Second week of May already seems like this year is on a steamer headed for 2020! Yeah lets not forget that magical number headed our way. Dates such as that boggle my mind since I'm always reading headstones with birthdates like 1797 or 1840 shows us how very short our life span really is. Hopefully we will all make it well into the the 2020's. My mom was born in 1924! She is so very close to that century mark.
Mom with a rhodie she planted many years ago...Happy Mother's Day!
Most of my time these days is spent in a couple of areas of life, family, doing yard work, chores etc, and birding between my trips to town for supplies! My walks in nature are always special to me...so lets jump right in!
I spy with my little eye something that looks so amazing!!
Polyphumes Moth the "Clyclopes Moth" a Giant Silk Moth!
The vernal Pool hangs on...
A shed Snake Skin, at least 4 ft in length the entire skin was there!
in the same area where the young Eagles have fledged and only one was around the day we visited...it made me sad he looked so lonely..
Like he was saying "where has my family gone..." sigh must be hard being a bird sometimes...
Down under a nearby bridge chaos of another family was going on as the barn swallows put on a flight show for me....
This is a cellphone shot of the nest of a chipping sparrow...it's in a bush right by mom's front porch we can lean over and see down into it...see the brown dots on the eggs?
and another cellphone shot of the eggs in the bluebird nest gourd...I know you may not be able to see since this is phone has small pixel, but the eggs look as if they have been speckled with tiny brown specks...
What a miraculous job they did building this nest so much work and thought and planning went into it!
We have many birds nesting here but these are the only ones I've found the nest of...watched the Carolina Wrens as they guided they first brood of fledglings out into the world..
Ive been birding in my 5 mile radius this is one of my favorite wetlands...the roadside one where there is no place to stand have to jump the rail each time a car flies by ....but it's so pretty there!
I called it the Mt Zion wetland...after the road I saw some neat birds there like the Great Crested Flycatcher Male...
This shot captures the beautiful feather detail of this beautiful bird!
the Yellow Breasted Chats continue to provide me with such a show!! Look at his throat as he makes some of his weird sounds...
Could watch for hours!
MY latest finds I didn't get good photos of...in case you are wondering why Im not just jumping into that I did get a shot of the elusive Gray Catbird this week...saw him last week...
And had a loggerheaded shrike out in the open as they normally are, the butcher bird as they are sometimes called due to they like to impale their prey on sharp objects..
Most of the fields around are in amazing color right now with the Ragwort in bloom...
SO my new sightings for the radius this week as I said I got very few photos of them..mainly because of heavy cover, and the birds are so busy finding mates, nest building, it's just a busy time of year for them..
the Mississippi Kite (#102)
had a pair one landed pretty far away...
A Black Throated Blue Warbler, (103)
I know terrible! But you take what you can get he was in and out so fast maybe on my next visit...
same thing with the American Redstart..(104)
Anyway for the record shot... and then a couple I didn't even get a shot of the Swainson's Warbler (105)...and the Yellow Throated Vireo,(106) along with the heard only Eastern Wood Peewee. (107) I did get him on tape with a red eyed vireo over singing him..lol
I found an area where many of the red headed woodies are nesting...
So my count stands at 107 in my 5 mile!! I made this my big day...it was Monday, and in my radius I had 61 species for the day!
My Big Day List Here
My Big Day List Here
my little buddy following me around..
Enjoy your week!
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Hello, I like your birding companion. 61 species sounds great to me. I would love to see the Mississippi Kite. Love the Redheaded Woodie. The moth is a great find, very pretty. Great sightings and photos. Happy birding, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen! I always enjoy your bird sightings too!
DeleteIt is good to see your mom doing so well. I have good friends who were born in 1926 and 1929 respectively and still live in their own home. They are a remarkable couple indeed. In Panama recently we were fortunate to see many Mississippi Kites migrating north. It is a very attractive bird. Years ago I visited friends in Kansas, and went with them to a baseball game to watch their granddaughter play. I think I was the only person who barely saw any of the game - I was too busy watching the Mississippi Kites hawking for insects overhead!
ReplyDeleteThe Mississippi's were a treat, and outside my radius was a field freshly plowed, and I saw 8 kits hunting like a kettle? Is that what a group of kites is called? LoL...I know what you mean about the ball game-when Im dining al fresco Im birding!
DeleteReally like the picture of your mom infront of that gorgeous Rodie. The butterfly is real gem. Wonderful nest pictures the color of the eggs is so pretty. So many great finds so far. My favorite is the Redheaded Woodie what a beauty. And last but not least was Casey.
ReplyDeleteOOPs moth
DeleteI should have also added that moth is about 4 inches across! HUGE and those eye spots are so vibrant in color!
DeleteYour Mum always looks so happy :)
ReplyDeleteThe Moth is gorgeous, they're just as beautiful as Butterflies I think but often get overlooked! Your count is doing great, so many lovely birds and good news with all the eggs. We already have fledglings here!
Mom always has a great smile! How do you like her hair cut? I am now her official beautician we decided not to do the shops anymore because keeping out of heavily populated public spaces..it is part of our plan to keep her healthy, we do take her out at least once a week to places not crowded with people. We have 2 blue birds out of the eggs now and sadly the chipping sparrow eggs disappeared, probably rat snake!
DeleteShe looks good and it sounds like a good plan for her and looks like it's working well :) Oh what a shame about the eggs, we had a broken egg on our lawn the other day, no doubt stolen and dropped by one of the Magpies
DeleteThat was an incredible birding day! I’m so impressed ... how far away do you have to park for that Zion roadside view? There’s one road here where I always see birds in the water and fields, but there’s no place to park. Back at your house, that bird nest is wonderful! You are so lucky. I could see the speckles in the first picture really well. Your Mom looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteThere is a spot wide enough for me to pull over just 50 ft up the rd..so that's where I park, but there is no view of the wetland there it's open where the little stream moves through. It is so pretty there and the birding is good...just it has become a busy road.
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