Bird life on the prairie is more abundant than I expected. A few days ago I drove to a small town about 35 miles west. Oh look, huge Northern Harriers swooping down on rodent prey every few miles. Another dozen or so Prairie Falcons. The cattails surrounding the ponds are full of Yellow-Headed Blackbirds. On the…
Last night while washing dishes, I saw a momma sparrow and two fledglings on my finch feeder. The mom was pulling out seeds and feeding the young ones, who perched on the shepherds crook shown below. When finches or unrelated sparrows came by, the mom knocked them away. This morning, the two fledglings perched on…
Over the last few weeks, a blue jay is feeding on my tall sunflowers. After last night’s deep freeze, the heads of the flowers bend over so much that the jay is having trouble getting at the seeds. I watch as he flits to the ground, jumps/flies up 8 feet, hits the downward-facing sunflower heads…
I decided not to camp over the Labor Day Holiday. This is a peak time to pickle and start fall garden chores, so I labored my way through the day. Next weekend (Mon-Tues) I will be out again with Half Moon for another adventure. I am trying to make my back yard a fall/winter bird…