Naturally with Al Batt

May 31, 2020

Naturally
The grackles displayed little charm as the toads produced bird-like trills. They are the hop toads of my youth.
High trees filled with leaves and plastic bags. Bags stuck in trees fluttered in the wind. These witches' knickers don't ripen there. A robin ate suet that had fallen to the ground. A robin doesn't live by worms alone. I hollered, "Mortimer get out of there" at starlings devouring suet. In Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Hotspur planned to drive King Henry crazy by use of a starling endlessly repeating the name of Hotspur’s brother-in-law Mortimer. Hotspur mused, “Nay, I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but ‘Mortimer,’ and give it him, to keep his anger still in motion.” I've watched a gray catbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, Baltimore oriole, brown thrasher, yellow-rumped warbler, orchard oriole, chickadee, nuthatch, and woodpeckers (downy, hairy, red-bellied and red-headed) feed on suet this spring. Crows might want to. They complain, but never without caws.
"My lilac trees are old and tall; I cannot reach their bloom at all. They send their perfume over trees And roofs and streets, to find the bees." — Louise Driscoll
White-throated sparrows come in two color forms: white-crowned and tan-crowned. Individuals nearly always mate with a bird of the other form.
I listened to a rose-breasted grosbeak, a brown thrasher and a Baltimore oriole sing. Their blissful voices blended pleasantly. The first thought finding my brain was "The Chad Mitchell Trio." I'm not sure why. I don't remember a year of so many indigo buntings and gray catbirds. A friend, excited with what she'd seen outside, phoned and exclaimed, "I saw an indigo catbird!" I liked the image that pushed aside The Chad Mitchell Trio in my mind.
My spirits were high, but birds managed to raise them.
Q&A
Ruth Searle of Woodbury asked if mallards will nest again if a nest was lost. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Many hens will renest, building another nest and laying another clutch of eggs after nest predation. The new nest might be near the previous nest or far away in different habitat. Ducks are indeterminate layers and lay eggs until their clutch is complete. If a nest is lost during the laying phase, the hen can quickly renest because she's capable of producing additional eggs. If a hen is in the incubation stage when her nest is lost, she'll need more time to restart egg production. Nesting hens incubate 20 to 22 hours each day. Experienced hens begin nesting sooner than younger birds and are more familiar with food sources critical to providing nutrients necessary for egg production.
"How often do skunks have babies?" Striped skunks have one litter per year. Breeding takes place in late February or March. Gestation takes 59 to 77 days. Four to seven kits are born in mid-May to early June.
"Where do I find garter snakes?" They tend to prefer moist, grassy environments and are often found near water. They typically eat earthworms, amphibians, leeches, slugs, snails, insects, crayfish, small fish, rodents, toads and other snakes.
"Why are so many opossums run over on the road?" A Virginia opossum has a small brain for its body size and it doesn't have the best eyesight, so it might be slow to process information like a speeding Kia approaching. Research found opossums are better at remembering where food is hidden than are dogs, cats or rats. The highly-resistant-to-rabies opossum will eat almost anything — insects, worms, rodents, snails, slugs, frogs, snakes (including venomous ones), eggs, young birds, grain, fruit, nuts, grass, pet food, garbage, carrion and any ticks on its body. I wonder if opossums are bothered by pouch lint?
"Why am I seeing so many birds this year?" It might be because you're taking the time to look for them. Perhaps you're doing a better job of keeping bird feeders fed and bird baths watered. I walked in a light rain. The lack of insects drove birds to suet. I listened to the sounds. The corvids (crows and jays) of COVID-19 cawed and jeered. I enjoyed the remarkable mimicry found in the songs of the brown thrasher and gray catbird. In the new normal, the stunning quietude gives birds bigger voices. When tethered to home, we need the company and the miracle of birds.
"Would a turkey vulture eat plant matter if it were hit by a car?" If it were a pumpkin. I've watched them eat those. They do eat grapes, juniper berries and other vegetation.
"Why don't more songbirds reuse their old nests. It's because good used cars are much easier to find than good used nests.
Thanks for stopping by
"The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much." — William Hazlitt
"Life is too short to take a highway." — Myrna Pearman
Do good.

(C) Al Batt 2020

Either my stupid smellcheck stopped working or it's time for our annual smelling bee.Photo by Al Batt — Either my stupid smellcheck stopped working or it's time for our annual smelling bee.
Photo by Al Batt

Orange birds love oranges.

May 29, 2020

Not many peaches do well in Minnesota. Even those that do usually don’t. This is the Contender variety.

A fiddlehead looks for a four-leaf clover.

Someone’s cat is stalking our yard’s skunk. This cannot end well.

It seems as if the lilacs leave the minute they arrive.

May 28, 2020

A White-throated Sparrow could whistle in “The Andy Griffith Show.”

A Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. The “little mockingbird.”

May 27, 2020

Gnats aren’t a significant part of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher's diet.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher produces high, buzzy, mewing notes.

Napping with eyes wide open.

May 26, 2020

Al Batt: Putting out a cry for Mighty Mouse

May 25, 2020

Al Batt: Putting out a cry for Mighty Mouse

by Al Batt, austindailyherald.com
May 13, 2020 12:01 PM

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Teleconference Meeting

Remember when we went trick-or-treating when we were pups?

Vaguely.

Your head was so lopsided, the holes in the mask you wore didn’t line up with your eyes. You walked into trees, cars and a large Holstein. Now you’re wearing a mask again. Cows need to be warned.

Driving by Bruce’s drive

I have a wonderful neighbor, named Bruce. Whenever I pass his drive, thoughts occur to me, such as: Not long ago, I’d received a vaccination against yellow fever in preparation for a work trip to Kenya that ended up being canceled. I thought of the yellow fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793 when George Washington (he had no wooden teeth) was president. Medical professionals had little concept of viruses and no vaccines in those days. Surgeons didn’t regularly wash their hands or instruments between surgeries. Francis Bacon said that knowledge is power and it was lacking. There was no Dr. Fauci. Much of the medical treatments consisted of mercury compounds, bloodletting and purging. People were deploringly unclean. Baths were a rarity for most and brushing teeth was unknown to many. In Philadelphia, one in 10 of its 50,000 population died of this disease. They practiced social distancing and there was a cessation of handshakes. Certain liberties were put in abeyance. Doors of residences with infected people were marked. Some cities had quarantines against refugees or goods from Philly. Toilet paper wasn’t hoarded during this plague because there wasn’t any, but perhaps corncobs were stashed. Despite the lack of social media, people recommended harebrained cures: Smoking, drinking copious amounts of wine, cleaning a house or body with vinegar, covering floors with a two-inch-deep layer of dirt replaced daily, chewing garlic, hanging a bag of camphor around the neck, or firing guns in the streets. Some hoped a hurricane would blow the fever away. The vector wasn’t identified as a mosquito until the late 19th century. I bow to science today and am glad that the physician of my youthful days, Dr. Olds, wasn’t much for bloodletting. I’ve read about dogs being trained to detect disease. Compared to us, dogs can smell in color. One day, physical exams may include being sniffed by a beagle.

Life has always been complicated, but the world has become one big, yellow light. We proceed with caution. One day chicken, the next day feathers. If we were a cartoon, discarded banana peels would cover the ground. We want explanations and villains where there might not be any.

We need Mighty Mouse. I remember his song, “Mr. Trouble never hangs around, when he hears this mighty sound, ‘Here I come to save the day!’ That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!”

Nature notes

I watched a red-tailed hawk kiting into the wind. It was no check-kiting scheme. The wind allowed the raptor to hover while hunting. This hawk preys primarily on mammals.

The yard birds come and go. They aren’t to be confused with the Yardbirds, a rock band, whose hits included “For Your Love” and “Heart Full of Soul.” Bird migrations carry magic and wonder in their feathers. Spring migrations are more colorful as birds wear breeding plumages. Fall migration has more birds because the young birds are included.

The world is in technicolor and most birds are breath-stopping beauties, but the loveliness of some of the warblers makes for feathered jewels. I recall being a boy toiling the farm fields on a tractor without a cab one spring day. The weather had been good and bad. A little rain, some wind and then sun. I brought the tractor to a stop at the edge of a woods. I grabbed my poor man’s lunch pail (a bread wrapper) and climbed onto a low hanging branch of a lofty tree to enjoy a couple of bologna and Velveeta cheese sandwiches and a like number of sugar cookies. As I munched away, the world chirped. I looked up to see branches covered in American redstarts drooping wings and fanning tails to flush insect prey from vegetation. The males flashed orange and black, while the females, nicknamed yellowstarts, showed yellow and gray. The large number of dancing warblers made me say “Wow” more than once. Their presence made for wonderful dinner entertainment. I watched the warblers for exactly too long when I should have been working. When I resumed my labors, I wished the tractor had offered musical theater starring warblers.

Time is fleeting. It seems as if the juncos had just arrived and now, they’ve left. I’ll miss the lovely, little birds. Dark-eyed juncos nest in northeastern and north central Minnesota.

Meeting adjourned

“Kindness is always fashionable.” — Amelia Barr

The smiling Mallard — a Northern Shoveler.

A gull is happy when it’s down in the dumps.

I was snubbed by two jack-in-the pulpits or two jacks-in-the-pulpit.

It was thrilling to see and hear the toad trilling.

May 24, 2020

Birds rock. Let the Indigo Buntings roll.

All this beauty for a bit of grape jelly. Baltimore Oriole

As you can see from this recent selfie, I’m still struggling with being on a short leash. I hope you are doing much better.

May 23, 2020

The Gray Catbird has cinnamon undertail coverts, but who hasn’t at one time or another?

A Gray Catbird sings its rendition of “Chain of Fools.”

A Brown Thrasher stops by for the suet special.

The perfect feeder for the Baltimore Oriole that needs to check the ingredients.

My stupid smellcheck stopped working.

May 21, 2020

The winner of the coveted corncob signifying a championship at the Batt Cave’s Annual Smelling Bee.

Some improvised jazz singing was performed by a Gray Catbird.

The male Brown-headed Cowbird does a little song and dance.

The Lincoln’s Sparrow is named after Thomas Lincoln, who shot one for John James Audubon to paint.

The handsome Rose-breasted Grosbeak was knowN by the rather unattractive moniker “cutthroat” when I was a lad.

May 20, 2020

The Indigo Bunting is a bird that is well worth staying home to see.

Mr. & Mrs. Brown Thrasher are trying to remember where they put whatever it was they were looking for.

I wish I could do the call of the Sandhill Crane. If and when I ever stand in a line again, it might help me jump to the head of the line.

May 19, 2020

A dandelion clock. The number of puffs needed to blow all the seeds away is supposed to indicate the time.

Smooching cardinals.

May 18, 2020

Backlit but still beautiful Red-headed Woodpeckers.

The Orchard Oriole is smaller than a Baltimore Oriole just as an orchard is smaller than Baltimore.

Naturally
My walking took me to clouds and birdsongs. Birds were living out loud. I greeted birds as if they were old friends. An eastern towhee delighted me with its presence. I'm sorry
its name was changed from rufous-sided towhee. I named a faithful canine companion after this handsome bird. The dog didn't come when I called "Eastern," so I had to shift her name to Towhee.
A brown thrasher repeated itself just as mature men tend to do. I listened to its greatest hits. The plaintive whistling of white-throated sparrows was alluring.
I heard a loud, ringing "Pete, Pete, Pete, Pete, lend me your shoe" from the water's edge. The song of the northern waterthrush reminded me of the title of an Emily Dickinson poem, "A Little Madness in the Spring."
My attention was drawn to the Nashville warblers by their yellow undersides, but they foraged so low their rufous crown patches were often evident. A black-and-white warbler creeped along a tree trunk as deftly as a nuthatch. The first Harris's sparrow and rose-breasted grosbeak in the yard looked massive while maintaining social distancing from a chipping sparrow. I watched an industrious chickadee peel dead bark from a sapling for use in a nest. Elderberry leafed out. I saw squirrel nests high in oak trees. The squirrels are living in a grocery store.
A touch of nature is outside every window. I never get tired of the scenery found there. It's a snapshot in time. Just look around. It's show-and-tell for the sequestered.
I've been reading
I revisited "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck where I found this passage, “On the fences the shiny blackbirds with red epaulets clicked their dry call. The meadowlarks sang like water, and the wild doves, concealed among the bursting leaves of the oaks, made a sound of restrained grieving.”
Q&A
Leann Juveland of Albert Lea asked if great horned owls have mate for life and how many eggs they have. Great horned owls are monogamous and a pair often remains on the same territory all year. Pairs may stay together for life. If something happens to one, the survivor usually finds another mate. In the fall, the pair begins a courtship display, loudly calling to each other. They have one to four eggs with a 30-37 day incubation period.
"Why should I feed birds in the summer if they have insects to eat?" The feeders bring birds where we can see them better. It's our own private Discovery Channel or National Geographic Channel that allows us to see hummingbirds and orioles at nectar feeders. Jelly feeders bring in gorgeous orioles, tanagers and catbirds. Sunflower seeds attract handsome rose-breasted grosbeaks. American goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively. House finches eat almost solely plant materials, including seeds, buds and fruits. I love seeing a father cardinal introduce his offspring to a feeder. I keep our restaurant open year-round.
"What has webbed feet other than ducks and geese?" Other animals include: Swan, gull, loon, alcid (birds like puffins), albatross, tern, flamingo, some penguin species, beaver, muskrat, and some kinds of frogs, salamanders and turtles.
"Are juvenile bald eagles larger than their parents?" Not, really, but they might look larger their first year because of longer flight feathers that aid fledglings learning to fly.
"Where do white-throated sparrows nest in Minnesota?" In north central and northeastern Minnesota, with the highest nesting densities in the northeastern parts.
"Where do golden eagles build their nests?" Golden eagles usually nest on cliffs or in trees in open habitat. They avoid heavily forested and developed areas but have been observed nesting on manmade structures like windmills. Bald eagles typically nest high in the tallest living tree. Golden eagles don't nest in Minnesota.
"My grandfather told me that robins sing before a rain. Is that true?" When robins are intent on singing, they begin early in the morning and sing before almost everything. I believe robins often sing before a rain, a rain song of sorts filled with liquid phrases, perhaps responding to changes in barometric pressure or for some other reason.
Thanks for stopping by
"Some things in life are bad. They can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle. Don't grumble, give a whistle. And this'll help things turn out for the best. And always look on the bright side of life. Always look on the light side of life. If life seems jolly rotten. There's something you've forgotten. And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. When you're feeling in the dumps. Don't be silly chumps. Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing. And always look on the bright side of life. Come on! Always look on the right side of life." —Eric Idle/Monty Python
Do good.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker showing some red. Photo by Al Batt

W.C. Fields would have said, “My little chickadee.”

My father called Indigo Buntings blue canaries.

May 17, 2020

The Brown Thrasher repeats itself like a good radish.

A black-and-white bird with a red bandana equals a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a little bird with a giant voice.

A Nashville Warbler, like most Nashville Warblers, is not in Nashville.

A gray squirrel works hard to pluck the sunflower seeds from the red milo.

May 16, 2020

The Great Blue Heron is incapable of biting off more than it could chew, but it does try to eat more than it can swallow.

The season has been canceled due to COVID-19. I’ll miss being aboard.

Duct tape saved this feeder so a Red-headed Woodpecker could use it.

A black-winged redbird — the Scarlet Tanager.

A disabled lawn mower led to a lawn blooming in violets and Common Yellowthroats. A great improvement over the grass.

May 14, 2020

A Common Yellowthroat is uncommonly handsome. And it’s wearing a mask!

It was my honor and great pleasure to be a speaker, tour guide, workshop instructor and auctioneer at Bluebirds Across Nebraska’s wonderful whoop-dee-do before the virus really hit the fan.

A pair of Brown Thrashers after failing to get under the limbo stick.

I hung out with some other drips this morning.

A Pileated Woodpecker has been as busy as a tall beaver.

May 11, 2020

Bobby Vinton almost sang, “She wore blue violets. Bluer than violets were her eyes. Warmer than May her tender sighs.”

May 6, 2020

Today an Orchard Oriole and cheap grape jelly made for the greatest combination since the Lewis & Clark expedition. That was the one featuring Jerry Lewis and Dick Clark.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a good look for her.

There was a great gold strike in the yard today.

Turkey vultures want fresh meat

May 5, 2020

Naturally
Bird feeding softens the edges of isolation. It lowers blood pressure. Birds offer needed touches of life and feeders act as prisms. Shine a light through one and it radiates countless directions. The blue jays cried, "Hey, hey, hey!" I listened to them and tossed them some peanuts. I watched a red-tailed hawk work a thermal to ease its flight. Common grackles made sounds like rusty gates. Fox sparrows ripped up the dance floor of my yard with their chicken scratching. They brought joy to one deep in self-care.
This and data
Some information gleaned from a Pheasants Forever publication. Producing one migratory monarch butterfly requires 29 milkweed plants since the butterflies have a survival rate of 1-2%. There are 76 (Monarch Watch says 73) native milkweed species in the U.S. During WWII, school children helped the war effort by collecting 1.5 billion milkweed pods to fill life jackets. A little over a pound of the cotton-like milkweed floss could keep a soldier afloat over 40 hours.
Bird Watcher's Digest, a fine magazine, sent me my horoscope. It read: "Pisces is in tune with the magic of everyday existence. Affectionate, empathetic, wise, and soulful, you love nature and inspire people with the way you understand the rhythm of the seasons." I'm greatly flattered.
The late Charlie Ellis had a farm in Lacombe, Alberta, with many bluebird nestboxes. When Charlie held white feathers in his hand, tree swallows flew down and snatched them. Tree swallows build cup nests of dried vegetation, gathered and carried to the nest mostly by the females. Both mates bring feathers, preferably white, to line and to arch over the cup.
Turkey vultures prefer meat as fresh as possible and won't eat extremely rotted carcasses. They can smell carrion less than 12-24 hours old. Many of us have a 3-second or 5-second rule. Vultures have a 259,200-second rule.
Carrol Henderson, former director of the Nongame Wildlife Program of the DNR for 41 years, said that in 1929, the Minnesota Legislature removed legal protections from eagles, hawks, owls, and falcons, declaring them outlaw birds before eventually restoring the protections in 1948.
A friend, Gordon Hopp of Unadilla, Nebraska, received an award better than the leg lamp, the major award in the movie "Christmas Story," from the North American Bluebird Society. Gordon maintains 400 bluebird nestboxes and fledges 2000 bluebirds annually. He also provides boxes for American kestrels and wood ducks.
Bill Taddicken is the director of the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, Minden and Kearney, Nebraska. There have been 360 whooping cranes sighted at Rowe since it began in 1974. A whooping crane is white and 5-foot tall with a 7.5-foot wingspan and a sandhill crane is gray and 4-foot tall with a 6.5-foot wingspan. Each year, Bill gets reports of whooping cranes that turn out to be American white pelicans with 9-foot wingspans. Bill calls those reported birds "whooping pelicans." American white pelicans have traditionally migrated through Nebraska and were seen by Lewis and Clark during the Corp of Discovery's epic adventure. In August 1804, the expedition found a flock of several hundred white pelicans resting on a sandbar about two miles north of the mouth of Little Sioux River in present-day Burt or Thurston County, Nebraska, and Monona County, Iowa. A pelican was shot and measured by Captain Meriwether Lewis. Its throat pouch was determined to have held five gallons of water.
I've been reading
"Finding Beauty in a Broken World" by Terry Tempest Williams. She watched prairie dogs rise before the sun and stand with their paws pressed together as they faced the rising sun in total stillness for up to 30 minutes. Then she watched them at the end of the day make the same gesture 30 minutes before the sun went down. She used the term "prayer dogs" and wrote of clay‐colored monks dressed in discrete robes of fur standing as sentinels outside their burrows, watching as their communities disappear, one by one, their hands raised up in prayer. Navajo elders have said, “If you kill all the prairie dogs, there will be no one to cry for rain.”
Q&A
"Can you really stand an egg on end during the equinox?" Yes, but egg balancing can be done at any time with a steady hand, patience and the right egg.
"Shouldn't a hummingbird beat the eagles back here? They'd have less wind resistance." Good point, but there is that whole availability of food thing that a hummingbird must consider.
"Do birds down under fly upside down?" Only while calling, "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!"
Thanks for stopping by
"One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak." — G.K. Chesterton
"In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours." — Mark Twain
Do good.

Let the Virginia Bluebells ring in Minnesota. Photo by Al Batt

My wife found a dead white-throated sparrow on the lawn. I didn’t know the bird, but I feel it’s a loss.

A Red Squirrel pulled up a stump and had a.bite to eat.

A Brown Thrasher with a little something on its bill.

I was happy to see this red admiral, but it wasn’t thrilled to have its picture taken.

The skunk owl

May 4, 2020

Naturally

I listened to a delightful sparrow duet — song and vesper — as I watched a brown creeper creep brownly up trees. A yellow-rumped warbler fed on suet as a team of juncos raked the ground. The birding life is good.

I welcomed female red-winged blackbirds to the yard. The males arrive on their breeding grounds a few days to a few weeks before the females return. Females look like large sparrows, so often go unnoticed.

Meadow voles may breed throughout the year, but most commonly in spring and summer. Typically, they have two to five litters per year with a gestation period of 20-23 days. Litter sizes average 3 to 6. Due to high mortality, an average of only 2.6 offspring are successfully weaned. Young are weaned by the time they are 21 days old, and females are sexually mature in 35 to 40 days. Voles have short lifespans that generally range from 2 to 16 months. Voles are the potato chips of the prairie. If it weren't for all the predators eating them, we'd be overrun by voles.

I saw a red-headed woodpecker on a utility pole. Redheads were once so common that orchard owners paid bounties on them. Audubon reported that 100 were shot from a single cherry tree in one day in 1840. This bird has experienced a 70% decline in population from 1966 to 2014. A big factor in this drop is a lack of dead trees in open-forest habitats and urban areas. Adults have bright-red heads, white underparts and black backs with large white patches in the wings.

I saw a great horned owl at high noon, rousted from its roost by enraged crows. It’s a nocturnal hunter, but is also crepuscular, meaning it prefers to hunt at dusk and dawn. But it isn't opposed to grabbing a meal at any time of the day. What appears to be its ears are tufts of feathers called plumicorns. Great horned owls regularly eat skunks. Owls don't have a sense of smell keen enough to be offended by a skunk's smell. All they know is that a skunk is delicious. I took a great-horned owl to the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota that had been hit by a car on the road. It had been skunk hunting and was successful in that regard. It was a real stinker. The trip to the Raptor Center in the company of a skunk owl was a long one.

Q&A

"When are fawns born?" Most fawns are born in May into early June after a gestation period of 190 to 210 days. A first-time mother usually has one fawn. Twins are common and triplets fairly common with experienced mothers. The weight of a fawn is 5 to 8 pounds at birth. For the first few weeks of their lives, fawns lie motionless on the ground when they're not nursing. I've heard all my life that fawns lack a scent. That's not completely true. It's not an overpowering odor. Predators sometimes stumble over a fawn, but they often find fawns by the smell of the baby deer. The spotted coats of fawns help hide them from predators. Fawns are precocial, meaning they are able to walk within hours after birth. Rainfall can be hard on fawns. If you find a fawn, its mother is usually nearby, even if you don’t see her.

"How long do deer live?" Most white-tailed deer live 2 to 3 years. The average lifespan for a wild white-tailed deer is 4.5 years (Lopez et al 2003). A tooth analysis on a doe shot by a hunter in Vermont in 2018 indicated it was 20.5 years old.

"How many litters does a rabbit have?" The eastern cottontail is prolific and has two to four litters of four to six young. A mother digs a shallow saucer-shaped nest in the ground and lines it with grass and fur from her belly. Baby cottontails leave the nest after three weeks. Only about 1% of rabbits make it to two years of age. A mother rabbit isn't a helicopter parent. To reduce predation, the mother rests and feeds nearby during the day, and returns to the nest at dawn and dusk to nurse her young.

Don Anderson of Albert Lea asked how to tell if thistle seed had gone bad. Nyjer seed has something wrong with it if the birds won’t eat it. The problem is mold or mildew if it smells musty. It's bad seed if it's clumped or slimy. Birds don’t eat the entire seed. They eat only the meat inside.

Thanks for stopping by

"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." — Eden Phillpotts (often incorrectly credited to Yeats) "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed." — Alexander Pope Do good.

This Indigo Bunting arrived early this year.

The White-throated Sparrow whistles while I work. I’m appreciative of his efforts.

He’s brown and he thrashes leaves. He’s a Brown Thrasher.

Just a drummer in the sapsucker band

May 3, 2020

Naturally
"Drumroll, please," I said just loud enough for me to hear as I walked outside. Right on cue, a woodpecker hammered on a resonant branch. Every day brings new stories to the yard. I expect to see a queen bumblebee any day. She's the only one of her colony that survives winter.
Weather has been a rollercoaster ride without enough "whee" to it. I said "whee" as I walked. I understand why dogs are so excited about going for walks. I've been watching yellow-bellied sapsuckers maniacally machine gunning sap wells into trees. The work of those industrious birds has been followed closely by yellow-rumped warblers, diminutive ruby-crowned kinglets and both downy and hairy woodpeckers who gladly plundered the avian soda fountains. Those warblers, called butterbutts because of their yellow rumps, are proficient at flycatching, snapping prey out of the air.
Fox sparrows sang a song that made me want to move north with them. A silver hawk with a white rump patch flew low over the ground. It was a male northern harrier, once called a marsh hawk.
A caller reported a cacophony of birdsong in the morning. I appreciated his call, but disagreed with it being a cacophony. I think all birdsong is lovely, but I'm a strange bird. I'll admit some vocalizations of crows, gulls and others could be called a cacophony. I heard a cacophony of the strident voices of crows and jays as they mobbed an owl. The irate birds found strength in numbers.
I read that chipmunks have cheek pouches that when filled are three times bigger than their heads. I'm not sure that's correct, but they certainly look larger than rest of the head.
Wood ducks checked out tree cavities in the backyard. The female makes a loud "oo-eek, oo-eek" when disturbed and taking flight. The male has a thin, rising and falling zeeting whistle.
Turkey vultures wobbled overhead. Charles Darwin saw a vulture from the deck of the Beagle in 1835 and called it a "disgusting bird" whose bald head was "formed to wallow in putridity." That was harsh. They are beautiful birds. If it perceives a threat, a turkey vulture may play dead or project offensive smelling vomit as a defense. Vultures can't eat and run. They might be able to carry bits of food in their bills, but their feet are useless for carrying freight. In the ancient practice of Tibetan sky burial, a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to be eaten by birds of prey, most commonly vultures. This tradition is a sustainable burial method symbolizing the impermanence of life for Buddhists.
I'm honored by each bird that visits my yard.
Q&A
Eric Annexstad wrote, "For the third year in a row we’re having a mid-April snowstorm. Any suggestions on what to feed the poor robins? We found several that perished last year." Cut up apples, oranges or pears. Raisins are good; blueberries and other berries work. Cranberries should be excellent, but my yard robins don’t seem to enjoy them. Softened dog food kibble, crumbled suet, sunflower hearts or mealworms. The problem is that most robins aren’t feeder birds. An easy way to help robins discover the fruit is to put it in a platform feeder or on the ground near a bird bath. They don’t always make a mad rush to the food. Good luck.
Roger Batt Algona asked how to preserve a bald-faced hornet nest. It isn't necessary to treat the nest in any way. The nest will persist if it's suspended in a dry location where it won't be damaged by handling or vibration.
"How many broods does a mourning dove have each year?" They have two or three in Minnesota, with as many as five or six broods in southern areas.
"Are predators the main reasons I'm not seeing as many pheasants as I once did?" Predators don't eat habitat. Loss of habitat is the main problem and weather frequently piles on.
"Would putting the driver's license photo of my husband on the window discourage a cardinal from attacking its image?" It might slow the shadowboxing of the bird fighting with what it considers a dastardly, would-be usurper if you put it on the outside.
"What are predators of bats?" Owls, hawks, snakes, raccoons, mink, weasels, opossums, cats and humans.
"Why do turkey vultures have bald heads?" Featherless heads are easy to keep clean. Vultures tuck their heads inside carcasses to feed and this adaptation keeps heads cleaner. The bare skin may play a role in thermoregulation.
Thanks for stopping by
"Everybody's talking about people breaking into houses but there are more people in the world who want to break out of houses." — Thornton Wilder,
"Don’t count the days; make the days count." – Muhammad Ali
"Out of difficulties grow miracles." — Jean de la Bruyere
Do good.

A yellow-bellied sapsucker. Photo by Al Batt

A Canada Goose with a toothache. Photo by Al Batt

Lemon tree very pretty. Photo by Al Batt

An early spring bouquet. Photo by Al Batt