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 […]
Anyone who has an outdoor space, no matter how small, has a habitat. The definition of habitat from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: The physical environment that provides organisms with their basic needs for survival: food, water, shelter, and space. Our yard’s habitat was a savanna with a wide strip of woodland and our acre of property […]
Two things happen in the skies over our house in July, August, and September every year. The first may sound to you like we are part of nearby strafing run – right out of a WWII movie. Thank goodness that is not it. It is crop dusting time! We live in the middle of chemical […]
Today we will be taking down the feeders and thoroughly washing and disinfecting them. We will also clean the birdbaths and the rocks. The feeders will dry in the sun before we refill. All this takes about 2 hours. The birds do come to the area during that time – some will even sit on […]