The pheasant I saw to the left of me on the side of the road seemed bewildered: it did not know whether to go left or right. An hundred feet ahead was a small flatbed truck which released several more pheasants. Several hunters with their pickup trucks milled around. This was near a public game land. I felt bad for the birds. It was as if the hunters wanted to see where the pheasants went. This did not seem very sporting. Later on I returned and four trucks were parked neatly in the game land parking lot but I saw no hunters. I guess they were now hunting the pheasants. I just felt bad for the birds.
Tags: birds, felt bad for the birds, hunters, hunting pheasnt did not seem so sporting, pickup trucks, public game land, releasing pheasants in the wild, the sport of hunting pheasants
Posted in animals, birds, life, local, nature, sports |
I could not believe how big the River crayfish were at McKee Falls. I had decided to go to the bank of the Falls and explore. I saw what I thought could have been killdeer in the distance. Suddenly I looked down at my feet and I noticed at least three gigantic crayfish scurrying on the rocks back into the River. They all were at least four inches from head to tail. It was only minutes from dawn and they are nocturnal creatures. To me, it was a big discovery. I was not even thinking about them. I never did make a positive identification of the birds that were hugging the shore in the distance.
Tags: birds, fish, Killdeer hugging the shore, McKee Falls, minutes from dawn, nocturnal creatures, the gigantic crayfish, The River, the river crayfish
Posted in animals, birds, local, nature, time |
Last night a hummingbird was looking for my nectar I usually put out for him/her. I spotted the bird alighting on a branch of the pine tree ten feet from where the feeder used to be. Since the bear tore that feeder down, I had not put any up, again. I felt so bad that I immediately made some more and filled my feeder for him and put it up again. Within fifteen minutes. I am hoping the hummingbird tries, again. I know it will take time for the hummingbirds to realize there is nectar there for them again. I felt so disheartened when a bear came in our yard twice and raided all our bird feeders. I felt helpless.
Tags: bird feeding, birds, discouraged by the bear who tore down all our bird feeders twice, hummingbirds, nectar, nectar for the hummingbirds, pine tree, ruby-throated hummingbird, the bear raids
Posted in animals, birds, local, nature, time |
Hopefully the black bear will stay away. He visited us twice and wrecked our gate to get over our five foot fence. Then he tore down all our bird feeders and got into the container of sunflower seed. My wife actually saw him. I am guessing his sex. I never did find the bird feeder we kept sunflower seed in. I bought another inexpensive one. The birds are slowly coming back. It had been a few days we had no feed for them. My wife was sound asleep in the living room which has a large front window. He came to our property at night. It just so happened I was away when this occurred. Yesterday a carpenter built us a sturdy gate. Let us see if that keeps the bear from entering our property. My wife is terrified of the bear and stopped sleeping in the living room. She wants nothing to do with this “critter”. This is the first time we had a bear on our property since we built a fence around part of it.
Tags: a visit from a black bear, bear climbed five foot fence, bird-feeders, birds, dogs were all asleep, my wife, our birdseed and the bear, our torn down gate, sunflower seed, the bear and our front gate
Posted in animals, birds, local, marriage, nature, time |
Where do the slate-colored juncos go in the warm weather? It is still relatively cold and they still are in the yard feeding on the birdseed on the ground. There are less of them. I know they will disappear when it gets warmer and no more snow. I thought I read they migrate further north. I am really curious. I have to look it up in one of my bird books. It is usually the other way around. Some birds migrate when it become colder. Not those birds. They usually arrive when the first snow comes. It is a mystery to me.
Tags: bird books, bird-watching, birds, birdseed, migration, slate--colored juncos, snow and cold and juncos, snow birds
Posted in birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
It is a mystery to me when birds come to my feeders. Sometimes the dogs chase them away. Other times I don’t know why they don’t come. There is birdseed there. I just don’t know. It is always puzzling to me that I can put out a new suet cake and the birds find it almost right away. And that is after I have been out for awhile. The birds provide such pleasure. In the spring I noted we have quite a few goldfinch. Sometimes there are so many I see them at two different feeders–the sunflower and thistle feeder. It always amazes me that one will sit on the thistle feeder for five minutes at a time feeding. The males are reverting to yellow, again. We have been having three different kinds of woodpeckers come to eat the suet: downy, red bellied and now hairy. The hairy woodpecker has become a regular visitor. In the past, we hardly ever saw one. At least one knows about the suet. The hairy woodpecker is twice the size of the downy. Though somewhat similar in markings.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, birdseed, dogs, downy woodpecker, goldfinch, goldfinch in spring, hairy woodpecker, pets, red bellied woodpecker, suet cake, sunflower feeder, thistle feeder, woodpeckers
Posted in birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
I made several small discoveries today. My rubber tree in my office had new growth on four branches. I forgot that it has dormant periods. It is over three feet high. I give it a little water every day. That is the extent of my care. I never had one do well before. I will just continue doing what I am doing. I like looking at it every day and noticing anything new about it.
There were actually six goldfinch on my thistle feeder briefly and I noticed five or six also on my sunflower feeder at the same time. Goldfinch will sit there five minutes feeding. Now they are all gone. All the birds appeared to be male. That seems a little odd.
Last fall before the cold killed the two Gerbera daisies outside we brought them in. The annuals were going to die any way. And stuck both plants by the window and occasionally would give them water. The one closer to the window actually had a flower we discovered yesterday. I could not determine the color yet.
These were just three small observations I made in the last twenty-four hours.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, Gerbera daisies, goldfinch, goldfinch have come back, rubber tree, rubber tree dormant period, small observations, sunflower feeder, thistle feeder
Posted in beauty, birds, flowers, knowledge&learning, local, nature, seasons, time |
An hairy woodpecker came to our suet two times in the last three days. It is one we don’t see too often. It is marked just like a downy woodpecker only bigger. There was no red on its head so it was a female. Monday I was thrilled: I not only saw my first robin of the season but also an hairy woodpecker. At least, one hairy woodpecker is now aware of the suet I put out.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, downy woodpecker, first robin of the season, hairy woodpecker, suet
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
I am prepared for the goldfinch. I bought five pounds of thistle for my feeder. Now I sometimes get three or four goldfinch at one time. For a long time I did not get any. From my observation in early spring the goldfinch come to my feeder in flocks. In the past I have counted as many as twenty at one time. That, of course includes the ones feeding on the ground on the thistle that falls there. Often the goldfinch will remain at the feeder for five minutes or more. Before I know it the the males will turn golden again. That always amazes me.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, goldfinch feed on thistle, goldfinch in spring
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
Today was the earliest time of the year I have ever seen a robin in this area. Three weeks before spring. And most of the land was still snow covered. First I saw the back of one fly away and I was not completely sure it was a robin. A few seconds later I spotted the tell-tale red breast of an another robin. And minutes later I spotted in one spot at least ten robins congregating in some bare spots. There is no mistaking their hip hop. The robins are going to be in trouble: the weather forecast is for another snowstorm in two days. I don’t know what they are going to eat.
Tags: another snowstorm, bird-watching, birds, land snow covered, March 1st earliest I saw robin here, robin, robins might have hard time finding food, spring, ten robins
Posted in birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
I put out all my birdseed. I was out of all my different kinds–regular, sunflower, suet and thistle. A nuthatch immediately found the birdseed (regular) on the platform I laid seed on. I put fresh thistle for the goldfinch. My wife said they all migrated away. I suspected the thistle (which I had bought months ago) had gone stale. I will see who is right. I almost never run out of feed for them. It was only a day so they were not out of feed too long. Anyway, I now will continue to watch the visitors that come to my feeders.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, birdseed, goldfinch, my wife, nuthatch, suet, sunflower seed, thistle, watching the birds out my window
Posted in birds, local, nature, time |
The goldfinch finally came back. I realized I had not seen one at the thistle feeder for months. I first cleaned out the crusted thistle and put out fresh thistle (out) and waited. It took about a week for the goldfinch to rediscover the thistle. There were even three on the feeder at one time today. I did not realize the thistle had gone bad.
Tags: bird feeding, birds, goldfinch, goldfinch and fresh thistle, thistle feeder
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, time |
