass. They will stray up to 20 feet away from Mom. A liquid murmur from Mom, and peeps from the chicks, keep the band together.
When she occasionally stops to peck herself tthe babies run and gather at her beak to see what's she's found.
Yesterday afternoon, from the kitchen window...
...down to 8 chicks.
I've seen her rest in the grass, puffed up like a butterball, the chicks nowhere to be found. They were huddled underneath!
This morning we count 7.
[UPDATE: two hours later, she's down to 6]
Hawk? Fox? Coyote? House cat?
This little family is painfully helpless. I could step out the door this moment and pick them up, one by one, and put them in a grocery bag.
[UPDATE: day later, there are still 6 chicks. (Five are burrowed into her feathers.)]
[UPDATE: Sept 5th, 4 chicks]
Monday, August 30, 2010
Western Tiger Swallowtail
...minus one tail
the blossom he'd land on is the blossom the bees suddenly want; they pestered him mercilessly.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Young Red Shouldered Hawk
Walking with my daughter as the sun sets, we hear birds fussing.
There's a young hawk, sitting on a low branch.
He's favored the area for the past few days, often sitting on a telephone wire, scanning the ground for field mice.
Now the day is over; it's getting too dark to hunt.
From the safety of the leaves a pair of Bullock's Orioles flutter about, scolding the hawk.
Tired of the hassles, he sails across the road to a bower in a magnificent oak.
(Click to see him dead center.)
The orioles follow him and they are joined by jays and titmice.
Everyone is heckling the hawk as we leave.
Truth is, he's no threat to other birds; it's a case of mistaken identity.
And when he sits in the open on a wire, small birds actually perch near him as if for protection against real predators.
There's a young hawk, sitting on a low branch.
He's favored the area for the past few days, often sitting on a telephone wire, scanning the ground for field mice.
Now the day is over; it's getting too dark to hunt.
From the safety of the leaves a pair of Bullock's Orioles flutter about, scolding the hawk.
(Click to see him dead center.)
The orioles follow him and they are joined by jays and titmice.
Everyone is heckling the hawk as we leave.
Truth is, he's no threat to other birds; it's a case of mistaken identity.
And when he sits in the open on a wire, small birds actually perch near him as if for protection against real predators.
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