Spring Yard

We have been busy enjoying the mild weather. We know it won't last for long and the heat of summer will be upon us.

I had mentioned that our yard was certified by the NWF as a habitat yard. We are forever discovering new ways to encourage wildlife. We made a mud pond, for toads and for mud collecting birds and received an immediate reward. Within hours we noticed an American Robin--a new bird to our yard--picking up mouthfuls of mud and carrying it to the small spot in a tree. With the binoculars we could see it was making a nest. This bird kept this up for 5 hours..swooping down..getting a mouthful...back to the same spot in the tree. The kids were so excited that not only did we invite another type of bird, this bird has decided to make our yard it's home. What a great feeling!

The kids (and I) have learned so much about birds and mating behavior and habitats, not to mention the toads, snakes, squirrels, bunnies, deer. So much more than we would have learned staring at a textbook all day.

We have studied different types of bird seed combinations in an effort to attract specific birds. We are very pleased with the result. We have an average of three different types of birds a week, that take up residence in our yard and frequent our feeders.

We have so far identified the following:

WoodPeckers:

Pileated Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Red Bellied Woodpecker---The male is HUGE

Downy Woodpecker

Ladder Backer Woodpecker

Chickadees and Titmice:

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse --Very messy eater.

Wren's:

Carolina Wren

House Wren

Migrant Warblers:

Pine Warbler

Grosebeaks and Buntings:

Male and Female Cardinal- The male is huge, he sits on the bird feeder and loudly calls with his chest puffed out. The female and male are often seen together at the feeder taking seeds out of each other's mouth. It appears they are kissing.

Finches:

American Goldfinches

House Finch

Purple Finch

A White Breasted Nutchatch showed up today.

Our goal is to see some Orioles and Blue Birds. We would also love to see a Belted Kingsfisher and some Swallows. We are planning to hang some dried gourd homes to attract the Swallows.

       

Red Bellied Woodpecker