 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The day to day
observations of the birds, animals and plants in the Little Tchefuncte Backyard
Wildlife Habitat.
March 31, 2007 Spring February 12, 2007 Suet & Native Trees October 1, 2006 White Tailed Deer, Kingfisher and Plant Rescue September 20, 2006 The Destruction Continues, but the FNPS brings hope September 13, 2006 Ruby Throat Hummingbird Migration, Kingfisher and Habitat Destruction June 20, 2006 |
May
24, 2007
Peace
& Quiet Resumes
Our habitat is quiet again. The
heavy equipment is gone and many of the animals have returned. A Red
fox was caught on the Wildlife cam as he visited the log feeder in the
clearing near the river one night. The wildlife cam also captured photos
of 3 different sets of baby wood ducks that we think were raised in our 3
wood duck houses. The deer
finally return after the devastation and are using our property as a safe
haven. Five young Eastern Bluebirds fledged in early May and the parents
begin building a new nest in mid May. By May 22 they have laid 4 beautiful
blue eggs in the cypress box on the south end of the pond. At least 3 pairs
of Great Crested flycatchers begin nesting in the area. One pair may be using
the owl / kestrel house in the vegetable garden. The Carolina wrens and the
flycatchers are keeping the vegetable garden almost insect free. The Carolina
wren pair built a 2nd nest on the potting bench shelf and fledged
4 more young. A pair of Prothonotary
Warblers began building a nest in Evelyn Cooper’s bluebird house that
hosted a family of Carolina
Chickadees earlier in the season.
April
20, 2007
Katrina
Debris Removal Continues
For the past 3 weeks, since April 4th, we
have been enduring another Katrina debris removal project on the Tchefuncte
River. We have been cooperative by letting the sub-contractor use our little
road through the woods, but we have still lost some healthy native trees and
shrubs as well as some things that we planted. The Tchefuncte is protected
under the Louisiana Scenic Rivers Act as well as a Federal Clean Rivers Act,
but the parish council has renewed an emergency order each month since it
was enacted soon after Hurricane Katrina.
The NRCS representatives assure us that the project is completed on our property and will soon be completed on the rest of the Tchefuncte River. What concerns us is that all of this noise, disturbance of the vegetation and felling of dead trees during the spring nesting season will have an adverse effect on the wildlife which was already decimated by Katrina. The Prothonotary Warblers, whose numbers have been decreasing due to habitat loss, are beginning to nest in hollow trees and nest boxes all along the river. The 6 different species of woodpeckers that nest on our property have already hollowed out their nesting cavities and are raising young. We know that some damage must be done when heavy equipment is used, but the timing of this project is terrible. Why couldn't this have been done during the late winter?
Near the end of April, it all comes to a head. We find out that the contractor in charge of all of the crews wants to destroy our land like he did the neighbors, so we go into action and call the NRCS. The damage is revealed and a cease & desist order is given for the whole project, but first for our property. Penalties & criminal charges are being discussed. Click here to see photos of some of the damage that the riparian areas of the Tchefuncte River sustained.
Mean while in the habitat, Carolina chickadees fledge about 19 young in 5 successful nests. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds raised 5 young. A pair of Carolina Wrens fledges 4 young from the nest they built in the large flower pot near the front door. The male wren is very distinctive because of his white tail and wing feathers. One pair of Prothonotary warblers build a nest in a box near the river and lay 5 eggs.
March 31, 2007The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds returned to their breeding grounds here in Southeastern Louisiana much later than normal. The returnees that have been caught are birds that are only 1 year old. No birds that bred in previous years have been caught yet. Carolina Chickadees are building nests in 5 of the nest boxes on our trail. Flying squirrels are using 3 others. Carolina Wrens hatched in the nest in flower pot by front door.
We discovered 2 mature Wild
Olive (Osmanthus americana) trees by the river. Many native plants are
in full bloom such as Silverbell,
Parsley Hawthorne,
Mississippi
Wake-robinTrillium, Honeysuckle
Azalea, etc. A seasonal list of St. Tammany’s blooming native plants can
be viewed on the FNPS website.
As representatives of the Folsom Native Plant Society, we donated and planted
2 trees, a Live Oak (Quercus viriginiana) and a Red Mulberry (Morus rubra),
in the school yard at Folsom Elementary. We also gave a “Gardening to Attract
Wildlife” presentation and helped man the FNPS (Folsom Native Plant Society)
booth at the 2 day St. Tammany Master Gardener’s Plant Show. Our club has
been invited back next year.
February
12, 2007
Suet & Native Trees
Our homemade suet is a hit
with a variety of birds including Ruby-crowned kinglets, Orange-crowned warblers,
Pine warblers, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees and Carolina Wrens. The
recipe is simple. Just mix equal parts of the wet ingredients (animal fat
(lard) & chunky peanut butter) with the same amount of dry ingredients
(oatmeal, cornmeal and flour). For example: mix 2 cups of the wet with 2
cups of the dry mixture. I press it into a pan lined with wax paper &
put it in the freezer to harden. Then I cut it into squares that will fit
into the wire feeders. I keep the extra squares in a zip lock bag in the
freezer.
We recently purchased some native
Mayhaw (crataegus aestivalis) and Crabapple (Malus spp.) seedlings from the
LA
Forestry Department . Most of the seedlings were quite large this year
and we were able to plant many of them out in the ground on our 9 acres.
The others were planted in pots until next fall so they can grow a little.
Both small trees have beautiful spring flowers and edible fruit that makes
excellent jelly and that is also food for a variety of birds and mammals.
Back
to TOC
January
14, 2007
Black-chinned Hummingbird Recapture
Back
to TOC
Flooding & Christmas Bird Count
|
1 Red-shouldered Hawk |
17
Northern Cardinal 160 Red-winged Blackbird 10 Common Grackle 14 American Goldfinch 1 Golden Crowned Kinglet 2 Orange Crowned Warblers 1 Belted Kingfisher 4 Black Vultures 9 Wood ducks 2 Eastern Woods Phoebe 2 Yellow bellied sapsucker 4 Yellow-rumped warbler 2 Blue-Gray gnatcatcher 1 Hermit Thrush 3 Tree Swallow 1 Eastern Bluebird 1 American Woodcock 1 Great Blue Heron |
October
28, 2006
Otter, Deer & Another Foundling, Oh My!
The month of October has been a busy one for the wildlife of our habitat as
they prepare for winter. In the middle of the month on one of our daily
morning walks to the river we were rewarded by a most beautiful sight, the
graceful movements of a river
otter as it surfaced and then skimmed through the clear, shallow water.
Other birds and animals make the woods and the river their home. On many
mornings we see 10-12 wood ducks just up river from where we saw the otter.
Five white tailed deer browse on strawberry bush (Euonymus
americanus), horse sugar (Symplocos
tinctoria) and wild blueberry (Vaccinium
spp.). The large great blue heron prowls in the shallows for fish.
Up by our house the resident cotton tail rabbits hop about trying to avoid
predators.
Now that the cool weather has arrived in
We began seeing a beautiful, long-haired
black cat in our neighborhood a few months ago, but it was afraid of us and
always ran away or hid. But for some reason, on Oct. 11th, she
came out of hiding and meowed at my husband. He ran inside to get food and
she ate it. Within an hour she was letting us pet her and even pick her
up. We made a place for her in an out-building and started calling around
to try to find her a good inside home. No one we contacted had room for
her and as we got to know her, we realized what a gentle, special cat she
is. She met our 2 dogs and 2 cats outside and was very nonchalant with all
of them. After we heard her in a fight with another animal one night we
decided to bring her in and take her to the Vet. Cats can do so much damage
to the wildlife. It’s in their nature to hunt and kill so now Star is one
of 3 inside cats that only go outside on supervised walks. If you want to
attract wildlife to your yard you must take measures to protect them from
your pets.
Back
to TOC
Sunday, October 1, 2006
White Tailed Deer, Kingfisher and Plant Rescue
This morning, when we were half way to the river, we saw the white tails of 3 deer as they made a hasty retreat towards the Tchefuncte. All the corn that we put out for the wood ducks was gone. I guess with all the habitat destruction that has been going on around us, our property must have most of the browse plants that they need to prepare for the winter months.
When we reached the river we heard the chattering of a Belted Kingfisher. This fellow will sit right across the river and chatter until our dog, Rio, barks at him. The kingfisher will fly up river & back down to us as if he wants Rio to chase him. We’ve also seen a Kingfisher up at our pond by the house. The last few days we’ve seen what looks like some mallard ducks and also the resident wood ducks.
When we got back to the house we hurriedly
prepared for a native plant rescue mission. One of the other members of the
FNPS had alerted us about some beautiful
wildflowers (including unusual, possibly rare milkweed, unusual large lavender
asters, mountain mint and 20+ other species of native plants) that would soon
be destroyed when another strip mall is built. We were able to move about 50+
plants today despite the rock hard soil. We plan to go back after we get a
good rain, when it’s easier to dig. We will probably have to go on many more
of these missions because St. Tammany Parish is in a building frenzy.
Back to TOC
Wed.,
September 20, 2006
The Destruction Continues, but the FNPS brings
hope
Apparently we spoke too soon.
What we thought was the culmination of the storm debris removal project from
the creek was just a 3 day siesta. The heavy equipment, chain saws and machetes
came back with a vengeance and went deeper into the woods. Countless more live
trees were scarred and damaged when the ones that were broken by Hurricane Katrina
were pulled out of the stream. The smell of diesel fuel permeates the once
fresh air while our eardrums are pummeled with the sound of the giant chipper
/ shredder machine. The trail (more like road) that they carved through the
forest by the creek is wider that the creek in most places. What is really
being achieved by this project? The healthy trees & shrubs that they are
damaging or destroying could have absorbed hundreds of gallons of rain water.
The parish would be better served if restrictions for new building that included
raised houses instead of red clay fill and cement slabs were enforced in low,
wetland & flood zone areas.
Here are some statistics that were compiled by the LSU AgCenter that say a lot:
Tree Facts: The Benefits of Tree
On a lighter note, the Folsom Native Plant Society’s meeting at the Covington Public Library last night had excellent attendance and featured a wonderful presentation by native plant experts, Latimore Smith (Director of TNC Science & Stewardship) and Nelwyn McInnis, The Nature Conservancy Florida Parishes Director. We were treated to a history of the Longleaf Pine forests that once covered all of St. Tammany Parish. We also learned about the 19 species of rare native plants that are preserved within TNC St. Tammany Parish properties. The FNPS is growing in numbers and we are trying to reach the public, especially those that are new to the North Shore, to teach them about the value of our native flora.
Tuesday,
September 13, 2006
Ruby Throat Hummingbird Migration, Kingfisher and Habitat Destruction
Linda and I banded ruby throated hummingbirds this morning. This is fall migration and a new wave came in ahead of the little cold front. This morning was our best in many months with 34 new captures. There were several females, adult males and many immature males. On our walk to the river we saw a Belted Kingfisher dive into the water after a fish.
The St. Tammany Parish / NRCS stream debris removal and destruction project seems to be coming to an end by our property. They agreed to stop before our property line thus saving a large area of important hummingbird breeding and nesting habitat.
We weren’t so lucky with the
new neighbor who bought the land across the river and who just finished bulldozing
hundreds of native shrubs and trees all along the Tchefuncte. Now bare dirt
that will be susceptible to soil erosion is where wild
blueberries / Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.), native
azaleas, strawberry
bushes and arrow-wood
viburnums full of fruit once stood. Over 30 different species of birds
and many mammals could have used that fruit since Katrina had already destroyed
so much of the food supply and habitat. We are also concerned about the hit
that the fish and other organisms in the river will take when the rains and
resulting yearly winter & spring floods wash the soil from the bare land
into it.
Back
to TOC
Rufous
Hummingbird
Linda
came today and banded a very colorful, very young, female rufous hummingbird. She
was so young that she had 100% corrugation (bumps that wear off with age) on
her bill. This is the first rufous that Linda has banded of the 2006-07
winter season. This immature female rufous was first observed on
A big wave of ruby-throats came to our habitat this weekend, too. Now this is more like it! I sure did miss those little guys & I'm glad they're back. I'm mixing sugar water by the half gallon.
July
31, 2006
Habitat Restoration
Katrina caused the cancellation of some planting
projects which had been scheduled last fall along the coast. The NRCS Plant
Materials Center, located in Galliano, La., offered some potted trees that had
survived Katrina and needed to be planted. So, we hooked up our trailer and
headed down to the bayou. Along the way, we purchased some good old boudin and
smoked sausage..."humm, but dat's good, yea". We also saw some beautiful
native areas. Thanks to Mr. Michael Massimi, Invasive Species Coordinator and
Dr. Richard Neill, the Center's Director, we were able to secure 20
live oaks (Quercus virginiana) and 20 red
mulberry (Morus rubra) trees.
Mulberry trees provide food for over 30 species of birds as well as numerous ground animals and butterflies. Live oaks are long-lived, hurricane resistant trees and their acorns will provide food for a variety of birds and animals. They are slow growing, but years from now they will be greatly appreciated by others; for as we know, we don't plant trees for ourselves, but for others.
The trees we received will be used in various
local restoration projects. Members of the Folsom Native Plant Society will
also distribute some to individuals whose wildlife habitats were hard hit by
the storms. Thousands of acres of natural habitat was destroyed by Katrina and
more is being lost to the rapid home construction throughout St. Tammany Parish.
Club members are involved in replanting both public and private areas of lost
habitat with native trees.
Back
to TOC
July
14, 2006
Egrets, Rabbits & Black Racers
One of the benefits of a forested area of downed trees is that it provides a
more secure environment for nesting. We've noticed an abundance of rabbits as
well as young birds this summer. Twice we have come across the largest black
racer that we've ever seen here. It is approximately 6 ft. long and lightening
fast. A baby, snowy
egret has followed us along the river to each of four fish holes where we
throw floating fish food.
Near the house, 14 hummingbirds were banded
this week and most were young males that hatched this spring. The numbers of
ruby-throated hummingbirds are still down from previous years.
In early May, we watched a slider
turtle bury 18 eggs just outside our bedroom window. This month we are eagerly
waiting for the turtle eggs to hatch. We're hoping that the drought we have
been suffering through won't affect the developing eggs. We have gotten some
relief from the drought, but our rain total is still more than 15" below normal
for this year.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Nesting Birds, Multiplying Mammals & Irises
This spring we’ve had a population of mammals, especially cottontail rabbits
and cotton rats. We also saw what looked
like a young coyote hanging around and coyote droppings were found by the pond.
This is not one of the predators that we encourage since they have been
known to kill small pets -- just another reason why we keep our pets inside. The drought has brought the armadillos out of
the woods to search for grubs in our flower beds.
Back
to TOC
Tuesday,
June 13, 2006
Prothonotary Warblers, Great Crested Flycatchers & Eastern Bluebirds
This morning we attempted to band
ruby-throated hummingbirds. This is a very inactive time for banders,
when trapping is difficult due to the large number of flowers blooming - mimosa,
Japanese honeysuckle, lemon bottlebrush and trumpet creeper, to name a few.
The female ruby-throats have also been tending their first nests. A few
juveniles have been sighted so in the next couple of weeks the hummingbirds
will be plentiful again.
After a slow start, the nestboxes on our small trail had a high percentage of
occupancy this year. This was probably due to the fact that most of the natural
cavities were knocked down by H. Katrina. Five pairs of Carolina chickadees
had successful nests, which was such good news because they haven't been doing
well the last few years.
Three different pairs of Prothonotary warblers were successful: 1 in a bluebird
box, 1 in a chickadee size box & 1 in an ornamental old barn wood box on our
front porch. I have pictures of the pair on the front porch. It looks like they
are starting a 2nd nest, too.
A pair of Great
Crested Flycatchers built in a screech owl sized box in the vegetable garden
and the last of their young are fledging as I write. We found what we think
is a great crested flycatcher's nest in box #13. We are unable to check it regularly
because you have to scale 4 fallen trees and balance on logs to reach it. It
also has never had a nest in it until this year. We considered making it box
12b, but maybe it's not jinxed after all.
After a successful 2nd nesting attempt producing 4 fledglings (I saw them on
the wire this a.m.) the eastern bluebirds have laid 4 eggs & the hen is beginning
to set in one of the houses from the LA Bayou Bluebird Society.
Tomorrow we check the boxes down in the woods. We're hoping for 2nd nests for
the 2 Prothonotary pairs. This a.m. we watched a family of brown
headed nuthatches feed their young sunflower seeds. I guess they found a
cavity in a dead limb somewhere for their nest. There was another family using
the feeder down by the river.
Back
to TOC
Monday,
May 22, 2006
Wildflowers Blooming Out of Season
At a recent meeting of the
Folsom Native Plant Society, several members reported that many varieties of
fall blooming wildflowers were blooming now. Those early bloomers observed were:
Goldenrod, Fall Asters, Mist Flower and the introduced, Crocosmia.
Spring this year has also had unusual weather with several cold snaps well into
April and very dry weather. We are currently experiencing a drought and many
of the plants that were damaged by Katrina are dying because of the lack of
rain. This is the second driest Spring in weather history.
Back
to TOC
Sunday,
April 23, 2006
Eastern Box Turtle Rescue
On the way to the Folsom Native Plant Society Meeting, we observed an eastern
box turtle that was nearly hit while it was trying to cross a busy highway.
We passed it up, but quickly backed up when no cars were coming and we were
able to snatch it from the jaws of death. It is an especially colorful one,
with beautiful patterns on its shell. We brought it home and released it on
our land.
Back
to TOC
Thursday,
March 30, 2006
Another Katrina Victim
This morning our 15 year old cat, Amphitrite',
died. She was so traumitized during Hurricane Katrina and the horrible conditions
that we had to live in for 3 weeks after the storm that her health started to
decline. I wonder how many older people were affected in the same way that Amphi
was. She's been with us so long, that
it's hard to believe that she's really gone. She's one more thing that Katrina
has taken from us that we can not replace.
Back
to TOC
Saturday,
February 11, 2006
Trail Restoration
Our trail is almost restored, we need to repair, replace or move only 3 more
boxes. A pair of E. Bluebirds has already checked out Evelyn's hand painted
box that we placed in our yard, near the house. Both male & female went in to
look around. The Carolina Chickadees were also singing and calling as we replaced
the damaged boxes with beautiful new ones.
We couldn't have gotten our trail ready so quickly without Evelyn, Kenny and
the LA Bluebird Society. They came to the rescue with the offer of N.A. Bluebird
Society approved nest boxes to replace the ones that were destroyed by H. Katrina.
On January 2, 2006 we saw a rufous
hummingbird in our yard. It was banded by Linda Beall and identified as
a female. She spent the entire winter with us and did not migrate until
late March.
Back
to TOC
Saturday,
December 31, 2005
Christmas Bird Count
We participated in the Audubon Society’s
Christmas Bird Count for St. Tammany Parish, even though our heart wasn’t in
it. Despite the foggy weather we had
a pretty good showing. We observed for
5 hours at the feeders and in the woods on and around our property. During
the 5 hour period we counted 25 different species of birds.
Our list includes: 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 21 Mourning Doves, 3 Red-bellied
Woodpeckers, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 4 Blue Jays, 6 American Crows, 7 Carolina
Chickadees, 5 Tufted Titmice, 1 Brown-headed Nuthatch ,6 Carolina Wrens, 5 Ruby-crowned
Kinglets, 9 American Robins, 6 Pine Warblers, 3 Eastern Towhees, 1 Chipping
Sparrow, 8 White-throated Sparrows, 10 Northern Cardinals, 26 Red-winged Blackbirds,
1 Common Grackle, 2 House Finches, 8 American Goldfinches, 1 Eastern Phoebe,
2 White eyed vireos, 3 Wood Ducks, and 1 Pileated
woodpecker.
Back
to TOC
Sunday,
October 2, 2005
Nest Box Trail Update
We've come up for air after a month of cutting and clearing fallen trees. We
still haven't cut our way to check on all of the houses, but so far about 7
bluebird sized boxes were damaged and our new cypress wood duck box was knocked
off the pole and the roof will need repair.
We are very concerned about the number of large black cherry trees that were
up-rooted or broken. So many of the cavity nesters use these berries as a food
source. We lost many oaks and have pine snags all over our property. To look
on the bright side, it opened up the woods more so that more bluebirds may be
attracted and the snags will provide places for woodpeckers to nest in the future,
but the devastation is hard to believe.
We do have electricity now (ever since Sept. 18th) so we don't have to play
generator tag with the water well pump and the refrigerator. It's so nice to
be back in civilization, but we'll probably smell like chain saw smoke and wood
chips for a couple of years! We were very lucky and our hearts go out to the
people and the wildlife in the hard hit areas south of us. Our habitat will
rebound. New growth is already sprouting up through the debris. We just need
a little rain to clear things out. It was lucky that the storm hit at the end
of the breeding season so that no nests were lost. Nestboxes can be repaired.
Back
to TOC
Sunday,
September 18, 2005
3 Weeks of Misery
The Electricity was restored today. Tears came into my eyes when I saw
those big orange trucks come to our house. We have been surviving on MRE's and
the water and ice that we get from the relief station. There has been
no rain since Katrina and it's extremely hot. With the help of our family and
a church group, we've been able to clear the trees from around the house and
have gotten them out of the pond, but not before there was a fish kill. We also
cut a walking trail to the river where there was a massive fish kill. At
least we can put food out to help the animals down in the woods. It's going
to take years to get our habitat to normal, but it will never be like it was
before.
During the storm, the migrating ruby-throated hummingbirds fed from the feeders
that we had wired down. Cardinals, doves, chickadees and tufted titmice fed
from the seed feeders. None of the feeders were damaged, but many of the nest
boxes on our trail were torn apart or knocked down. Luckily, most of the cavity
dwellers had finished nesting before the storm hit. Many of the dead pines that
were used by woodpeckers were blown down. While we'll have plenty of trees to
replace them in a few years, a nesting cavity shortage will occur next spring,
because many need partially decayed wood to hollow out their cavities.
Another repercussion of the downed trees is a shortage of food for wildlife.
Black cherries are one of the most widely used berries and are eaten by over
30 species of birds and many mammals. Oaks also provide food in the form of
acorns for all kinds of animals. Many of the smaller food bearing trees like
sassafras, black gum and yaupon were also destroyed. It will take years for
the small trees that are left to grow enough to provide the same amount of food
that the downed ones did.
Our pets have suffered a lot, especially our 14 year old cat. The generator
would only run a small window a/c unit for part of the house where our 2 dogs
are. She doesn't like the dogs, but finally couldn't take the heat anymore and
came in with the rest of us.
Back
to TOC
Tuesday,
August 30, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
Hurrican
Katrina tore through St. Tammany Parish, spawned tornadoes in it's wake.
Our circular driveway is totally blocked by at least 8 trees, some are
about 3 ft. in diameter. We counted 30 giant pines in our yard that were snapped
off like match sticks. Dozens of large oaks, hickories, black cherry and
other hardwoods were either uprooted or broken when the big pines fell. Our
9 acres lay in ruin and it looks like we were bombed. Our road to the
river is gone, covered with piles of debris. The trees that are still standing
have no leaves. Most of the nest boxes on our trail are damaged or destroyed.
Luckily, nesting season is over. Our gardens are under piles of
debris. The wildlife is dazed and is looking for food. We have no
electricity because one of the trees that fell on the driveway also took down
the electric wire, pulling the weatherhead from the roof of the house.
By late afternoon we were able to cut a swath wide enough for the car (the van
is under 3 trees) to the main road so that we could get out to call our family
and to look for ice and gasoline. From now on we are in survival mode.
We will need another chainsaw and a generator. The whole area is without
power. Poles and lines are down everywhere.
Back
to TOC
Wednesday,
March 23, 2005
Baby Wood Ducks & Other Cavity Nesters
Success!! All the climbing & balancing in trees to get the big wood duck house
down to repair it & mount it on a pole with predator baffle has paid off. Yesterday
morning we were greeted by 12-14 wood duck ducklings in the river right by the
box. We checked the box today and found the egg shells inside all stacked nicely
like nester dolls. The other box that we made from cypress scraps has a wood
duck hen sitting on about 10 eggs.
Everything is late down here in south LA. In the smaller houses we have 3 Chickadee
nests, 2 with 6 eggs each and the Eastern Bluebirds have finally built a nest
in one by the pond. We built 2 sizes of smaller (with 1 1/4" holes) than bluebird
spec houses for the chickadees & prothonotary warblers this year. So far the
chickadees are using one of the small houses, 1 that is shorter than a standard
NABS house & one old one from Wal Mart. The Prothonotary males are back, darting
around and staking out territory & houses.
A Carolina wren has forsaken all of the houses and is sitting on eggs in a nest
in the top hole of a pair of cinder blocks that we stacked and used as a saw
horse to make the nest boxes! We found another nest, without eggs, inside the
upturned canoe that was stored on the bluff by the river. A friend found a nest
in a fitted sheet that had been hanging on a line for a couple of days. They
really do build in the strangest places.
Back
to TOC
Monday,
January 7, 2005
Building as fast as we can
On January 2, we surveyed our small nest box
trail, making notes of houses needing repair, soaping ceilings and cleaning
out debris. We also spruced up & moved a box that had no takers last year. Two
of the wood duck boxes, that we foolishly mounted on trees, have been taken
over by honey bees. We have opted to build new houses (one is already completed
& up) and mount them on 2" pipes with baffles.
We have also finished & erected 3 Chickadee/Prothonotary size wooden houses
to replace the cardboard milk carton ones. Two bluebird types are marked & ready
for the saw. But, we still need to get the long ladder & climb up to rescue
the one remaining bee-free tree mounted wood duck house. Whew!!
I just went to Home Depot and the 1" (10ft.) metal conduit that we used to get
for under $5.00 is now $10.99!!! I had to downsize to the $5.99 3/4" ones. I'm
going somewhere else next time. There must be a steel shortage or something.
On the CBC for St. Tammany we observed 8 wood ducks, 3 eastern bluebirds and
4 different kinds of woodpeckers. Male bluebirds have been singing for 3 weeks
and in December a pair investigated the box that was used last year.
One of our Taiwan cherry trees is beginning to bloom. But in LA where the weather
is concerned we always expect the unexpected - 80 degrees one day, 30 the next.
It may feel like spring, but winter isn't over yet. There is still some wild
food available for the birds. The Yaupon and deciduous holly still have berries,
as do the dreaded Chinese privet and ligustrum and our oak trees had a bumper
crop of acorns (wood duck favorite) this year.
Back
to TOC
Thursday,
December 30, 2004
Christmas Bird Count
I can't believe it's been months
since we added an entry to our journal. One of our New Year's resolutions is
to write at least one a week. We just finished the Christmas Bird Count feeder
watch for St. Tammany Parish, LA. The count was good. We saw a lot of Northern
Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Carolina
Wrens and 3 different kinds of woodpeckers. However, we didn't see several birds
that we know are here, but for whatever reason just didn't show up today. Only
4 hawks (3 red-shouldered and 1 red-tailed) were observed. We were pleased with
the number of pine
warblers (8)
ruby-crowned kinglets (9) and wood ducks (8). Unusual sightings included
a pair of American
woodcocks and a small flock of Canada geese. We also noted 3 eastern bluebirds.
Last week, before our little cold spell, a male and female E. bluebird were
checking out one of the nest boxes by the pond. It's a little early for that,
even down here in South LA. Tomorrow, we are going to check each nest box to
see if they are ready for the nesting season (which will start in early February
for the Carolina Chickadees.) We'll make notes about the boxes that need repairing
or replacing. We'll have to get those done within the next couple of weeks.
Back
to TOC
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Hummingbird Banding
This morning's coolness
was a pleasant assist as we began the task of trapping and banding hummingbirds.
The last few times we banded, hummers had been scarce, however, today we banded
15 immature males and 2 females. One mature male wiggled out of our hands as
it was removed from the trap. The dogs were taken on their river walk and we
returned with Chance. However, Rio had swam across the river and chased and
smelled all sorts of creatures. He returned sometime after us, exhausted, but
smiling. Later on in the day we watched a baby red-headed woodpecker being fed
by a parent. In the last week we've seen several young brown thrashers, cardinals,
Carolina wrens, doves, and eastern towhees. We also saw a pair of Prothonotary
warblers drinking nectar from the bottle brush flowers. A young cottontail visits
early each morning and enjoys eating the cracked corn and sunflower sprouts
from around the feeders .
Back
to TOC
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Ruby-Throated Fledglings
On Tuesday our hummingbird banding
session was much more exciting than in past weeks. The young ruby-throated hummingbirds
are getting out on their own and we were able to band 5 immatures, all young
males. The immature hummers look like the females, except the young males usually
have a couple of red feathers on the throat where the gorget is in adult males.
We also caught some adult returnees (mostly adult males). One adult female was
recaptured for the first time this year and she was heavy with an egg. As I
walked to the pond to put the feeders back up a large white egret flew from
the spillway. The pond is overflowing because of the heavy rains that we've
had. On Sunday our rain gauge measured 5 inches in 5 hours and hail fell for
a while. We've had rain for 7 straight days. Today is the first day that something
didn't fall from the sky. Sunday, we found a "mud
puppy" in the driveway that must have been washed out of the pond and many
of the ribbon snakes are moving to higher ground.
Back
to TOC
Wednesday,
June 16, 2004
Chimney Swifts
Back
to TOC
Sunday, June 13, 2004
Summer Heat
Rabbits and Ruby-throats
It's Raining, It's Pouring
Coral Bean
Back
to TOC
Thursday,
May 6, 2004
Clear and Warm
Back
to TOC
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
