Baltimore Orioles

Male Baltimore Oriole

Who doesn't love Baltimore Orioles! Our air ways become so much brighter when they arrive for the summer season.

They absolutely love the grape jelly that Drew puts out for them.

Check out the Oriole's tongue! It has a brush on the tip to allow it to scoop up the jelly! You can learn more about bird tongues in this article! Cool!

Happy Mother's Day to my mother and to Mama Nature!

I dedicate this post to my Mom, who gave me the gift of life and the love of nature. I must say that it is quite the bird day today, and I think the birds are all celebrating Mother's Day along with me! 

Drew alerted me to a bird that was the size of a robin, yet wasn't a robin! I was fortunate to be able to grab the camera and shoot some very shaky video of this male singing his heart out to attract his mate! Do you know that this bird is? I had to do a good bit of looking in my Sibley Guide to Birds find that it is an Eastern Towhee! Yay! One more bird for my life list (well, at least the list that exists in my head as I don't actually keep one on paper;-) Listen to its call that sounds like "Drink your tea." (One of my brilliant students informed me of the Towhee's call even before I started the video;-)

Also in the video are ruby throated hummingbirds (male and female), Baltimore Orioles (male and female), a female goldfinch, a hairy woodpecker, a grackle, and a female yellow-rumped warbler.

Hey, Mom...I hope you are spotting lots of birds at your birdbath today!

Happy Mom's Day!

Love, Laurie

Baltimore Orioles have arrived

No photo today, but Drew did say that they were supping from the hummingbird feeder and ignored the jelly feeder;-)

Freeze Warning

And, this is why I don't even think of planting outdoors until June 1st! (along with all the wet ground from the spring rains...;-) I know that the newly arrived hummingbirds will be fluffing up their feathers tonight!

Hummingbirds have arrived

No photos, but Drew saw a ruby throated hummingbird at the feeder this afternoon.

Snapping Turtle "Big Mama" in our yard

Well... we had an unexpected visitor today. This female snapper, we'll call her "Big Mama", was assisted by a passerby as she attempted to cross the road to our yard. The earliest we've ever had a snapper nest in our yard was June 1st, followed by June 6th, June 12, June 16th. Granted this grand dame did not lay eggs today, although I expect she'll be back soon as this was her sole purpose for risking her life to cross our busy roadway. I think she was a bit "shell-shocked" at being carried across the road! 

She looks like she must be quite old, and a neighbor said that he'd seen her nesting in his yard before. Her shell is so incredibly worn with cracks and damaged with indents here and there. And, she is one big, heavy old gal!

Her tail has bony plates like those of her predecessors of 60-100 million years ago! Although, it is difficult to see here as her tail is curled under her shell.

This lady, like all snappers, has formidable claws and you must be cautious when around them, especially if you try to carry them across a street.

Always wear heavy, gauntlet style gloves and carry them by the back edge of their shell. Check out those bony plates on her skin!

Snapping turtles have strong jaws and can bite hard if provoked on land. Don't be fooled, her neck is very long! In the water, they tend to swim away to safety.

We were disturbed to see that this turtle seemed to have an old hook embedded into her head. It must have been there for a long time. It must be so dangerous for turtles, and other aquatic animals, in ponds like ours where fishing is so popular. There are lures, hooks, and line everywhere!

Once she was well rested, she turned around and headed back across the street to the pond. She'll be back to deposit her eggs into a soft, sandy spot, probably on a rainy day.

Bird Feeding and Nesting Station

Well, we've certainly got enough stuff for everybody! There is suet for the woodpeckers and other insect eating birds, sunflower seeds and mixed bird seed for a variety of birds, hummingbird "Go Juice", jelly for the Baltimore Orioles and Catbirds, a bird bath for drinking and bathing, and nesting material!

Caesar Pond

I love the pond in all seasons, and even though there is a starkness to the leafless trees, there are now bits of color showing.

The deciduous trees are flowering, but no leaves as of yet;-) 

I found a huge painted turtle catching some rays! I am assuming it is a female based on the size of the shell. She was the only turtle I saw on my outing.

The state of the beaver lodge on the western shore gave me a shock. It looks to be abandoned, and I think this is due to all the traps that were around it over the winter. All the beavers must have been killed. But, that doesn't mean it won't be inhabited again. This lodge has a long history of use, neglect, and use again.

The beaver lodge in the north, boggy area is thriving. It is such a contrast to the one on the western shore. Check out all the fresh mud and branches that have built it up!

I was able to get back in to the outflow of the pond and saw a new breach in the dam that holds the water in.

Here is a close-up view. Me thinks that the beavers have a bit of patch-up work to do to hold the water of the pond in place;-)

You can tell if the air quality of an area is good if there is a lot of lichen on trees. Check out this maple with its lichen covered trunk!

Much of the lichen on these two trees is called Greenshield Lichen.

Gray Squirrels are nesting!

I just saw a gray squirrel gathering leaves and running up a big maple tree. I couldn't track him as to where the leaves were deposited, but it was way up. He may have crossed over to a nearby tree. I'll try to keep track over the next few days to see if I can find the nest. There are so many interlocking branches that a clear view is impossible to get.

Eastern Palm Warbler

Yahoooo! I have a new bird added to my life list (which isn't very long;-) This is an Eastern Palm Warbler. These wood-warblers feed on insects and nest in spruce bogs. Several males were flitting around at the edge of the pond as well as hopping around on the forest floor looking for insects.

This male has a ways to go before his mating plumage is filled in. He will get rufous striping on his breast, and his crown will become completely rufous colored to "WOW" the ladies!