The beautiful state of ND is still brown, yet I love wandering and exploring in the early spring. Migrating birds overhead and the return of resident ducks in the ponds and lakes draw me out into the sunshine. Sandhill Crane, Duck and Snow Goose migration continues overhead. In the water I observed endless species…
All winter I have been waiting for the dirt into Long Lake NWR to clear. It was worth the wait. I drove in and immediately came upon a small marshy area with two types of Seagulls: Herring and Ring-Billed. Again, I am amazed how big the migrating flocks are. When birds settle in to…
Before church on Sunday, a parishioner ran in and asked me, “Did you see the flock of robins in your yard?”Yes, I had. The day before, sometime between lunch and dinnertime, about a dozen robins arrived in my front yard. The berries on the tree that fed the Cedar Waxwings all winter was the lure.…
Well, I have to finish my story about the first camping trip before I can share all the wonderful birding adventures I have had since then. This place is unreal, and the bird peak is not really here. But first, a week ago, on my second night camping, I experienced 25-degree temps. I have a…
The carpet guy will finish the 3 bedrooms today. Tonight I will be in my bedroom. Living room next week, and perhaps all the floor planking (which is not in yet) next week. At the feeders this morning I found a Northern Flicker (no photo, though), a large group of House Sparrows (finch-like) and the…
Wednesday my sabbatical is over, and this past week I have been scurrying to finish my sabbatical projects on time. I finished the cookbook this afternoon and gave it to a couple of folks to preview. It is a church project– treasured recipes that started with the German settlers here one hundred + years ago. Antelope…
One reason I came home for the last week of my sabbatical was to have steady Internet access while I finish up projects. Funny thing: our local Internet has been awful-up and down or slow. Twice this week I went to the local coffee shop to use their Internet. Despite the minor inconvenience, I am…
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…
Blue-Footed Boobies Have Stopped Breeding—But Why? By John R. Platt | April 23, 2014 | Scientific American One of the most delightful bird species of the Galápagos has almost completely stopped breeding there. According to a new study published this week in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology, blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) have seen a population drop of more than 50 percent…
I stayed in bed about an hour this morning listening to the birds. They reminded me of a loud meeting. In the background I heard the constant song/chatter of the sparrow. The yellow-eyed Brewers Blackbird offered his one note, a sweet threeeeee. A Crow pitched in now and then with his grumpy caaaww. The Doves…