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...
Showing posts with label green frog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green frog. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Random Updates from the Past Month
Shame on me! It has been one month to the day that I last updated my blog. Some blogger I am, eh? I did go on vacation toward the end of July, but that is really no excuse because that was only one week out of four. So, yes, I am a bit of a slacker!
Now on with the show...
Vegetables abound in our garden! We harvested the first ears of corn at the end of last week and it is delicious! You might swear we tilled sugar into the soil or watered with simple syrup...it is that sweet...how exciting! We have zucchini and cucumbers coming out of our ears and at some point soon I am going to have to start making pickle relish to use up all of the cucumbers. Just before logging on to write this entry, I was researching the blanching time for squash so I can freeze a big batch tomorrow night. I got a great idea from my research to steam blanch some shredded zucchini in 1 or 2-cup increments for backing zucchini bread in the fall/winter.
Today I blanched about two pounds of green beans...they are doing really well. The peas did not do so well. I managed to harvest enough to make one serving of peas before the plants started dying off. I'm not sure what caused the die-off. Peas seemed like a pain in the rear anyway, so I am not too torn up over the loss of the plants. Peppers are going like gangbusters - just this weekend I used the dehydrator to dry anaheim and super chile peppers. The gypsy peppers have been very tasty in our lunches everyday.
Another thing we have been taking in our lunches each day is a serving of grape tomatoes. Those are growing quite well (and wild), too! In fact, our grape tomatoes seem like they are on steroids...they are gigantic! All of the tomatoes are growing really well, but our staking did not work very well. We put so much money into the garden this year that we opted to stake the tomatoes rather that invest in cages...probably not the best idea, but we'll make do this year and buy cages next year. It's just that the tomatoes are growing wild and flatter than expected. But boy are they still growing!!!
We have ten cantaloupes on the vines and they are looking really, really nice. I hope I can harvest one or two before this coming weekend (my graduation party) so I can serve some fresh fruit in addition to my sheet cake. In fact, for the party this weekend, I anticipate quite a bit will come from the garden - sliced tomatoes for hamburgers, raw vegetables for dipping, tomatoes for fresh salsa, cantaloupe for dessert, peppers to serve with the grilled bratwursts - it is all going to be very delicious and very fresh!
Goldfinches continue to visit the thistle feeder and other random birds visit the "regular" seed feeder. The hummingbird makes regular visits to his feeder and is once again fending off other males and even the female. When he isn't looking, the female sneaks in for a quite snack. Last week, I saw both the male and the female sitting on the shepherd's hook where the feeder hangs (on separate occasions) and watched as they yawned and stuck out their tongues. It was really cool!
A house wren (Troglodytes aedon) has nested, layed five eggs, and had them hatch in the bird box at the far end of the yard. The eggs hatched Wednesday. In fact, when I did my evening check on the box, three had hatched, one was in the process of hatching, and one egg remained. When we checked the box Thursday evening, all five bald babies looked healthy - tiny, but healthy. Momma House Wren made her presence known while we were near the box and immediately returned to the box as soon as we were about 20 feet away.
Neither Chris nor I have seen Fredrick since we left for vacation on July 18th. We heard him the night we returned from vacation (July 26th), but have not seen him. I am concerned! We had a clog in the pump in the pond on Friday and it was a dead frog! Luckily it wasn't Fredrick, but what if it was his new mate?!? I've often wondered how Fredrick tolerates his swingin' single lifestyle at our pond...I mean, it is a nice bachelor (lily) pad, but still...he has to get lonely. What if that frog was his chance at love, happiness, and frog procreation?!?
Speaking of procreation, our pond fish keep multiplying. In addition to the nearly dozen grown and colorful (white and orange, mostly) goldfish we can see, there are about a dozen small (1-2" long) black babies swimming around. Two of them have started to turn orange already and they are easier to spot. It is really cool when we feed the fish because all of the sudden we will see ripples and movement at the surface of the water, but we can't see any fish because of shadows, reflections, or lighting...but then they will swim to a spot where we can see and there are 5-6 at any give time swimming around together.
The butterfly and hummingbird garden is officially official for both butterflies and hummingbirds now. Butterflies have been seen flying around the yard quite regularly now and on at least three different occasions, I have seen butterflies in the garden on the butterfly bush and the bee balm. Speaking of the plants in that garden, in addition to feeding at the nectar feeder, the female hummingbird has visited the bee balm, the red dahlia, and the Russian sage. I bought a magazine about gardening for butterflies and hummingbirds and plan to read up on ideas and things I might add now and next spring.
Out front, the few perennials that I added continue to do well. The mums from last fall are already up and the red one has already started to bloom. I hope it blooms through the fall. I put in four mums last fall - one red, one orange, one yellow, and one purple (if my memory serves me correctly). I just love mums in the fall!
Oh! One last thing - I bought a hibiscus plant while I was on vacation at the beach. I asked the seller if it would survive up here in zone 5 and he said yes. He told me how to take care of it and convinced me it would do OK, so on the last day of vacation, we walked across the street to the farmer's market and I bought a red one to bring home. It is still in the pot right now, but I am going to plant it one night this week next to the deck. It will get plenty of sun and will be very near the butterfly and hummingbird garden, so maybe the hummingbirds will visit it (since they favor red flowers).
I cannot think of anything else that is worth mentioning/updating right now but I am sure something else will occur to me as soon as I post this.
OH! Chris bought me VERY NICE Audubon binoculars for my birthday. These things are amazing! From our kitchen, I can look out to the garden 300+ feet away and see if we have red tomatoes ready for picking! And the clarity when I look at the goldfinches on the feeder is phenomenal. I cannot wait to get out into the woods and do some bird watching (other than the ones I watch in our very own patch of woods).
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...
Now on with the show...
Vegetables abound in our garden! We harvested the first ears of corn at the end of last week and it is delicious! You might swear we tilled sugar into the soil or watered with simple syrup...it is that sweet...how exciting! We have zucchini and cucumbers coming out of our ears and at some point soon I am going to have to start making pickle relish to use up all of the cucumbers. Just before logging on to write this entry, I was researching the blanching time for squash so I can freeze a big batch tomorrow night. I got a great idea from my research to steam blanch some shredded zucchini in 1 or 2-cup increments for backing zucchini bread in the fall/winter.
Today I blanched about two pounds of green beans...they are doing really well. The peas did not do so well. I managed to harvest enough to make one serving of peas before the plants started dying off. I'm not sure what caused the die-off. Peas seemed like a pain in the rear anyway, so I am not too torn up over the loss of the plants. Peppers are going like gangbusters - just this weekend I used the dehydrator to dry anaheim and super chile peppers. The gypsy peppers have been very tasty in our lunches everyday.
Another thing we have been taking in our lunches each day is a serving of grape tomatoes. Those are growing quite well (and wild), too! In fact, our grape tomatoes seem like they are on steroids...they are gigantic! All of the tomatoes are growing really well, but our staking did not work very well. We put so much money into the garden this year that we opted to stake the tomatoes rather that invest in cages...probably not the best idea, but we'll make do this year and buy cages next year. It's just that the tomatoes are growing wild and flatter than expected. But boy are they still growing!!!
We have ten cantaloupes on the vines and they are looking really, really nice. I hope I can harvest one or two before this coming weekend (my graduation party) so I can serve some fresh fruit in addition to my sheet cake. In fact, for the party this weekend, I anticipate quite a bit will come from the garden - sliced tomatoes for hamburgers, raw vegetables for dipping, tomatoes for fresh salsa, cantaloupe for dessert, peppers to serve with the grilled bratwursts - it is all going to be very delicious and very fresh!
Goldfinches continue to visit the thistle feeder and other random birds visit the "regular" seed feeder. The hummingbird makes regular visits to his feeder and is once again fending off other males and even the female. When he isn't looking, the female sneaks in for a quite snack. Last week, I saw both the male and the female sitting on the shepherd's hook where the feeder hangs (on separate occasions) and watched as they yawned and stuck out their tongues. It was really cool!
A house wren (Troglodytes aedon) has nested, layed five eggs, and had them hatch in the bird box at the far end of the yard. The eggs hatched Wednesday. In fact, when I did my evening check on the box, three had hatched, one was in the process of hatching, and one egg remained. When we checked the box Thursday evening, all five bald babies looked healthy - tiny, but healthy. Momma House Wren made her presence known while we were near the box and immediately returned to the box as soon as we were about 20 feet away.
Neither Chris nor I have seen Fredrick since we left for vacation on July 18th. We heard him the night we returned from vacation (July 26th), but have not seen him. I am concerned! We had a clog in the pump in the pond on Friday and it was a dead frog! Luckily it wasn't Fredrick, but what if it was his new mate?!? I've often wondered how Fredrick tolerates his swingin' single lifestyle at our pond...I mean, it is a nice bachelor (lily) pad, but still...he has to get lonely. What if that frog was his chance at love, happiness, and frog procreation?!?
Speaking of procreation, our pond fish keep multiplying. In addition to the nearly dozen grown and colorful (white and orange, mostly) goldfish we can see, there are about a dozen small (1-2" long) black babies swimming around. Two of them have started to turn orange already and they are easier to spot. It is really cool when we feed the fish because all of the sudden we will see ripples and movement at the surface of the water, but we can't see any fish because of shadows, reflections, or lighting...but then they will swim to a spot where we can see and there are 5-6 at any give time swimming around together.
The butterfly and hummingbird garden is officially official for both butterflies and hummingbirds now. Butterflies have been seen flying around the yard quite regularly now and on at least three different occasions, I have seen butterflies in the garden on the butterfly bush and the bee balm. Speaking of the plants in that garden, in addition to feeding at the nectar feeder, the female hummingbird has visited the bee balm, the red dahlia, and the Russian sage. I bought a magazine about gardening for butterflies and hummingbirds and plan to read up on ideas and things I might add now and next spring.
Out front, the few perennials that I added continue to do well. The mums from last fall are already up and the red one has already started to bloom. I hope it blooms through the fall. I put in four mums last fall - one red, one orange, one yellow, and one purple (if my memory serves me correctly). I just love mums in the fall!
Oh! One last thing - I bought a hibiscus plant while I was on vacation at the beach. I asked the seller if it would survive up here in zone 5 and he said yes. He told me how to take care of it and convinced me it would do OK, so on the last day of vacation, we walked across the street to the farmer's market and I bought a red one to bring home. It is still in the pot right now, but I am going to plant it one night this week next to the deck. It will get plenty of sun and will be very near the butterfly and hummingbird garden, so maybe the hummingbirds will visit it (since they favor red flowers).
I cannot think of anything else that is worth mentioning/updating right now but I am sure something else will occur to me as soon as I post this.
OH! Chris bought me VERY NICE Audubon binoculars for my birthday. These things are amazing! From our kitchen, I can look out to the garden 300+ feet away and see if we have red tomatoes ready for picking! And the clarity when I look at the goldfinches on the feeder is phenomenal. I cannot wait to get out into the woods and do some bird watching (other than the ones I watch in our very own patch of woods).
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ducks in a Row
The following event did not occur in my backyard, but it is worth mentioning...
So usually, "get your ducks in a row" means get your act together. Last evening, I got my ducks in a row...on a busy four-lane road between Home Depot and Lowe's! As I was driving home from school last night, I approached a red light at a very busy intersection near Home Depot and Lowe's. I happened to look over at the driver next to me, who I was sure would "floor it" as soon as the light turned green because the lanes merge past the traffic light. Her face was one of wonder and awe...I looked up just as the light turned green and I looked ahead to see what I was she was ogling.
It was a mother duck and approximately eight little ducklings crossing the aforementioned busy four-lane road from the storm water retention pond at Home Depot over to the one at Lowe's. I have never seen so many little webbed feet move so quickly! I could not help but laugh out loud in amazement and wonder. THANKFULLY, Momma Duck and all of her babies made it safely across all four travel lanes (traffic was light) and were headed toward the pond at Lowe's in my last glance in the rear view mirror. What a sight to behold!
Finally, before I go, I am going to test inserting two pictures of Fredrick and see how that turns out. If it works, I will try to incorporate photos into my posts when possible.
So usually, "get your ducks in a row" means get your act together. Last evening, I got my ducks in a row...on a busy four-lane road between Home Depot and Lowe's! As I was driving home from school last night, I approached a red light at a very busy intersection near Home Depot and Lowe's. I happened to look over at the driver next to me, who I was sure would "floor it" as soon as the light turned green because the lanes merge past the traffic light. Her face was one of wonder and awe...I looked up just as the light turned green and I looked ahead to see what I was she was ogling.
It was a mother duck and approximately eight little ducklings crossing the aforementioned busy four-lane road from the storm water retention pond at Home Depot over to the one at Lowe's. I have never seen so many little webbed feet move so quickly! I could not help but laugh out loud in amazement and wonder. THANKFULLY, Momma Duck and all of her babies made it safely across all four travel lanes (traffic was light) and were headed toward the pond at Lowe's in my last glance in the rear view mirror. What a sight to behold!
Finally, before I go, I am going to test inserting two pictures of Fredrick and see how that turns out. If it works, I will try to incorporate photos into my posts when possible.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Yikes! It's Been Two Weeks Since an Update!
How did this happen?!? There has been so much activity in the backyard over the past two weeks and on many different occasions, I thought to myself, "I need to blog this!" And yet, here it is...two weeks since my last post. Dear readers, know that I am ashamed and I will make every effort not to allow such a long lapse in writing again!
Now...on with the show!
I guess I will work backwards somewhat and start with the updates for today. Chris and I went to Tractor Supply Company today (I really love their bird feed and feeder selection) where I bought an eight pound bag of Nyjer seed and a nice metal finch feeder. Previously, I had a sock feeder; however, it was both unattractive and quickly becoming less and less full which meant fewer and fewer American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) could feed at the same time. I replaced the sock feeder with this new metal feeder and within minutes of hanging the new feeder, both a male and female Goldfinch arrived to feed. Excellent!
Chris sat outside for a while this evening while I fixed dinner and managed to capture some excellent shots of both the female and male hummingbirds as they visited the feeder in the hummingbird/butterfly garden. I was telling Chris that I read that the male will defend the feeder even against females until they have mated. I assume since she is "allowed" to feed now...and the fact that I have witnessed the male perform his courting flight for her on at least a half dozen different occasions now...that they are a mating pair, which is incredibly exciting! The male courtship flight is a very cool sight to see...she sits in a tree and he flies back and forth for her in a pendulum motion chittering and chirping the entire time.
Yesterday I was weeding in the hummingbird/butterfly garden very close to the feeder and on three different occasions, a hummingbird buzzed my head! The first time it happened, I really thought the bird brushed my head/hair, but I realize it was more likely the downdraft created by its wings. Before I got into that garden to weed, there was some grass growing under the feeder. When a hummingbird would arrive to feed, you could see the grass blowing back and forth because of the downdraft from the bird's wings. Amazing!
I am also happy to report that the nest of eight baby Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) have fledged from the box at the far left edge of the mowable yard (it butts up to the "wild" portion of our second lot). That was a fascinating experience to watch the activity in that box progress from nest building to egg laying to Momma Bird tending the eggs to hatchlings to feathered fledglings. I really love Black-capped Chickadees ("chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee") and am very happy to know that the BCC population around our house has increased by eight. I read that the fledglings will stick around Mom and Dad for about three weeks, so I suspect they are all hanging out in the trees of the wooded area on our lots.
Fredrick Von Hoppenstance has been out and about quite a bit lately. Fredrick is, in fact, Fredrick and not Freda. I was able to confirm this by taking a few photographs and reading about Green Frogs in our National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Fredrick's yellow throat indicates he is a male. I was able to capture several pictures of him yesterday as he sat at the edge of one of the rocks in our pond and later when he was swimming in the pond. One shot very clearly shows his webbed back feet as his leg was stretched out as he "hung out" in the water.
Something...I am not sure what...has been "going to town" on the dried ears of corn that I have been placing on the "squirrel feeder" on one of the trees in the wooded area of our lots toward the front of the house. Just this afternoon I placed a new ear of corn on the feeder at approximately 3 PM and by 7:30 PM this evening, it was completely stripped of all kernels. I need a trail camera to see what is eating that corn so quickly! I have, on occasion, seen both Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) at the squirrel feeder, but I have never observed either bird at the feeder continuously. This is going to warrant further dedicated observation.
By the way, in case you were wondering why I include the Latin name for the animals I observe and about which I write, it is because I am making a conscious effort to learn them myself and thought I would help to educate my readers as well. Also, I wanted to point you toward one of my favorite Internet sites for bird information and it is none other than the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. One of these days, I wouldn't mind working at Cornell in some capacity just to be so close to and have access to the vast knowledge of the folks in that Lab. I would even love to volunteer there someday! The site is http://www.birds.cornell.edu.
I know there is more that I am forgetting, but that will just mean that I will need to post again tomorrow and in the coming days as I remember stuff and as new observations occur.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Now...on with the show!
I guess I will work backwards somewhat and start with the updates for today. Chris and I went to Tractor Supply Company today (I really love their bird feed and feeder selection) where I bought an eight pound bag of Nyjer seed and a nice metal finch feeder. Previously, I had a sock feeder; however, it was both unattractive and quickly becoming less and less full which meant fewer and fewer American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) could feed at the same time. I replaced the sock feeder with this new metal feeder and within minutes of hanging the new feeder, both a male and female Goldfinch arrived to feed. Excellent!
Chris sat outside for a while this evening while I fixed dinner and managed to capture some excellent shots of both the female and male hummingbirds as they visited the feeder in the hummingbird/butterfly garden. I was telling Chris that I read that the male will defend the feeder even against females until they have mated. I assume since she is "allowed" to feed now...and the fact that I have witnessed the male perform his courting flight for her on at least a half dozen different occasions now...that they are a mating pair, which is incredibly exciting! The male courtship flight is a very cool sight to see...she sits in a tree and he flies back and forth for her in a pendulum motion chittering and chirping the entire time.
Yesterday I was weeding in the hummingbird/butterfly garden very close to the feeder and on three different occasions, a hummingbird buzzed my head! The first time it happened, I really thought the bird brushed my head/hair, but I realize it was more likely the downdraft created by its wings. Before I got into that garden to weed, there was some grass growing under the feeder. When a hummingbird would arrive to feed, you could see the grass blowing back and forth because of the downdraft from the bird's wings. Amazing!
I am also happy to report that the nest of eight baby Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) have fledged from the box at the far left edge of the mowable yard (it butts up to the "wild" portion of our second lot). That was a fascinating experience to watch the activity in that box progress from nest building to egg laying to Momma Bird tending the eggs to hatchlings to feathered fledglings. I really love Black-capped Chickadees ("chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee") and am very happy to know that the BCC population around our house has increased by eight. I read that the fledglings will stick around Mom and Dad for about three weeks, so I suspect they are all hanging out in the trees of the wooded area on our lots.
Fredrick Von Hoppenstance has been out and about quite a bit lately. Fredrick is, in fact, Fredrick and not Freda. I was able to confirm this by taking a few photographs and reading about Green Frogs in our National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Fredrick's yellow throat indicates he is a male. I was able to capture several pictures of him yesterday as he sat at the edge of one of the rocks in our pond and later when he was swimming in the pond. One shot very clearly shows his webbed back feet as his leg was stretched out as he "hung out" in the water.
Something...I am not sure what...has been "going to town" on the dried ears of corn that I have been placing on the "squirrel feeder" on one of the trees in the wooded area of our lots toward the front of the house. Just this afternoon I placed a new ear of corn on the feeder at approximately 3 PM and by 7:30 PM this evening, it was completely stripped of all kernels. I need a trail camera to see what is eating that corn so quickly! I have, on occasion, seen both Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) at the squirrel feeder, but I have never observed either bird at the feeder continuously. This is going to warrant further dedicated observation.
By the way, in case you were wondering why I include the Latin name for the animals I observe and about which I write, it is because I am making a conscious effort to learn them myself and thought I would help to educate my readers as well. Also, I wanted to point you toward one of my favorite Internet sites for bird information and it is none other than the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. One of these days, I wouldn't mind working at Cornell in some capacity just to be so close to and have access to the vast knowledge of the folks in that Lab. I would even love to volunteer there someday! The site is http://www.birds.cornell.edu.
I know there is more that I am forgetting, but that will just mean that I will need to post again tomorrow and in the coming days as I remember stuff and as new observations occur.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Fredrick Takes a Dip!
This evening I stepped out onto the deck to take care of the evening's watering chores - this included refilling the pond some, watering all of the plants on the deck, those in the butterfly and hummingbird garden, those out in the blackeyed Susan garden, and turning on the sprinkler for the vegetable garden.
I started the hose flowing into the pond and stepped back into the house get the food to feed the fish. It was - as usual - a feeding frenzy as soon as the food hit the surface of the water. However, I noticed a large splash as I turned away from the pond to put the food container on the grilling station. I turned around and saw an odd swirling of the water. I just thought that was due to the crazy fish, but then I noticed him!
Our resident green frog (Rana clamitans), Fredrick von Hoppenstance. There he was swimming across the pond without a care in the world. He stopped in the middle of the pond for a minute and I was able to get a good look at him. He is quite handsome...as far as frogs go. He swam to the far side of the pond and under a rock. I am not sure if he was eating the fish food as well, or just happened (hoppened?) to take a swim at the same time. Whatever the case, it was nice to see Fred this evening.
I should note before I go that we had a great day of rain on Wednesday and everything...EVERYTHING...has really perked up with the natural watering. The vegetable garden looks great. We have corn popping up in rows...so exciting! The plants on the deck, especially the two peppers and the Mr. Stripey tomato, look really healthy and vibrant as well. I swear the one pepper plant has grown four inches in the last two days!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
I started the hose flowing into the pond and stepped back into the house get the food to feed the fish. It was - as usual - a feeding frenzy as soon as the food hit the surface of the water. However, I noticed a large splash as I turned away from the pond to put the food container on the grilling station. I turned around and saw an odd swirling of the water. I just thought that was due to the crazy fish, but then I noticed him!
Our resident green frog (Rana clamitans), Fredrick von Hoppenstance. There he was swimming across the pond without a care in the world. He stopped in the middle of the pond for a minute and I was able to get a good look at him. He is quite handsome...as far as frogs go. He swam to the far side of the pond and under a rock. I am not sure if he was eating the fish food as well, or just happened (hoppened?) to take a swim at the same time. Whatever the case, it was nice to see Fred this evening.
I should note before I go that we had a great day of rain on Wednesday and everything...EVERYTHING...has really perked up with the natural watering. The vegetable garden looks great. We have corn popping up in rows...so exciting! The plants on the deck, especially the two peppers and the Mr. Stripey tomato, look really healthy and vibrant as well. I swear the one pepper plant has grown four inches in the last two days!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
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