April is almost here – and in my opinion, this is one of the best times to look for and observe birds. They are migrating, setting up their nesting territories, mating, and even beginning to start nests. And all of this is done right out in the open where we can watch. Even birds who […]
Most of us know that the American Chestnut was once a common tree throughout the Appalachian Mountains, but because of a blight, the tree is now almost extinct. What I did not know was how much work is being carried out to restore this tree and that there are two sides to this. One side […]
Everything you do in your yard affects all the creatures that live there: birds, insects, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, plus every organism that lives underground. And that includes making the decision to feed birds, provide a bird bath, add nesting boxes, create new gardens, or even adding a patio. Should you not do those things because […]
Geese! And they were everywhere!!!! Not everyone likes geese and depending where you live, I can understand the reasons for wishing them elsewhere. But I love them! Particularly the Canada Geese who live year-round on our small lake here in central Illinois. If you have been reading my blog, you know that last spring we […]
If you were watching the bird feeder livestream this morning between 9:15 and about 9:30AM Central Time, you saw no birds, but you did see a large, beautifully furred, well taken care of gray cat sitting on the ground under the feeders. I was upstairs talking on the phone and happened to glance out the […]
If you have been watching the livestream, for the last few weeks, you know that here in central Illinois, we are still in a deep freeze. As I am typing this, I am looking across the room at the computer that runs livestream camera and I see by the weather report it is 9°F. And […]
Is it cold or what! No matter where people live – be it Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama, or even California – most people are cold the moment they step outside. Temperatures just about everywhere are colder than normal. We here in central Illinois always have about 5-7 nights of below 0 in January, […]
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), […]