The neighborhood honey bees have had a good year. You might say it’s been a honey. I will.
Virginia creeper is a rocket when climbing a tree. It’s sometimes called grape woodbine, false grape, American ivy, five-leaf ivy, five-finger ivy and thicket creeper. It’s frequently mistaken for poison ivy. Leaflets three, let it be; leaflets five, let it thrive.
As I hiked ever upward in Colorado, a totemic raven made guttural comments.
I was told Colorado is of Spanish origin, meaning, “red.”
I was told Colorado is of Spanish origin, meaning, “red.”
I was told Colorado is of Spanish origin, meaning, “red.”
The Canada Jay is
A bird in the hand.
A bat house on the side of a shed.
A nd proof on the ground of tenants.
Naturally
A lot of things about birding go over my head, but it’s free therapy. I saw no juncolopes again this year. They are mythical songbirds with antelope horns on their heads. I did see sandhill cranes working a field and a male cardinal in the process of molting. Even with his vibrancy diminished, the cardinal is a color that’s capable of melting the other crayons in the box. Adult male ruby-throated hummingbirds are long gone, but females and juveniles still visit feeders. I heard a blue jay doing a wonderful rendition of a broad-winged hawk. The jay was likely a migrant from an area where they speak broad-winged hawk.
I taught a class of young writers. A couple of house sparrows found their way into the school building. They wanted to let nature take its course.
I saw holes chewed in the leaves of various plants. That’s not a bad thing. The holes show there are caterpillars and caterpillars are food for birds. I picked cherry tomatoes. As I ate the delicious fruits (botanically, tomatoes are fruits, but are considered vegetables by nutritionists), I realized I was eating sunlight.
Kentucky bluegrass can start turning brown and enter dormancy as early as seven days without water. Browning is a survival technique and it will green up when watered. Fescue stays greener longer, up to 28 days in a drought. Lawns can be environmental nightmares and require high maintenance.
Honey bees pollinate 15% of the crops that make up the world’s food supply, while wild bees and other wildlife pollinate the rest.
Tom Steinman of Garrison told me wild turkeys worship the ground on which he tosses cracked corn.
Folklore says the amount of black on the woolly bear in autumn varies proportionately with the coming winter in the locality where the caterpillar is seen. The longer the woolly bear's black bands, the more severe the winter will be. The wider the middle brown band, the milder the upcoming winter.
Q&A
“Why do you watch birds?” They’re watching me. It’s only fair that I watch them back.
Karen Wright of Mankato asks if monarch butterflies can fly in the rain. Not for long. When it’s raining, monarchs rarely fly. They cling to trees or bushes. If they become wet, they can’t fly because their wings are too heavy. Monarchs don’t need to stay completely dry. If they get wet, they remain still until the water evaporates from their bodies. They bask in the sun to dry their wings. Monarch butterflies reach Mexico near the Day of the Dead in early November. Some cultures believe the Monarchs, or mariposas, are the souls of ancestors returning home. When they reach their destination, the Monarchs overwinter in oyamel fir trees.
“Do yellowjackets sting only once?” Yellowjackets, paper wasps and bumble bees can sting more than once because they can pull their stingers out without injuring themselves. Honey bees have tiny barbs on their stingers that remain hooked in skin. The stinger, connected to the digestive system of the bee, is torn from the abdomen as the bee attempts to fly away. As a result, the bee dies. Yellowjackets cannot be trusted at this time of the year. Expect little waspitality from them.
“What do I plant to help native bees?” Goldenrod, aster, perennial sunflower, native violet, evening primrose, purple coneflower and black-eyed Susan would be good choices.
“Why were the prairies plowed?” Because fertile prairie soils proved excellent for crop production. Early settlers avoided the prairie, thinking unforested land couldn’t support crops. Prairie soil is fertile, but plowing it was difficult. Prairie sod is tough to cut through. The soil stuck to the cast-iron plow blades, making it necessary to stop frequently to clean them. John Deere solved that problem in 1837 with his self-scouring steel plow.
“How do I tell an antler from a horn?” Only the deer species (the family Cervidae) grow antlers, and only males grow antlers, with an exception being female caribou. Antlers are bony structures that grow every year and are shed. Horns are permanent for antelope, cattle, goats, sheep and other members of the family Bovidae. Both males and females have horns in many of those species. Horns have a bony core covered by a keratin sheath. Keratin makes up our fingernails and hair.
Thanks for stopping by
“Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a ‘necessary evil,’ it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.”—Sydney J. Harris.
“Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego.”—Jean Arp.
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Twitter http://twitter.com/batt_allen
Podcast https://soundcloud.com/kmsu/sets/birding-with-batt
Podcast http://ktoe.com/2020/05/22/5-22-20-lisa-with-al-batt
A molting cardinal. Photo by Al Batt
Chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, Theodore.
Chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, Theodore.
Chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, Theodore.
“I See You” was by the Byrds. This Canada Jay saw me.
Cheyenne Bottoms is a large wetland in the middle of Kansas. When I’m there, I feel as if I’m in the middle of the world. It’s an incredible place.
It’s available from Meadowlark Press—Emporia, Kansas.
From the children’ s book, “Ava: A year of adventure in the life of an American Avocet.”
From the children’ s book, “Ava: A year of adventure in the life of an American Avocet.”
Not a paradox, a pair of ducks.
Naturally
Prairie flowers dance with butterflies.
Fall birding is great. There are more birds to see. A friend says, "For warblers in the fall, go where chickadees call." That’s true. If I see chickadees feeding, I look for other bird species. Chickadees know the best places to dine.
Adult starlings go through a complete molt in late summer. Their bill color changes from yellow to black and new feathers with white tips are grown as winter approaches. Winter weather, sunlight and friction dull the speckled look, and by the breeding season, they are back to the uniform dark brown or black.
Dale Waltz of Rochester said that when someone asks him what bird is singing and he doesn’t recognize the song, he appears to give it proper thought before answering, “Mockingbird.”
Paul Hanson of Albert Lea asked what you call two crows perched in a tree. An attempted murder. A group of crows is called a murder. Does it take three to be a murder? Two is company, three is a murder. The two could have been conspiring to commit a murder most fowl. I think a group of crows should be called a crowd.
An Uber driver told me he was delivering food for Uber Eats, Grubhub or DoorDash, I forget which. I recall working at the Outer Banks of North Carolina and watching a jaeger chase a gull that didn’t know it was delivering food. The Grubhub gull dropped the food it was carrying and the jaeger ate it.
Groovy birds
I watched a flock of groove-billed anis feed on the ground of a pasture in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. They nest communally with as many as four pairs of birds using one nest, a bulky cup of twigs lined with fresh leaves. All parents share the duties of incubating and raising the young.
Osmundson Prairie
Osmundson Prairie is Minnesota's southernmost SNA (Scientific and Natural Areas), less than a mile from the Iowa border on the Faribault/Freeborn County line. It’s one of the state's smallest SNAs, at 6 acres. This hilly remnant of southern mesic, black soil prairie hosts two state-listed plants. Rattlesnake master has yucca-like leaves and round white flower heads; and Indian plantain has clusters of white, tubular flowers. Invasive species such as Queen Ann's lace and wild parsnip are ongoing concerns. Periodic prescribed burns help sustain species such as lead plant, prairie coreopsis (stiff tickseed) and downy gentian. There have been summer records there of grassland birds like upland sandpiper, dickcissel, sedge wren, eastern meadowlark, vesper sparrow and bobolink. Albert Lea Audubon Society assisted with this site's preservation, which was made possible by the donation of land to the state of Minnesota by Mildred Osmundson Wickman in memory of her family.
Q&A
“Why does campfire smoke follow me?” It’s because smoke follows beauty and intelligence. Attack smoke follows the path of least resistance that is determined by wind direction and movement around the fire, which can cause a tailwind that pulls smoke with it.
“Are snakes poisonous or venomous?” Poisonous describes something that can cause death or injury if it’s ingested or absorbed. Venomous describes creatures that inject their victims with a toxin. In simple terms, if you bite an animal and get sick, the animal is poisonous. If it bites you and you get sick, the animal is venomous.
“What’s the difference between a swamp and a marsh?” A simple distinction is that a swamp is predominantly forested, while a marsh has few if any trees.
“When should I take down my hummingbird feeders?” Leave your feeders up as long as hummingbirds are visiting them. The birds won’t stay because you’re feeding them, so leave the feeders out for another week after you’ve seen one just in case stragglers come through.
“Monarch butterflies have been congregating in my yard. How do they choose a spot?” They want a roost that provides shelter from the wind and offers a convenient source of nectar. Roosts might provide safety in numbers as an anti-predator strategy when the butterflies are vulnerable in cool temperatures.
Thanks for stopping by
“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television.” ― Paul Hawken
“There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’” — David Foster Wallace
©Al Batt 2021
Bald Eagle photo by Al Batt
Golden Eagle photo by Al Batt
The Tennessee Warbler breeds in Canada’s boreal forests and enjoys a nip of nectar.
A Bull Thistle is armed and dangerous.
Rightly or wrongly, I’ve always called these stump puffballs.
Nashville Warblers have been known to use porcupine quills as nest material.
Nashville Warblers have been known to use porcupine quills as nest material.
A male Belted Kingfisher about the length of 500 kingfishers from me. The female has two chest bands—one blue-gray, the other rusty.
It looks like this could be chicken of the woods.
A Marsh Wren after a bath.
A Marsh Wren drying wings after a bath.
A Marsh Wren, all nice and dry, preparing to run a few errands.
A Ruby-throated Hummingbird before it noticed me watching it.
A Ruby-throated Hummingbird after it noticed I was watching it.
A small Empidonax. A Least Flycatcher, at least.
A House Finch checking for accipiters.
An American Redstart checking for accipiters.
This driveway is meant for walking.
Two doors to nowhere.
I love seeing the meadowhawks. These handsome dragonflies can take a lot of cold weather.
I love seeing the meadowhawks. These handsome dragonflies can take a lot of cold weather.
Not Wile E. Coyote, but a wily coyote.
Not Wile E. Coyote, but a wily coyote.
A Gray Fox is quite adept at climbing trees.
The red nut — a Red Nuthatch, is friendly and cute.
A zipper spider
Naturally
September is the month of red leaves, ripe fruits and relocating birds.
After perching like an undertaker, a turkey vulture became one with the wind. I saw a vesper sparrow whose molt made it look as if it had been mugged.
Who can see enough chickadees? Not me. I’m caught in the gravitational pull of the tiny, habituated feeder bird. The same goes for butterflies. I see a few monarch butterflies moving across a lake near me every month they are flying, but the numbers flying over water increase during migration. Monarch populations in Minnesota peak in late August and early September as resident butterflies are joined by those from farther north.
I paused my walk to marvel at the beauty of a yellow-and-black Argiope. This orb weaver is called a corn spider, zipper spider, writing spider, golden garden spider, yellow spider, yellow garden spider, golden orb weaver, scribbler spider, yellow-and-black garden spider, black-and-yellow Argiope, McKinley spider and Argiope aurantia. A male courts a female by plucking at her web. Initially, webs are placed in areas sheltered from the wind, but as spiders age, they prefer higher web placement. After mating, the female deposits egg sacs on her web. The eggs hatch in late summer or fall and the hatchlings overwinter in the sac, not leaving it until spring. Juveniles disperse by ballooning, releasing silk that catches wind currents. Females die in a hard frost and males after mating.
There are so many dead animals on the road, I have to remind myself not to become calloused by their abundance.
A friend, Ruth Olson of Albert Lea, owns an African grey parrot that loves watermelon. When Ruth gives Elly May (named for Elly May Clampett of “Beverly Hillbillies” fame) a bit of melon, Elly May says, “Mmmmm!”
Duck stamp
Beginning with the 2022 federal duck stamp art contest, artists will no longer be required to include a hunting element in submissions, according to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The duck stamp was established in 1934, the same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act and launched legislation to protect and purchase wetlands vital to the survival of waterfowl and other wildlife. Ding Darling, an editorial cartoonist at the Des Moines Register and eventual head of the U.S. Biological Survey, drew the first stamp. The sketch showed a drake and hen mallard dropping into a marsh. Sales of the stamp to hunters, birdwatchers, outdoor enthusiasts and collectors have generated $1.1 billion to conserve over 6 million acres of habitat for birds and other wildlife and provide countless opportunities for hunting and other wildlife-oriented recreation on public lands. Ninety-eight percent of stamp sales go toward acquiring acreage in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The $25 stamps are available at most post offices.
Q&A
A customer sent me a video of a Jenner and a Kardashian saving a bird and asked what kind it was. It looked as if a song sparrow had gotten into their Malibu vacation home. The women didn’t save the bird, but they did help it by opening a door so it could fly out.
Marcia Clay of Truman asks where all the birds are. Natural food sources for birds are currently at their peak. The grocery shelves are stocked and the restaurants offer full menus. Trees produce nuts and seeds, plants offer seeds and insects are abundant. This makes it easy for birds to move about and some birds are migrating—shorebirds, warblers, Franklin’s gulls, hummingbirds, common nighthawks, chimney swifts, etc.—the other ones will be back to your yard.
Roger Batt of Algona asked about the nectar recipe for orioles and if it’s OK to feed them grape jelly. Orioles are fine with 1 part white sugar to 6 parts water. There have been no scientific studies conducted to determine any health hazards posed by grape jelly, but moderation, as it is in all things, might be wise.
Jim Van Riper of Albert Lea asked when Baltimore orioles leave. The peak migration is August and the first half of September. The majority of the birds reach their winter homes in Mexico, Central America or South America by the end of October.
“How can I tell a bee from a wasp?” Bees are fuzzy and chubby. They are cute. Wasps are smooth and skinny. They look threatening. Yellowjackets (a kind of wasp) are the ones most likely to hover around your picnic. They may be attracted to meat and soft drinks. Honey bees are vegetarians and aren’t usually drawn to soft drinks. Yellowjackets can be high-strung when searching for sweets and proteins.
Thanks for stopping by
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”—Soren Kierkegaard
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."—Marcel Proust
©Al Batt 2021
This beauty is sometimes called the McKinley spider because when William McKinley was running for the presidency, a supporter saw McKinley’s name written in the thick, zigzag silk (called stabilimentum) in the center of a yellow-and-black garden spider’s web and deemed it an omen. Photo of Argiope aurantia by Al Batt
The local fire department honored the memory of 9/11 with this perched along the highway.
A Golden Eagle. It and a Bald Eagle are about the same size.
The night’s yellow eyes of the winged tiger, a Great Horned Owl.
Rough-legged Hawks come in various shades, all lovely.
Not all lifesavers come in a roll. An ambulance from those thrilling days of yesteryear.
Not all lifesavers come in a roll. An ambulance from those thrilling days of yesteryear.
The Hubbell House in Mantorville, Minnesota. Since 1854, it has fed the likes of Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Roy Rogers, Mickey Mantle, Lady Bird Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Ole Bull and me. Good grub.
These nice ladies are making chocolate-covered potato chips in the Chocolate Shoppe in Mantorville, Minnesota. I’ve never tried these treats, but my mother-in-law loved them. I loved her, so I purchased chocolate-covered potato chips.
Are they sharks or slippers? They are Little Grumpy Sharks Slippers that make my wife’s feet swim in friendly waters.
Are they sharks or slippers? They are Little Grumpy Sharks Slippers that make my wife’s feet swim in friendly waters.
Helicoverpa. Likely a Corn Earworm Moth.
Helicoverpa. Likely a Corn Earworm Moth.
Bald blue jays
Naturally
I heard a pileated woodpecker call in the yard. It’s louder, lower-pitched and less regular than that of the northern flicker.
Common nighthawks flew over the yard. They were migrating to Brazil, but circled overhead and fed as I watched. They opened their mouths wide and ate whatever happened into their flight path.
I watched a hawk perched on a utility pole, peering at a tractor moving ground around in a farm field. Red-tailed hawks are common and they get to know the machinery that stirs up dinner for them. The field activities of tractors and combines chase rabbits, mice and voles from hiding. Gulls also enjoy the company of farm equipment providing comestibles in the form of grubs, worms and rodents.
Perfectly respectable songbirds have become ragged looking because of molts. Feathers needing replacement are subbed for. I see bald blue jays in my yard. The jays are fine, nothing more than the victims of an irregular molt. A friend who had been a bird rehabber told me she had never found mites on the bald heads of any jays, so it’s merely a simultaneous molt. It’s the nature of nature.
Q&A
“I see tall trees with silver leaves in southern Minnesota. What might they be?” The silver undersides of silver maple leaves make an impressive showing when the wind blows.
Jerry Viktora of Ellendale asked when hummingbirds leave. Ruby-throated hummingbirds begin to migrate south in mid-August, and most have left the state by the end of September—although stragglers are found into October. Keeping your hummingbird feeders up won’t cause the tiny birds to stay.
“I saw a snake near the river that acted like a rattlesnake, but it wasn’t. What kind of snake do you think it might have been?” Western fox snakes are among Minnesota’s longest snakes, reaching over 5 feet in length. The fox snake doesn't look like a fox. It got its name because when it’s handled it gives off a musky odor similar to that of a red fox. It’s yellow to dark brown with big, dark blotches and a belly that is yellow with black marks. Adults have an unmarked bronze-colored head. It’s found mainly along the Minnesota, St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. Despite lacking rattles, the fox snake can make a rattling sound by shaking its tail and may hiss when threatened.
“Do we duck because of the habits of ducks?” Yes. Our modern English word duck comes from the Old English “ducan,” which had nothing to do with a bird. Ducan was a verb meaning “to plunge underwater suddenly, to dive or dip.” The name duck for the waterfowl came from its habit of feeding by ducking, plunging its head into the water. To prepare for an atomic bomb, many American schoolchildren were taught to duck and cover.
“What’s the difference between a bill and a beak?” Not a thing—the two words are synonymous. Ornithologists use “bill” more than “beak.” Some people use “beak” when referring to songbirds with pointed bills, and “bill” for birds like ducks, but they mean the same thing.
“I think there are more grasshoppers this year. Am I crazy?” I’m not qualified to judge your mental state, but fungi are one of the major threats to grasshopper eggs. Hot, dry weather limits the growth of fungi and results in a larger proportion of eggs hatching. Grasshoppers thrive in hot weather. Insects are cold-blooded creatures and hot weather means their metabolism runs faster, so they eat more and grow faster. Grasshoppers are often more numerous in hot, dry conditions.
“What percent of bats have rabies?” According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s Zoonotic Diseases unit, 3 to 4% of bats tested for rabies in Minnesota test positive. Those bats aren’t a random sample, being the ones that have come into contact with humans. Only 1% of the total bat population is likely rabid. Over 51,000 people died in Minnesota in 2020, none from rabies.
“What animal has the best hearing?” The barn owl has better hearing than any animal that has been tested.
“What does the ruffed grouse hit its wings against to drum?” The sound resembling someone trying to start a 2-cylinder engine in the woods is produced by a male grouse in a drumming display. He creates it by beating his wings against the air to create a vacuum, as lightning does when it makes thunder.
HHH
It’s no Hubert Horatio Humphrey, but the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah was a bodacious blast. Bender Park, the garden, the hummingbirds and the people were all gold medalists.
Thanks for stopping by
“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.”—Mark Twain
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
A bald blue jay.
I found just the thing for that hard-to-buy-for lover of stuffed animals. The Grumpy Octopus. It’s adorable and doesn’t eat all that much.
I didn’t see a single Snowy Owl near my abode last winter. Perhaps this coldest season will be just the ticket.
A River Otter gets ready for a dental appointment.
The Ovenbird makes a nest that resembles a Dutch oven and sings, “Teacher, teacher, teacher.”
This handsome bird is a Turkey Vulture. It’s not often seen in GQ magazine.
Cliff Swallow nests under a bridge. Cliff Swallows are the famous swallows that returned to Capistrano.
I expect the next time I fill the tank of my car, it will be with pumpkin spice unleaded gasoline.
A Brown Thrasher hears the theme from “Jaws.”
I don’t know what year this Thunderbird is, but it’s a snazzy looking car.
Seen at Mantorville Square Antiques.
At Oxbow Park outside Byron, Minnesota.
One of my favorite wildflowers, the Bottle Gentian, with flowers that never actually open. The blooms are pollinated by bumblebees, which have the size and strength needed to pry them open.
Common Green Darner dragonflies migrate. American Kestrels travel the same migration route and feed upon their traveling companions, the Common Green Darner dragonflies.
I looked for titmice but was more than happy to see a single Tufted Titmouse.
I love the big-eyed look of a Tufted Titmouse.Thank
Some things are the cat’s meow. A Gray Catbird is one of those things.
A birder is cooking whenever he sees an Ovenbird.
Almanac predictions for winter
Naturally
I picked tomatoes while being thankful I’m not a member of the Flat Tomato Society. Being outdoors focuses my attention. Especially when deer flies are around. It’s all a sinister plot of the insects to survive.
The Farmer’s Almanac (published in Maine since 1818) predicts a “Numb’s the word, just shovels along” winter for us. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (published in New Hampshire since 1792) says our winter will be more wet than white.
A goldenrod patch is a world-class insect zoo. Bees, butterflies, soldier beetles, wasps, ambush bugs, crab spiders, etc. Remember, allergies are caused by ragweed, not goldenrod. Goldenrod is insect-pollinated, ragweed is wind-pollinated. I marveled at the beauty of a black and yellow Argiope. The writing spider had sentry duty on a web she’d built nearby. As I watched the spider hogtie prey, I thought she would have been good with a yo-yo. The colorful orb weaver makes a dandy photographic subject.
Chimney swifts are flying cigars. It has been estimated they fly 500 miles per day. They and common nighthawks vacuum insects from the air.
I miss the sounds of the Baltimore orioles. They are still around but are quiet. Arthur Cleveland Bent wrote of them, “We hear the softest, sweetest voice of all our birds—‘the herald of spring,’ Alexander Wilson calls him.”
The eastern chipmunk is maybe 10 inches long including its tail, yet it can put 31 kernels of corn, 7 acorns or 70 sunflower seeds in its cheek pouches. It might store 1/2 bushel of seeds and nuts in its burrow.
I strolled past lily pads and heard the snapping sounds of sunfish feeding.
The mew gull, common along the Pacific coast, is now the short-billed gull.
Q&A
“Are pelican eyes red?” They are white in hatchlings, becoming hazel to bluish-gray in adult American white pelicans. The bare skin around the eye is an orange-yellow color.
“Are goldenrod soldier beetles good guys?” This beetle is numerous in my goldenrod patch. It’s distinctive with its burnt orange color and two dark stripes on its lower wing covers. It’s a pollinator that feeds on nectar and pollen. It enjoys the occasional aphid. Its larvae feed on yummy things such as aphids, caterpillars and grasshopper eggs. It’s a beneficial insect.
“What is blue-green algae?” It’s not algae, but cyanobacteria. This type of bacteria looks like pea soup and thrives in warm, shallow, nutrient-rich lakes. Reducing the amount of nutrients getting into the lake by limiting the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn fertilizer, and runoff from cities, cultivated fields and feedlots.
“Are there more Cooper’s hawks than 50 years ago? If so, why?” The few days before writing this, I’d seen several Coop’s hunting house sparrows from roadsides and being mobbed by angry red-winged blackbirds. The hawk's positive population trends are a turnaround from the mid-twentieth century when the use of the pesticide DDT and widespread shooting had reduced populations.
Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove asked if barn swallows reuse nests. The presence of old nests appears to indicate territory quality and suitable nests from previous years are sometimes occupied. Birds avoid heavily parasitized nests. Many pairs switch nests between first and second broods. Those using old nests for their first broods are more likely to switch. Changing nests between first and second broods improves fledging success of second broods. Donna Hagerty of Waseca told me she had watched two broods fledge from the same barn swallow nest at her place this year.
"What do sandhill cranes eat?" I watched the cranes along the Platte River in March turn over dried cowpies to find edibles. They eat almost anything. While stopped in Nebraska on their migration, about 90% of their diet is made up of waste corn in the fields. The cranes are omnivorous with a diet heavy in seeds and cultivated grains, but the menu includes berries, tubers, small vertebrates and invertebrates. Insects, snails, reptiles, amphibians, nestling birds and small mammals are fair game. They aren't much interested in fish, but there are reports of them eating some. Sandhill cranes are doing well, but cranes are among the most endangered families of birds in the world, with 11 of the 15 species threatened with extinction. All 15 species can be seen alive and well at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It’s an incredible place to visit.
Thanks for stopping by
"The constant happiness is curiosity."—Alice Munro
"One hardly knows what quality to admire most in the Barn Swallow. All the dear associations of life at the old farm come thronging up at sight of him. You think of him somehow as part of the sacred past; yet here he is today as young and as fresh as ever, bubbling over with springtime laughter."—William L. Dawson
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
An eastern chipmunk describes the tomato that got away. Photo by Al Batt
This Blue Jay went bald during a molt, but is getting its head feathers back. We have all breathed a sigh of relief.
This Blue Jay went bald during a molt, but is getting its head feathers back. We have all breathed a sigh of relief.
A warbler gets ready to leave the leaf.
The Jack-in-the-pulpit has the Christmas spirit already.
No mere stick can hide the beauty of a Baltimore Oriole.
Katydid, Katy didn’t. That’s according to the song from 1941.
The rain gauge couldn’t handle all the precipitation, so I recruited a wheelbarrow as a backup. It’s nearly full.
One of the leaves was flying.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
A friend made a wind-spinner chickadee for me. I’m enjoying its company.
A hummingbird’s diary. A short book tells its life story with wonderful illustrations.
I had the whole wasp in my hand. It was a friendly meeting. Please don’t try this at home. I’m a trained idiot.
At the visitation for Earl Parriott.
A Differential Grasshopper. It’s looking to make a difference.
The rich, bubbly songs of the House Wren have quieted for another year.
Pa Cardinal making sure his youngster eats right.
This Baltimore Oriole has been checking flights south.
This Baltimore Oriole has been checking flights south.
A sunbathing Blue Jay.
Looking back, my neck hurts.
Yellow-crowned Night-heron seen at Brookside Park, Edgewater Park, Water’s Edge and Tranquility Lake (Lakeview Blvd. and Martin Road) in Albert Lea. The bird is plume perfect.
Naturally
A gentleman from Gaylord told a wonderful story about his grandfather. His grandfather wore a coat much of the year. I understand that. My father-in-law put on an overcoat to eat ice cream in the summer. One spring, the teller of the story and his grandfather were doing hard work as the day warmed. The grandfather hung his coat on a fence post. When the job was finished, the two walked over to pick up the coat. They noticed a wren had placed a pile of sticks in one of the coat’s pockets. That meant the pocket had become a potential nest. The narrator reached to grab the coat for his elder. His grandfather said, “Leave it there. I can always find another coat.”
The moths were reminders there are more insects than those who bite me. I walked under the light of a full moon and frightened a rabbit that had been making a meal of white (Dutch) clover. It caused me to think of Hank Williams. Dad enjoyed listening to all the Hanks—Thompson, Snow and Locklin, but Hank Williams was my father’s favorite singer. Father and I spent much time together in the dairy barn, where the old Philco radio (19 knobs and dials, only two of which made any difference—on/off/volume and station select) was tuned to either baseball or country music. Hank Williams sang, “I rode my horse to town today and a gas pump we did pass. I pulled him up and I hollered whoa, said fill him up with gas. The man picked up a monkey wrench and wham, he changed my tune. You got me chasing rabbits, spitting out teeth and howling at the moon.” I howled meekly at the moon as the rabbit pretended to listen.
I wanted to ask the rabbit if it had ever seen an American dipper, but of course, it hadn’t. The dipper is one of my favorites. Whenever I go to places where they might be, I look diligently for them. This chunky bird is North America's aquatic songbird. It catches its food underwater in flowing streams by swimming and walking on the stream bottom. John Muir wrote, "His music is that of the streams refined and spiritualized. The deep booming notes of the falls are in it, the trills of rapids, the gurgling of margin eddies, the low whispering of level reaches, and the sweet tinkle of separate drops oozing from the end of mosses and falling into tranquil pools." Has one ever been seen in Minnesota? Yes. According to the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union, one was spotted in Cook County in 1970, 1971 and 1973, and in Lake County in 1970. Once called the water ouzel, the bird favors fast-flowing, rocky streams with clear, cold water. American dippers are year-round residents of the western United States, Canada, Alaska, Mexico and Central America.
Q&A
Mark and Joan Anderson of Albert Lea saw a downy woodpecker on mullein. They wondered what it was eating. Common mullein is native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia, and was introduced to North America as a medicinal herb. In the 1700s, it was used in Virginia as a piscicide (fish poison). It spread rapidly and reached the Midwest by 1839 where it’s found in neglected meadows, pasture lands, along fence rows, roadsides, vacant lots, wood edges, forest openings and industrial areas. In its second year, the biennial plants produce flower stalks 5-10 feet tall with small yellow flowers grouped on the leafy spike and maturing from the bottom to the top. The flowers attract a wide variety of insects and each plant produces 100,000‑240,000 seeds. The downy woodpecker eats mainly insects at this time of the year and has learned to harvest insect larvae and pupae. In the fall, goldfinches, indigo buntings and downy woodpeckers eat the seeds.
“When do purple martins leave Minnesota?” They’re gone by early October. The best time to see purple martins at nest sites is May through late July. Roost sites are used from late July through early September. After the young are fledged, martins move to where they can gather at traditional pre-migratory roosts at night. They’re highly social during the non-breeding season and the roosts might contain thousands of birds. Purple martins winter in South America.
Thanks for stopping by
“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”—Tecumseh
“I saw a star slide down the sky, blinding the north as it went by. Too burning and too quick to hold, too lovely to be bought or sold. Good only to make wishes on and then forever to be gone.”—Sara Teasdale
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
Purple martins. Photo by Al Batt
The speculum, a patch of iridescent color on the secondary wing feathers of a mallard, is eye-catching.
Young American White Pelicans are duskier than the adults.
“A wonderful bird is the Pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week!
But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?”
―Dixon Lanier Merritt
Gene Wangen plowing with horses.
The Chinese mystery snail grazes on lake bottoms and is named because females give birth to young, fully developed snails. The species is imported and commonly sold by the aquarium trade, sometimes leading to the illegal release into the wild.
A Great Blue Heron practices to walk like John Cleese.
A Great Blue Heron has all the equipment it needs to go fishing.
The fishing was good.
A young Bald Eagle hears a lot of pelican gossip.
The underworld of an Argiope.
Naturally
A choir of crickets serenaded me. I don’t see jackrabbits here anymore, so I’ve named one of the yard’s cottontails Jack Bunny.
I didn’t see a bald eagle until I was 14. I told that to a boy who replied, “I’ve seen 14 bald eagles and I’m only 7 years old.”
I asked a UPS driver about deer. He said that in the 22 routes he’s aware of, he knows of no brown truck that has collided with a deer. This is likely due to cautious drivers and the crepuscular habits of deer, which feed mainly from before dawn until several hours later, and again from late afternoon until dusk.
Ken Bertelson of Albert Lea told of a funeral procession where the hearse had to come to a complete stop because of a stubborn wild turkey.
Judy Hellie of Clarks Grove found a katydid. Her 4-year-old grandson suggested feeding it grass. Judy looked it up and found katydids eat grass and leaves. Her grandson said, “Finally, I’m right.”
I worked at a county fair. I watched a little boy chase a baby killdeer. The tiny bird easily outran its pursuer and I felt no need to chastise the boy as I was one once. The poor mother killdeer had a cow. The baby ran off into the classic tractor area as the mother headed in the opposite direction while feigning injury, hoping to draw the perceived predator away. I spent 10 minutes watching the mother as she called incessantly, running between food stands and a stand selling animated face masks. She finally found the tractors and her baby. I cheered, which made passersby smile
Q&A
Gunnar Berg of Albert Lea asked where flycatchers drink. They do so at the Flycatcher Bar on Main Street. It’s a fly-ridden dive. I saw a Say’s phoebe in North Dakota. The Say's phoebe breeds farther north than any other flycatcher with a breeding range from central Mexico to the arctic tundra. Charles Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, named the Say’s phoebe after American naturalist Thomas Say, the first scientist to encounter the bird, at a site in Colorado, in 1819. This flycatcher typically doesn’t drink, even if water is available. Flycatchers get their moisture from an insectivorous diet. One will occasionally have a nip at the Flycatcher Bar.
Vicki Lauruhn of Mankato asked why house finches are nibbling on her flowers. Birds eat buds and flowers because they are nutritious. Some experts claim flowers have more food value than buds.
Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove wondered how long bald eagles live. The oldest known bald eagle in the wild was at least 38 years old when a car hit and killed it in New York in 2015. It had been banded in 1977.
Leo Skorin of Albert Lea saw three sandhill cranes and asked about their migration. Sandhill cranes mate for life. Juveniles remain near their parents for 9 or 10 months after hatching. Those three could have been parents and a colt. During migration, the family units group together with other cranes, forming loose roosting and feeding flocks that can reach into the many thousands. The DNR says the cranes in northwest Minnesota belong to the mid-continent population while those in central and east-central (and likely those seen by Leo) Minnesota belong to the eastern population. Eastern population cranes breeding in Minnesota winter in north and central Florida, and mid-continent cranes from northwest Minnesota winter along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The migration lasts from early September through mid-November with the primary spot to observe greater sandhill cranes in Minnesota is Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge near Zimmerman. Crane numbers there peak between late October and early November. Wintering sandhill cranes can be seen in Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico.
John Holt of Albert Lea asked where night-herons nest. Near water, from on the ground to 150 feet high in trees, shrubs and other vegetation. While not a night-heron, the more common green heron nests in shrubs or trees 5-30 feet high typically close to water.
Donna and Duane Swenson of Waseca watched a great horned owl stare at mallards in a pond. This owl begins nesting in January or February, laying their eggs in abandoned nests of squirrels, hawks or crows but sometimes nest on cliff ledges or in hollow trees. Females lay one to five eggs, which hatch in 30 to 37 days. The young owls leave the nest in six to nine weeks.
Paul Hensche of Alden asked how long house sparrows live. I’d say 2-5 years in the wild.
Thanks for stopping by
“The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too.”―Luther Standing Bear
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”―Viktor E. Frankl
Do good.
©Al Batt 2021
A killdeer calls its name. Photo by Al Batt
The bedazzling gorgeous Scarlet Tanager is Red with a capital R.
A young Red-headed Woodpecker.
An Eastern Chipmunk is maybe 10 inches long including its tail, yet it can put 31 kernels of corn, 7 acorns or 70 sunflower seeds in its cheek pouches. It might store 1/2 bushel of seeds and nuts in its burrow.
I am so happy this Baltimore Oriole is still keeping me company. Their presence is fleeting.
I love the light blue color around the Mourning Dove’s eye. I can’t be more specific on the color as there were only 16 crayons in the box I took to school and that was during my senior year.
A Cicada Killer Wasp looking for a cicada to, well, you know what.
When the Monarch Butterfly caterpillar gets ready to pupate it hangs head-down in a “J” shape.
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, the tiger of my Ornamental Onions (Allium).
She’s no Charlotte, but I love seeing an Argiope.
The life of a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar doesn’t involve any calorie counting.
Al Batt on the radio (KTOE)