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 […]
My favorite birding habitats have always been marshes, swamps, and seashores. And Charleston has all of these. The difficulty is accessing them. Of course, right now, with the federal government closed, federal areas are closed. Gates across access roads are shut and padlocked. But in Charleston and the surrounding areas, it is hard to find […]
In an earlier blog, I told you that our Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Gray Catbirds, and Brown Thrashers are gone – they have begun their migration. We now have Gray Catbirds again – here in our yard. One was ‘meowing’ at me yesterday from a thick tangle of vines near the shore of our small lake. But […]
Woodman Fen. 2409 Newcastle Drive, Dayton. https://www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/woodman-fen/ Some birding places are easy to find – this one would not be so easy. Luckily its address worked on the GPS in my phone which took us straight to the small parking lot. This fen is part of the city park system of Dayton. […]
If you have been watching the bird bath cam livestream, you will have noticed that I moved the oriole feeder lower and closer to the bird bath. When I moved it, I was uncertain if the new location would work as it is now quite close to the bird bath which many birds besides the […]
You may have seen the platform feeder filled with small brown sparrows during the last few weeks when the weather was so cold. And at first glance, you may have thought they were House Sparrows – but they are not. We used to have a large flock of House Sparrows living here, but we have […]
Looking out our windows, I feel like a child again in Pennsylvania. Except I will be enjoying all this snow from inside our house and not outside playing all day with my next door neighbor Chip. Building snow forts, snowmen, and shoveling driveways and sidewalks for $5 – to be split between us. Those were […]
This morning, Cleon and I changed the bird feeders and what we are offering. We are now set up for winter. We did this today because even though we are still having warm temperatures during the day – in the mid-60’s to 70’s – we are starting to experience cooler nights. Our forecast: most of […]
You have probably noticed a decrease in the number of birds using our feeders and birdbaths over the past few weeks. And some birds have disappeared completely. Regardless of where you live in the United States or Canada, if you have feeders, it is most probable you will notice a decrease in birds at your […]
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 […]