Eight...Count 'em...EIGHT Blue Jays!

We ran out of peanuts at the homestead last week and our "blue babies" were not very happy with us! I intended to buy peanuts over the weekend (Sunday) but their squawks on Saturday morning told me they were very hungry...NOW! To tide them over until Sunday, I sifted through my birdseed and gathered as many sunflower seeds as possible. I sat them on the bar on the deck in the old Kong flyer that we use as a "dish" for the Blue Jays. There didn't seem to be much action on Saturday...probably because we were outside with Oscar for several hours.

Sunday morning, however, was a different story! It started when we woke up about 7:15 AM to the now familiar squawks of our blue-feathered friends. It sure sounded like there were several outside, but just how many we didn't know. We went downstairs to have breakfast and as I went to put Oscar outside, I saw them! It was like a scene out of Hitchcock's "The Birds" except it was all Blue Jays instead of Crows.

EIGHT OF THEM!

They were everywhere! On the pergola, in the two trees by the pond, in the tree at the other end of the deck, on the deck railing, and on the bar! It was incredible! Last year, I suspected that several Blue Jays were a family because two were larger than the rest and the ones that were smaller were "awkward." Has the family expanded? Are these eight all related? I don't know...but what I do know is that I have even more "blue baby" mouths to feed than I thought!

Of course, I don't mind. Blue Jays are one of my favorites! Just this morning while I was brushing my teeth, one landed in the tree outside of my bathroom, turned and looked at me, and squawked as if to say, "You're running a few minutes late, aren't you? There are no peanuts out here yet!"

Silly blue babies!

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

Watch the Birdie!

Yesterday afternoon/early evening was an exciting time for watching birds around the house. The excitement started with Chris' spot of an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) in our front garden. At first, neither of us was sure what kind of bird it was, but after a quick check of my field guide for PA birds, we were able to make the ID. I then put in the bird song/call CD that accompanied the field guide and we listened to the song and call of the Eastern Towhee. Chris said he'd been hearing it out back all week.

After dinner, I decided to sit out on the deck to enjoy the lovely weather and began listening and looking for birds in our stand of trees. Almost immediately, a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) began chirping and climbing one of the trees. I ran inside to grab my binoculars for a better view. When I returned, it took me a few minutes to find the bird again, but once I did, I was able to zero in on him and make the ID. I ran back in the house for my field guide for PA birds and my Smithsonian eastern region bird guide so they were handy.

I didn't make any other new or rare IDs last night, but in the 25 minutes that I sat outside, I was able to watch and enjoy the antics of the White-breasted Nuthatch, several American Robins (Turdus migratorius), and several Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina). Chipping Sparrows were eating Nyjer seed at the feeder, not on the ground which is their usual M.O. They are easily one of my favorite birds, simply because of their light and airy "tzee" chip or chirp that they make.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

I am a REALLY crappy blogger!

So...where is that October 7, 2009 blog post? It never happened. Shocked? I'm not.

A lot did happen last summer around the house and in the garden and here are some highlights:

• tomato blight - it hit us and we lost all 24 tomato plants...it was awful...and frustrating...and disappointing
• Chris' giant pumpkin - it just grew and grew and grew and when it was all said and done, it weighed 319.5 lbs! There are pictures on Chris' blog at http://www.cablebandit.net/tag/pumpkin/
• green beans, broccoli, and zucchini were awesome in the garden last year - hoping for a repeat this year
• corn was a bust and we've decided to discontinue it for 2010
• hummingbird activity was fantastic - I got a second feeder as a birthday present and will have three feeders this year - two out back and one in the front (it's a window feeder)
  
• bird activity in general was awesome - man I love birds!!!
• the push mower died so we bought a John Deere garden tractor and it rules!

Over the winter, we had a ton of deer coming through (as evidenced by the deer track superhighway through and across the yard) so we started buying "deer apples" by the bushel ($5) from the local orchard and leaving 10-12 out per night. That was a huge hit with the deer population and it seemed to save my bird feeder from getting hit as hard (at times, they'd empty the entire thing in one night!).

Here's what's already happening in 2010:

• bird activity continues to deliver - goldfinches are finally coming into their colors and are all over the place; blue jays continue to think they have us trained to feed them peanuts on command (because they do!); I had my very first cedar waxwing sighting ever on March 20th - there were three of them and they were incredible; our two bird boxes are filled with tons of crap (sticks, grass, feathers, fur) and if there are no eggs tonight, they are getting cleaned out - they've been that way for two weeks now.
• the perennial (hummingbird/butterfly) garden is sprouting to life and it just thrills me to no end!
• strawberries are coming up in the big garden and looking very healthy - we got those from our friends Nanette and Roy and are very excited about them!
• we are tearing out all of the plants along our privacy fence and planting two raspberry and two blueberry bushes and looking forward to reaping the benefits of them!
• Chris has begun hoeing the big garden, getting it ready for a major tilling and then planting next month
• we've casually discussed what we will plant in the big garden, but we need to have a serious discussion about it soon - one thing we know...NO CORN!

I took some pictures around the homestead last weekend and will try to post them this week.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

I am a crappy blogger. :(

So it has been almost four months since my last post. I know this. You know this. We both know this, OK? Do I have a good reason for not blogging all summer? Not really. Do I feel guilty about not blogging all summer? Yes. Have I witnessed something/done something/heard something and thought, "I should blog about this!"? Yes. Did I ever do anything about it? No.

Hence...

I am a crappy blogger. :(

But I do have a lot to share from over the summer...the tomato blight, the bumper crop of peppers, the GIANT pumpkin, and the like. I just need to sit down and devote some time to a seasonal summary and then get back to my backyard observations. Sure the gardening dies down, but the birding certainly picks up! There's no reason why I can't "relaunch" Backyard Beth's Observations this fall!

Therefore, my goal is to post here, on this blog, a summary of the summer's events (to the best of my knowledge and recollection) by next Wednesday, October 7th. After than (and possibly even before), I will resume regular, substantive posts about the flora and fauna at the homestead...if for no one else but me and my one RSS feed subscriber (he knows who he is). :)

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

I'm Fixin' to Make Me Some Wabbit Stew!

All six broccoli plants...decimated.

Three of four cantaloupe plants...decimated.

One of four zucchini plants...damaged.

Two of six yellow bean plants...damaged.

Somebunny's gonna have to pay for all of that!!!

I am beyond irritated. When I got home from the gym last night and while the pizza was baking, Chris said, "Come with me, I want to show you something." We started walking toward the garden and I said, "If you're walking me out here to show me more rabbit damaged, we might as well just turn around because I don't want to see it...I don't want to be angry tonight." With that, Chris turned around. I said, "Are you kidding me?!?" (Confession...that question was peppered with a few expletives.) That's when Chris showed me all of the damage. The secondary fence is going in this weekend. I wonder how much BB guns go for these days?!?

On a lighter note, the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and Chris' heavily guarded pumpkin plant are doing quite well. Things are doing equally fine in the butterfly/hummingbird garden as well as the gardens around front. I will be adding some pictures this weekend once I pull all of them off my new digital camera.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) activity continues at the feeder. One night earlier this week, past dusk, I saw the male sitting on the shepherd's hook and watched him watching for the female. She would fly in and try to feed and he would chase her off. He would return to feed and then sit on the hook again, looking this way and that until she'd fly back in.

The second bunch of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) has fledged from the box and already there is new nest building activity. The new nest in box #1 that was started nearly two weeks ago now had 4 House Sparrow eggs in it Wednesday evening.

Once the rain finally stops, I need to refill my bird feeders and plant Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana) in the bf/hb garden and I need plant my new hibiscus, too (thanks, Mom!). I also have new hope for the hibiscus I planted toward the end of last summer. Here I thought I'd been sold a bill of goods by one of Ocean City's Farmers' Market vendors, but apparently, hibiscus plants don't even begin to show signs of life in Zone 5 until mid-June. So I have another few weeks before I can get discouraged again. Hopefully, I won't. Hopefully one of these days I'll start to see some green emerging from under the mulch. Oh! Also, I didn't lose my balloon flower! It is another one that is very slow to come back, but it reemerged last weekend and is already taking off!

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

Those Wascally Wabbits!

It appears that I may not be the only one with the Eastern cottontail problem this year...they are terrorizing Chris, too! I've been worried that the rabbits might attack my broccoli plants like they did last year. Instead, it appears that they have eaten Chris' giant pumpkin plants less than 24 hours after they were planted. I found this out through an instant message, so I can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure Chris is irked. Really irked! Thankfully, he still has two other plants that are still in their starter pots. When I got home from the gym tonight, I found out that they also ate one of my yellow bean plants! I am definitely irked! I guess we will have to put up a smaller gauge fence around the bottom of the existing garden fence to keep out our cottontail "friends." Chris is reading up (as I type) on ways to keep them out/deter them. I've got a .22 rifle that would do the trick. (Kidding!)

In other news, the bird box that I cleaned out Saturday morning...the one that had nest building activity that very night...already has an egg in it. It appears to be a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) nest and egg. The nest is very sparse right now. I am going to have to read up on House Sparrow nesting habits. The last two House Sparrow nests were very dense and included feathers and what looked like fur. The egg is a bit bigger than a peanut M&M and is cream colored with maroon/brown-ish speckles.

All but one of the baby House Sparrows had fledged from the second bird box by yesterday evening. When I peeked into the box, there was one baby remaining and he/she seemed really antsy to join his/her brothers and sisters who were sitting in the big bush off to the left of the box. I will check both boxes again on Sunday and I hope to be able to report on more eggs in box #1 and clean out box #2 to make room for another bunch o'babies.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...

First Post for 2009

We have been very busy around the house and in the gardens the past few weeks, so I decided it was time to pick back up with my Backyard Observations for 2009. I received a new digital camera for Mother's Day (apparently Oscar gets a hefty allowance that I know nothing about!), so I will be adding more pictures in future posts this year.

GARDENS
Let's go back to Mother's Day weekend. We had 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered that Thursday afternoon. Saturday morning we woke up and were out and about in the gardens by 8 AM. Chris took the garden around/near the pond while I worked in the butterfly/hummingbird (bf/hb) garden. We weeded and weeded and weeded some more! Nine of the ten perennials that I planted in the bf/hb garden came back. For whatever reason, my balloon flower did not return this year. Chris' Clematis has returned with a vengeance this year - I know he's pleased!

After working on the gardens off the back deck, I moved around the front of the house and weeded the front gardens. While I worked out front, Chris mulched around back. When I finished out front, Chris mulched while I made my way up to the vegetable garden. We rented a tiller for the weekend and he'd already run it through very lightly to rip up the weeds. I took the rake up and raked all of the dead weeds.

Sunday morning we went back up to the vegetable garden, spread the compost we got from the University Area Joint Authority, and ran the tiller through the garden several different times in different directions.

The following weekend we drove down to Martin Garden Center south of Tyrone to buy all of our vegetables. I also purchased a few more perennials and a few annuals for deck boxes. We also bought two new pond plants since we lost our water lily over the winter.

We planted columbine, a hydrangea, and two other perennials (whose names/types escape me) out front. I also planted to perennial gerbera daisies out front that I found on the clearance "dying" rack at Lowe's for $1 each. They just had deadheads...they weren't dying...but if Lowe's wants to sell them to me for $1 each, I'm OK with that! We also planted a bellflower plant in the bf/hb garden and I added some lavender (that I bought at the PSU Vegetable Cellar) further around in the garden.

I also planted my deck box and dish. Like last year, I put Mexican roses (Portulaca) in a shallow, round dish which sits on the bar on the deck. They did so well in that dish and in that location last year that I decided to do it again. In the deck box, I went with red flowers and plants. I bought a reddish spike plant from Lowe's and centered that in the box. Around that I added red petunias, red snapdragons, and other little red flowers. I think it looks great!

This past Saturday morning, we planted our vegetable garden. This year we "only" planted 24 tomato plants (compared to 37 last year). We planted grape, cherry, Carolina gold, and celebrity tomatoes. We planted 12 pepper plants - 6 blushing beauties (ivory to purple/burgundy color) and 6 orange pepper plants. We planted 6 broccoli plants, 4 zucchini plants, 4 cantaloupe plants, 6 yellow beans plants, and multiple onion plants. Chris planted his corn the Wednesday prior. We still have a good section of the garden left...for Chris' GIANT pumpkins!

That's right...Chris is growing giant pumpkins. He found a local giant pumpkin grower who very generously and graciously sent Chris a variety of giant pumpkin seeds (just because Chris had inquired!). Chris started four seeds and they are growing like mad! He started them last week and for several days they rested in our oven with the light on, which produced the ideal 85 degrees the seeds needed! He has already transplanted two from the starter peat pots to larger pots. Something tells me we're going to need a frontend loader later this year to move these things!!!

Ah! Back to the vegetables before I forget. We also planted an asparagus root in a pot to see how it does, spinach and lettuce seeds in pots on the deck (since we have such a thriving rabbit population), and herbs (basil, parsley, and cilantro) in pots also on the deck. Over the weekend, we purchased radish seeds which we'll be starting this week and again once or twice this summer. Finally, I bought two different kinds of sunflowers which I plan to grow along the privacy fence - Autumn Mix (5-7') and Irish Eyes (24-30"). I will be starting them in seeds trays this week and continuing to do so each week for about 6 weeks to get staggered growth and blooming.

ANIMALS
Hummingbird activity began about four weeks ago. No sooner did I get the feeder out and brew up a batch of nectar (one part sugar to four parts water) did the male Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) show up. It is generally one male that comes to the feeder, feeds, and "hangs out." In fact, it was this little hummingbird, who I call "Flick," that was a MAJOR distraction the week I was supposed to be writing my final exam paper for school. I would sit down to read and/or write and, of course, Flick would show up. He'd feed and then sit on top of the shepherd's hook and watch the gnats flying around. He'd also shake (it was drizzling and the rain was beading on his feathers), stretch, and yawn. Amazing...and very distracting! I'm lucky I finished that paper!

Over the past few weeks there have been many hummingbird visits to the feeder. I have seen two males at/near the feeder at the same time, competing with each other for "feeder rights." I have also seen a female at the feeder. As of yet, I have not witnessed any hummingbird courtship, nor have I seen the male and female at the feeder at the same time as I did last year. I will have to go back and review my posts from last year to see when the courting started.

I also have the thistle, "regular birdseed," and suet feeders in the backyard. There are birds at those feeders constantly! I have taken to filling them just once per week. If I filled them everytime they were emptied, my pockets would also be emptied! I ran out of thistle seed recently, but fortunately Tractor Supply Co. had a great sale on thistle seed ($27.99 for 25 lbs.) so I have a raincheck for two bags that I need to go collect. I have found that TSC has the best price (regular price $34.99 for 25 lbs.) on thistle seed and for regular bird seed ($16.99 for 50 lbs. - Royal Wing brand). Wegmans has the best price for suet cakes (10 pack for $8.59).

So far this spring, I have seen the following birds at the feeders and in the yard:

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) *
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) **
Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) ***
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

I encourage you to follow the links to read and learn more about the above listed birds (as well as others) at the Cornell site. I LOVE the Cornell site!!!

* Love these guys! They have ME trained to feed them peanuts on command. One of them will come and sit in the tree outside the kitchen and squawk for food. If I hear them, I go outside and put peanuts all along the railing of the deck. Next thing I know, four or five different Blue Jays are coming in to eat!

** LOVE this bird! I have seen it twice now - once on May 2, 2008 and once on May 4, 2009. Very nearly a year to the day...strange! Chris has yet to see it and therefore does not believe I have seen it! But I have! I really have!!!

*** We just fledged four baby House Sparrows out of "house box #1" and should fledge four more out of "house box #2" any day now. There were five babies born in box #1, but one did not survive. I found it when I cleaned out the box this past weekend. Within hours of me cleaning out the box, a new nest was being constructed. It appears to be another House Sparrow nest. I have logged both bird boxes with Cornell's project NestWatch and will track the success of these boxes over the summer.

Another bird that I have seen is the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). Chris and I were out walking last Tuesday evening and we came across an adult Killdeer on a nest. The nest was located among fist-sized rocks roadside (at the end of a driveway between the lawn and the road). The nest was very well camoflauged among these rocks. Ironically, it was the adult that drew our attention to the nest. Had he/she not created such a ruckus, we would have walked right on by. As it was, the adult exhibited the "broken wing" distraction behavior that adults will use to draw attention away from the nest location. He/she was very convincing! There were four eggs in the nest. We walked by again three nights later and there was one adult in the area of the nest and another flying around. Both screeched and squawked when we drew near. I was able to see one Killdeer chick. I didn't want to stand there too long because I didn't want to draw more attention to the nest/chicks and I didn't want to cause the adults more stress. I logged this nest location into NestWatch as well.

Eastern cottontails continue to be abundant in our yards and gardens. Oscar likes to give them chase, although it seems they might be aware of his electronic dog fence boundaries, because it appears they know to sit and feed just beyond his limits! So long as they leave the vegetable garden alone this year, the Eastern cottontails and I will get along just fine. I have, however, begun to research organic rabbit repellants/deterrants just in case!

One final note...and unfortunately, it is a sad one. Fredrick von Hoppenstance, our resident green frog (Rana clamitans), did not survive the winter. His remains, along with those of a female green frog, were found when the pond thawed and Chris cleaned it out. Fredrick was a great source of entertainment last summer. Here's hoping our pond attracts another frog or two this year.

RIP Fredrick von Hoppenstance.

Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...