Cleon and I left early this morning from our home in central Illinois and drove to Little Rock, Arkansas, to spend our first night. It was an overcast day, generally no wind, and temperatures ranged from 36 when we started, to 52 when we got here. A cold, damp day. But a good day for […]
If you have been watching the livestream, you know it has been cold – really cold. We have already had several nights in single digits. Several of the past days have been completely overcast. But this morning, it was simply gorgeous. Beautiful blue sky, no clouds, only a light breeze. Three more of our winter […]
One of my favorite ocean birds is the Northern Gannet. Its winter range is in the ocean along the shorelines – from Maine to the southern tip of Texas. In other words, all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. These are large birds – about 40 inches long, weigh about 6.5 pounds, and have a […]
If you have been watching the livestream, it has been snowing since last night. We were supposed to get between 3 and 5 inches. Right now, we have over 8 inches and it is still coming down. We have not had a good December snow here in a long time! The birds are at the […]
I have added a new section to this website. A place for you to post your poems and essays on nature. You can either click on “Submit your story” for an email form or use your own email form and send your poem or essay to: lindahendricksspence@birdingbeyondthefieldguide.com. If you have a question about this section, […]
As I wrote in my previous blogs, it was not the best birding from the beaches and shorelines around Charleston, SC, but we did see these three birds. The Great Egret is one of the birds that is pushing its range northward a bit. We now have more of them here in central Illinois in […]
Our birds are returning – slowly, but surely. There are still times when there are no birds on the livestream, but you will also notice the levels on the sunflower feeder and thistle feeder are slowly going down – American Goldfinches. We generally have a flock of about a dozen each winter. We do not […]
I was riding in the back seat as Cleon, our friend Matt, and I drove to the Magnolia Plantation I wrote about in my last blog. As usual, I was scanning the skies for birds – and clouds. I have rediscovered the joy of watching clouds form, reform, and then reform again – constantly changing […]
Even though we were in Charleston, SC in November, the gardens and parks were still beautiful. The weather was balmy – the sky an incredible blue the entire week. We spent a day at the Magnolia Plantation. The house tour was excellent. We did take the nature tram tour but for me, it was disappointing. […]
Unless you live west of the Rockies, you probably have had some experience with Common Grackles. If you have feeders, you know they can arrive in a flock and eat everything in sight. And they can come every single day. If you walk through your favorite tree-filled neighborhood or park in fall, you might experience […]