It has been bitter cold here in central Illinois. When I went out to check my small greenhouse this morning at 8AM, it was 7°F with a wind chill of -11. Wow. A typical January day out here in the Midwest. But the sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant blue and cloudless, so […]
Cleon encouraged me to write this blog. Normally we are private people. We enjoy sharing our birding experiences with all of you and I did share with you our ant-nests-in-the-bathroom-wall story, but we do not share our day to day lives or intimate details. Probably a generational thing. We are older and we feel differently […]
Northern Flickers are in the Woodpecker Family, and I count us as quite fortunate to have a pair of them living in our yard. And sometimes there are four! It always surprises me how big these birds actually are. As I explain in the free download available on this website (click here: American Robin download), […]
This is a great place for watching Sandhill Cranes – up close and personal! And take a good look because there will probably be a few Whooping Cranes mixed right in. Wheeler NWR is one of my favorite places for birds. Cleon and I have been here before and have always seen quite a few […]
Cleon and I spent an afternoon on this refuge. Our bird list is not long, but what sightings! Birds we rarely see. And one I not only never saw, but never thought I would see. This is a newer refuge than Sabine. Cameron Prairie was created in 1988. Its mission: “Manage, protect, and perpetuate coastal […]
Cleon and I spent an exhilarating morning at Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful, brisk day. When we were there, the temperature ranged from 41°-50°F, the morning went from cloudy to partly cloudy, and the wind ranged from 5-10mph. We took a wonderful cement sidewalk/boardwalk through the marsh which included an elevated viewing […]
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 […]