That is a whole lot of crows! At least for us. The most we have ever had is 5 and the usual number is 3. And to have them in our backyard at this time of year is rare. These are American Crows and live in the vast woodland across the lake from us. We […]
We have Belted Kingfishers around the shore of our lake all year. These are good-sized birds whose call is a loud, prolonged rattle*, but it has been months since we last heard or saw one. We finally spotted one a week ago and the first time we saw it, it was right off our patio […]
Cleon and I have been travelling. Long days of driving. We never fly because we like to drive through different areas – and we are not birds, right? But seriously…. towns, cities, farms, lakes, woods – we love to see how people live and work in different areas all over our country and Canada. When […]
When blackbirds start to form flocks, fall is on the way! Which seems a bit premature as it is only the end of July. Brown-headed Cowbirds start to form flocks early. At first, it will just be several to maybe half a dozen – both males and females. As the weeks go by and we […]
The groundhog was back under the feeders this morning – eating companionably with a fox squirrel. We are still unsure where his hole is. At first we thought it might be under our deck, but we are happy to say it is not. When he ran from the feeder area this morning, it was toward […]
We have a ground hog! We saw it a few days ago, but could not identify it. It was hard to get a good look at it as it was at the shore of our lake and some distance from where we were standing. A friend of ours thought it was a mink. I thought […]
We have Redheaded Woodpeckers living in the woodlands across the lake from us, but they are not often here in our yard. We saw a pair yesterday in our trees that are at the edge of the lake and this morning they were both on the peanut feeder. Not sharing – they kept displacing each […]
I was outside working in the garden, listening to the dawn chorus, and I finished in the garden as the chorus was ending. I came into the kitchen for a cup of hot coffee and turned on this website and the birdfeeder cam. My back was turned to the screen as I bent to pour […]
Look how they have grown! The three families from this past spring still come to the feeders every other day or so. Generally they are all together in a loose flock – scattered over the yard. This is one of the families. The juveniles are now flying and these families take an excursion each afternoon. […]
We are in the midst of hot and humid weather here in central Illinois. July and August are always for heat lovers – and that is definitely not me. Give me long underwear, a heavy coat and hat, and I am in heaven! I love working outside and have gardens all around our house and […]