Better Bunting

Another Indigo Bunting today and finally had some sun shining so these pics a little better and very close to the house...

Wood Thrush (or some type of Thrush and a Brown Thrasher

This may be a Wood Thrush or some other type of Thrush.

 

 

This a photo from 2013 I took that looked like what I saw above...

 

 

Then a day or two later I saw this bird and to me the tail was longer and it seemed bigger and I have my first Brown Thrasher in nine years here.

 

The case for dandelions (it's not about bees)

We don't treat our yard for dandelions.  We would rather not expose our dog to chemicals and I've learned that dandelions are important early in the year for honey bees.  And over the years, I've noticed that finches and Chipping Sparrows like to eat the tops off the ones that have gone to seed.

This year has been no different and we've had the addition of American Goldfinch in my back yard...

 

 

 

The excitement this past week though was having Indigo Buntings in my backyard eating the seeds while sharing space with our state bird the American Goldfinch.  Below is a snippet from my blog listing photos I wanted to take and you'll see Indigo Buntings closer was a goal.  The pictures aren't the best but I didn't have to leave my house so I consider myself lucky.  I've even included a short video clip:

 

 

Two for the price of one...

 

And a video clip just because...

 

 

 

 

The one that got away

I was looking out our back window last evening and saw a flash and realized it was a Red-tailed Hawk.  I grabbed my camera to see what was going on and realized it was after this fox squirrel.

It flew to different trees several times coming back to this one.  The squirrel managed to survive and I saw the hawk fly off in search of something it could catch.

I thought to myself the outcome may have been different if it were a Cooper's Hawk.  They are much more nimble in the woods and brush.

I find it interesting that these two hawks species hunt the same area.  When I was taking Ky for her walk later, I saw the hawk flying trying to get a meal before the sun went down.

Say hello to Kyanne!

We are excited to announce the newest member of our family - Kyanne!  We call her Ky.  She's a two-year-old Standard Poodle who was rehomed.  She is very smart (doesn't miss a thing) and is very spirited.  She has her own Instagram account - @yippykyanne.

She went on our first walk this morning and did very well.



A little straigtening up around St. Francis

I finally took the five minutes needed to straighten up this area under my tree in the backyard.  The St. Francis statue came from Pella and has been under the tree for a  few years.  I've added three rocks and a brick from my childhood home (which was also my dad's childhood home).  Two of the rocks were brought to the yard by my grandfather from what I was told.  He would bring them back from his travels through Illinois and Michigan.  The smaller rock in front we called the "rose rock" due to its shape and look.

Before

 

 

After

 

"Well", time to get back to posting

It seems this time of year is when I find the most frogs and toads in my deep window well.  And the heavy rains haven't helped.  Toads have to hop and drop basically while some of the frogs I'm finding jump feet at a time and it must be quite a shock to drop that far.  But they all seem to survive.

First up, two different Northern leopard frogs were down there at the same time.  Could be a couple?

 

 

And a few days later, I saw this toad...possibly the biggest I have found in my yard.  It didn't look happy but they never do...