In many places in North America, the House Sparrow is not rare. In fact, it can be so abundant as to be a nuisance. When we first moved here to central Illinois, we started with a few House Sparrows, but within 10 years, we had a flock of about 30 eating at our feeders every […]
This past Saturday during feeder and birdbath maintenance, we made some changes which you can see on the BirdCam. First, the log feeder is gone. We do not provide suet during the spring and summer months. In the warmer months, birds have insects and fruit on which to forage throughout our yard and gardens so […]
It is unusual to rare for us to have Purple Finches in our yard. We did have a female for a week or so this past winter, but many winters we do not have any. We do have birding friends here in central Illinois who have Purple Finches at their feeders throughout the late fall […]
In spring and summer, we normally have 6-7 Double-crested Cormorants on our small lake. This spring we have had an invasion! More cormorants here than I have ever seen in the 20 years we have lived here. We do have several large lakes in our area and cormorants in spring and summer are common. But […]
Right now, we have a few Brown-headed Cowbirds on the platform feeder several times every day. Sometimes it is 3 or more males, but often there will be 1 female with them. Here in central Illinois, this is normal spring behavior for them and appears to be part of their courting ritual. What you will […]
Cleon and I love all the birds that use our yard, the feeders, and the bird baths. But I think our favorite is the Brown Thrasher. We started out about 10 years ago with one bird in the yard off and on throughout that spring and summer. Within a year or two, it was a […]
Last weekend we were in Lake Geneva, WI. We drove to this lovely lake and town on a snowy, overcast day. There was an accident on the interstate and the GPS suggested an alternate route which we took. It was a series of rural roads winding through the southern Wisconsin countryside past fields, woodlands, and […]
Take a good look at the goldfinches at our feeders over the next few weeks and you will witness a remarkable change in the males. They will change from their drab winter color of grayish-brown with sometimes a hint of yellow, to a mottled mess of golden yellow and that same drab grayish-brown, and finally […]
A good friend just asked me when she should put up her hummingbird feeder. We live in central Illinois, so in my experience, I recommend between March 21st and April 1st. Below are some target dates for other areas of the country and Canada. Observe in your own yard and garden – it is important […]
We had a good-sized flock of about 300 Greater White-fronted Geese on our lake for two days in late January. This is normal for them. They will come, rest for a short period, then move on. Today we have 3. Only 3 of these geese and in mid-March – this is unusual. They are close […]