Birder’s Lounge

In an earlier post I discussed feeding wild birds. I have already been wavering in my resolve because I have an intense need to nurture and that translates to “feed the birds, silly.” I have been gradually decreasing the amount of black-oil sunflower seed that I put out. I still have birds, they’re just not as easy to see. I’ve been thinking that feeding the birds is really for my own benefit, as long as the birds have habitat and natural food available.

Well, as I was thinking about this and heading toward the feed bin, I saw this squirrel in my Shumard Red Oak (Quercus shumardii). This is one of the favorite resting spots for my squirrels - and this time I could see him eating something. (I took these pictures through a window, so they’re pretty bad.)

It took me a few minutes to figure out what he was eating, but then I got it. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think I’ve heard more robust and hearty singing from any other bird. Granted, my experience is fairly limited - but in my area, Mockingbirds are the best singers. Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos), as their name suggests, are able to mimic other bird songs. Not only can they mimic other birds, they have their own songs, and have been known to mimic other animals and even machine noises! Read the rest of this entry »

I went on a field trip yesterday with a nice group of people to explore a native Texas prairie. It was great! The Bear Creek Ranch is owned by Dixon Water Foundation and is located in Aledo, Texas. The purpose of the tour was to focus on the native plants and grasses of the prairie. While I soaked up as much information as I could from the three great and knowledgeable guides, I found myself drawn to the birds and even the bugs. While others had their field glasses out Read the rest of this entry »

This article has been a “doozie” to research! I almost took on more than I could handle, but I have learned a few things about plant and bug identification. I saw some interesting bugs with interesting baby bugs on a mystery plant in my trial garden. I decided to find out if the plant is native and if the bugs make good bird food. In short, the answers are maybe and probably.  Here’s what I found: Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a White-breasted Nuthatch, sometimes referred to as the “upside-down bird” (Peterson Field Guides: Birds of Texas, © 1988) I’m thinking about adopting this bird as one of my mascots, given its relevance to my life sometimes I saw my first one a few days ago and snapped these pictures. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently had the great good fortune to be invited to a private home on property that I can only describe as Wood Duck Wonderland. Wow. Just look at the picture above…a happy pair. (And I love that there is a turtle in the picture too!)

The property is wooded - oaks are what I remember the most though I’m sure there were a variety of trees. There is a lake that is surrounded with dense vegetation and trees, making it prime real estate for cavity-nesters like Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa). The Wood Ducks tend to nest in the many nest boxes that are spread throughout the property. I learned that Wood Ducks return to the place they fledged to lay their own eggs, and so the population in this habitat is growing! Amid so much news of declining bird populations Read the rest of this entry »