Fact or Fantasy

Fact: Rant off the bat:
I found yet another dead beaver! That's the 3rd in the past 6 months...and all on the same  road, but a few miles apart.  So upsetting to me.  When I read about how important they are to the creation of forest, I just can't believe people don't recognize that importance!  They are natural forest builders...part of a system as old as time!  So remember Beavers are GOOD! People who exterminate them are BAD! SO its the Dept of Agriculture that is killing our beaver! I found a notice attached to a tree It basically said they set traps and those traps and ANY animal in the trap is the property of the Dept of AG,..oh I beg to differ!  I better not find one in a trap...

    I took this in MN back in 2016, and I picked up some of those wood chips "beaver chewed wood"

Fact: Simple Solutions:
Well it's the beginning of another week...my son JT and I got Mom's front yard all ready for spring... we removed as many leaves as we could and yet there is still plenty left behind.  Our soil is so sandy and acidic. We have all the deciding factors to make soil acidic...high organic decay, (leaf matter) leeching due to high rainfall amounts, acidic parent matter, like pine needles...and in the past planting/harvesting of high yielding cotton!  So I sprinkle my fireplace ash on the yard it helps to balance the ph of the soil. 

Fantasy: Will the Groundhog see his shadow or not. It's barely been winter up to now. Whether Phil sees his shadow or not, I predict an early end to winter!  Soon we will have 2 seasons, HOT and HOTTER...Heavy snowfall does not mean the planet is not warming, to the contrary it means the opposite,  a warmer planet means more moisture! Ah-ha!  Of course if you're a climate change denier, you will argue that point and that will just  make my brain hurt more...HUH? This white-tailed deer was right outside my window this morning...she def had no shadow but if she came by an hour later she would have and then an hour after that she would not...ping/pong/Punxsutawney Phil.

I've been going bonkers over sparrows lately...Like this really red Fox Sparrow.

And a very red Song Sparrow




And a cute little Field Sparrow...dig that eye ring!



And a White-Throated Sparrow up high...dig that yellow!

In order for color to exist we need Sunlight! 

And I got a new bird in my 5 mile radius today, the Radius Challenge ended on Dec 31st, Today it was #125 The House Wren!  I wasn't fully able to conclude the last two months of the challenge Nov and Dec was like a foggy dream to me...However I want to continue to keep track of my 5 mile patch. Of all the  participants 20 really happy people had 200+ birds in their 5 mile! A Texas Birder had 271----> WOW!

 It would be fantastic if we could have this blue sky every minute of every day! As the Planet warms up moisture builds so we will see less blue cloudless skies! Eventually I imagine we will have blankets of clouds layered thickly between us and the Blue of the Blue Planet...I can imagine some sort of craft that takes humans up to see this magnificent Blue Sky that once was visible but is no longer. I can also imagine each year this craft will have to go higher and higher until it becomes obsolete because there is no more blue...Our planet will become a moss and mushroom covered dreary damp place.  Heavy moisture will give humans lung disease.  Every day will be a bad hair day.  We will no longer be living in wooden homes, those will decay and fall down!  It will have to be stone or some type of synthetic stone. We may develop gills think "Water World."  Some will think a Rainbow was only a myth.

All sorts of Super Viral Bugs will kill millions as they flourish in a damp humid environment. The trees will fail as many are not well suited for that type moisture.  Shallow roots will give way when even a gently breeze comes along. Trees need lots of sunlight to make food and to go through the seasonal changes. Fruit trees, and crops will fail.  Heavy wet winter snow will break and damage trees, roofs, roads, and the ground. Earth slides will become a daily  danger.  Eventually it becomes too warm for winter to exist, Jungle Rains will bring erosion and  will leech and change growing fields into muddy wastelands! Not a very good place to live...wow I think I could write a fiction novel about the Earth before and after..or will it be fantasy?

Cherished souvenir: beaver chewed wood from MN.

Monday it rained part the day...Tuesday it rained overnight...Friday a complete rain out.  How's your weather?  We currently are reaping what we have sown. Cause and Effect.


Fact: The US Senate and the Potus should realize...Karma is the Ultimate Judge in our Universe! ;o)

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

A Cold for Christmas

I caught a Christmas Cold.  So that gave me time to get a blog off early and this will give me time for one more post to finish out the year! Happy Winter Season to you All!

Back to the cold...it's the first one I recall having in many a year, just hope I can overcome it quickly.  I thought something was wrong when I went to bed at 9:15 night before last...I felt so tired and exhausted.  Yesterday another deluge 4 inches of rain it came down all day long.  Today is sunny but I  feel cloudy. :o(

I went out one day this week toured around my 5 mile.  I have not been participating much lately.  I have no hopes of adding a new species to the list.  However I was happy to add River Otters to my hotspot, Goodale Park, 

 

One with his tail up and the other just barely has his head out of the water...they are full grown adults by the look of them.  I was thrilled to find this!  I can't wait to tell the park staff next time I see them.  There was trimming of trees on one section of the lakeshore, it has thrown some birds off their normal hangouts so it may take a while for them to find new perches.

 

Yellow Rumped Warbler

the cut reveals another patch of pitcher plants 

I had a couple of surprises, not new but the Fox Sparrow was there 

He was pretty bashful and not showing his face...this guy showed his face  had some pine needles in the way, the Blue Headed Vireo.  

And if not for Ruby Crowned Kinglets this time of year would be quite boring...

Did not show his Ruby Crown!  I drove over to my favorite AG fields and checked those out...had 100's of Brown Headed Cowbird joined by some Red-Winged Blackbird.  

There were other trees full also...

Lots of sparrow present, the Field, the Chipping, the Dark Eyed Junco, the Eastern Towhee, White Throated, and Song were all accounted for.  

The coloration of Song Sparrow here locally vary, some are dark and more chocolate brown while these red ones with warm grey tones can fool you into thinking they are something else.

An alert Eastern Phoebe holds on and looks over his shoulder at me...

Midweek we were shooting a cemetery in Fairfield County and it was about another 10 miles to the Lake Wateree State Park not in my radius...but it was fun to see lots of Ring Billed and Bonaparte's Gull around.  

There's a pedestrian bridge that is fun to walk over...Allowed me to get close to this colorful female Northern Cardinal 

Hope your Holiday  is festive, can you imagine trying to remember it's 2020?

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My Mom Memory for this Christmas day: Mom we cherish our memories of all those delicious Magik Cookies!

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great  Backyard Bird Count was this past weekend.  Birding for me was tough! We had a very gusty system come through, and it just made it hard to locate birds.  Most of the birds were hiding out of the wind.  As for my yard, the regulars showed up I got 15 species.  So I sent in that count.  I wish the Backyard count had been on Wednesday I had a better day of birding then..and I had a Fox Sparrow in the yard.  I watched him through the window for a while before trying for a better shot. This was taken through the glass...but he was gone when I got outside. 

I hit 2 locations on Friday but came away almost empty handed...Like I said, It was better on Wednesday.  I had some cemetery looking to do up in Marlboro county so I stopped at Lake Paul Wallace.  

Last time I was here it started to rain this time it was threatening...but just remained cloudy.

The walking trail is 1.3 miles one way and splits the lake into 2 sides...the ring billed gulls hung out about half way...

                             check the guy in the center..wa wa

Tons of Ruddy Duck were around,  hanging out in small groups of  10 to 15,  

I made a count of about 50 altogether.  They're getting into breeding plumage.   I spotted one female Bufflehead in the group. 

..and a couple of fish crows watched from the light post...

This heron was funny he waited while I got close to him he didn't move a muscle..so I gave him as wide a berth as I could, as you see the walking tail is not very wide.  He watched me as I went around behind him and once I actually got past him he started honking and screeching and make a huge leap and took off in a tiff!

             

      

Lots of Double Crested Cormorants hung out in the dead trees in the water...

Then on the stumps to dry off...

Up near the edge I saw a merganser fishing with a couple of the gulls..only she was doing all the work...I think they had a plan to steal something from her but they never got a chance she was so fast. 

She finally swam out a bit away from the edge and I took this shot of her before she swam out of range...

red breasted merganser 

That bit of white on the upper beak is a reflection... I haven't seen one of these in a long time so I was happy to watch this lady...Sure wish one of the gorgeous males would have been around.  I ran out of time I had intended to drive to the other side of the lake and see what was happening there, but is it just me or is a day way shorter than it used to be? 

Friday I had some good counts but no good photos...except this pair of Mallard...I felt his emerald green head was just beyond awesome!

This was at Sandhills NWR...many sparrows were around, but it was almost impossible to pull them out of the deep cover where they clung to branches to keep from being blown away! 

Savannah sparrow in deep cover

Saturday I was exhausted and stayed home to catch up on household chores..and then Sunday...showed such promise in the morning it was sunny and blue sky,,,so I made an impromptu decision to drive about 2 hours south to Dorchester County I had seen 2 reports of birds I need to see! Again I chased the long tailed duck and dipped and I dipped on the LeConte's Sparrow too! Before I even crossed the county line, the clouds came in the mist developed and the weather quickly deteriorated.  But I was committed so I carried on.  Trying to see through fogged lenses is no fun. 

I came away with very little to show for my time, but I still enjoyed myself. Quite a few floaters there... I came away with 11 species at this lake, Ruddy duck, Hooded merganser, Ring-necked duck, Greater scaup, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Red Winged Blackbird, Double Crested Cormorant, and American Robin to name a few.  

ring-necked duck

red-winged blackbirds

This pond is part of an estate that is for sale, so of course restricted access...(I found out this morning that a male and a female were spotted at 3:50 pm that was exactly 45 minutes after I left I rechecked the pond at 3:06 before heading back home...*SIGH* Maybe I'll try again....I'm rather frustrated at t his point)

Next I hit a new not yet fully open Audubon  Sanctuary and it had restricted access too.  I had to stay on the Sanctuary road and was not able to explore the habitat.  They had a sparrow workshop there the day before I should have gone... but had to be there at 8:30 am meaning I had to leave home at 6:00 am and I just wasn't feeling in on Saturday.  Wish now I had that's when they saw the 2 LeConte's Sparrow .  I heard one, they have a very distinct call so I listened to it to get familiar with it.  I wonder if they played the call on the sparrow walk?  Since it's a new bird for me, I only count sightings, once I've seen it then I count a heard only.  The drizzle continued and I ended up in the van for a while waiting it out.

red bellied woodpecker

Came away with very few photos...but ended up with 30 species here...mostly woodland birds...

Saw 4 red-headed woodpeckers, got this one yukky shot, up in the white sky.  Remember when I used to see so many  in my own neck of the woods, not so much anymore...I think it's the pine tree farming, the old dead trees were pushed down and that whole area, about 40 acres planted with yellow pine.  So no snags no red heads!

red headed woodpecker

All in all I had a good count 48 species with 688 individuals on 6 checklists.  for my weekend GBBC!  

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

New Patch!

Congratulations to the Winner of the ABA Big Year  Yve Morrell, who I have been following and for whom I have much admiration, finished with 814+4 Provisionals...just barely eking out the win. Check up on her by clicking  the Dancing Birder on the right sidebar.  Don't forget that many excellent birders are not into ebird, and they seek no fame for their skill, there are many birders out there who prefer to remain anonymous.   I have very little skill but I do it for sheer fun of being out in nature!! 

So here is something I'm doing....I have been planning to check this spot for a while now and finally I did.  It's a Wildlife Management Area. It's about 12 miles from my home.  It's maintained for hunting by the DNR (Dept of Natural Resources).  But you know what I think, hunting is not as prevalent in my area as it once was...thanks to the ATV craze! (silver lining?) I think it's gotta be hard to sneak up on any game riding one of those things, and again "techie" outdoors-men have changed the face of the game, just like in birding.  With the decline of quail and dove in our area, Wild Turkey has become the target game bird.  Waterfowl hunting seems to still be holding strong...but let's just give it some time...this place is signed NO ATV'S.  So it's walk in....and that is awesome.  It's 300 acres and it's open grass, shrubs, and forest.  I haven't walked the whole thing yet.  But I'm covering it in sections.  I already know where the Quail hang out.  AND....Seven species of sparrow so far!  They have great scrub cover. 

It was not listed on ebird, so I assume I'm the first person to bird there.  So far I've made 2 visits and logged 25 species.  As the season changes I hope to tally many more species.   

And now that I've put it on ebird more birders will come.  That excites me because I've asked for it to be designated as a hotspot.  I saw lots of deer tracks.  There is too much pine and not enough oak for Turkey.  Maybe I can drop a few acorns around next time I go I have plenty of acorns ...I'd love to see them plant some sunflower for the birds.  The DNR normally just plant corn, since they are baiting the game birds, in this case Turkey...so...Heck maybe I can drop some sunflower too. There is no water on the tract, but some nearby...and some low spots where rain water is slow to dry.  There is a lot of Wild Plum, and birds do love that...some Sumac, but I'd like to see more and I saw no thistle.  I did see American Goldfinch so I'm assuming there is something in this grass they want. 

                                                                      Savannah Sparrow

They do prescribed burns...so I will have to learn when they do that.  And I hope it's not smack in the middle of nesting...but it's very possible....Im not sure they take that into consideration when they plan a burn. 

                                                                         Song Sparrow

                                                   windblown Chipping Sparrow

                                                                          

White Throated Sparrow

my photos pretty much suck but this is what I got...

Fox Sparrow

That one is almost obscured, but I thought it was when I saw it a Fox and I still do...they are not as many of these around as what I used to see....also another bad photo.  They have plenty of cover here and that's why they're here!  This one I was happy to see...saw 3 on day one and 8 on day 2 they stayed together in a fairly tight flock. 

Field Sparrow  

Had 2 swamp sparrows on day one but none day 2 there is a small wetland about 1/10th a mile away so they probably were on their way over there...as the bird flies it's probably just past the tree border, but as far as I can tell the wetland is on private land. 

As far as Raptors go I saw Red Shouldered Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Turkey Vulture, so far.  Along with Northern Flicker, and Red Bellied Woodpecker.  I feel I can find at least 4 and maybe 5 more Woodpecker species here in time.  Had Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Brown Headed Nuthatch also. 

                          Red Bellied Woodpecker with a Brown Headed Nuthatch up top

On my first visit I flushed about 10 Northern Bobwhite Quail and today I flushed up 5 more.  There was mourning dove also.  So I'ts a good bet they will nest there.   If I can get over there at least once a week I expect to find a lot more going on!  I hope for more sparrows, and soon more than just yellow rumped warblers!  

                              So I've got a brand new Patch to wander around in...

                                                              
                                                         PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.