Bluebird Nest March 27

Here is the picture from March 27. Two eggs!

One Egg!

I decided to check the bluebird box today and found a single egg in it. If she lays four eggs, the last one will be laid on Mar. 29 and that will put the hatching date on Apr. 10 or 11. I'm so excited!

Cedar Waxwings

As I left for the office this morning, a flock of about 50 Cedar Waxwings were in the pecan tree to the east of the house. They were singing and flying from branch to branch. That is the largest flock I have seen all winter.

Bluebirds!

This afternoon I saw steady activity at the bluebird box in my aunt's yard, so I walked over to see what was going on. As I got close, the female flew in with some nesting material in her beak. She went in, stayed for a couple of minutes and flew out emptyhanded, er, emptybeaked. I looked in and found a nearly completed nest! I wouldn't be surprised to see eggs within a couple of weeks. This is the second year for bluebirds in this box.







We've also got some nice Indian paintbrushes growing in our yard. I took this picture of a bunch of them this afternoon.




While at Mom's house to feed the cat this afternoon, I was almost sure I heard a Hooded Warbler call. I wasn't expecting it when it happened so I'm about 85% sure I heard it. He never called again.

I walked down to the new pond this evening and a Great Horned Owl flew from one tree to another. He sat on an exposed branch giving me some great looks at him! He started calling and was answered by a female further to the south. While I was down there, a couple of small brown birds started flying around pretty quickly. I followed them with my binoculars and found them to be Spotted Sandpipers. They landed on the edge of the pond and worked the edges for quite a while while I was down there.

'08 Property List as of Mar. 20: 64
'04 Property List as of Mar. 20: 63

Birding with my son

Spring is defitely in the air! The trees are budding. There are hundreds and hundreds of berry blossoms on the vines. The birds are singing on territory. It's a wonderful time!

Yesterday was pretty quiet down in the woods. Joshua went birding with me and we had a great time hanging out. I added a few new ones to my list for the property this year. Joshua and I ended up down at the new pond. We just sat down and talked for a while. While we were there, a Northern Harrier flew low over the trees causing the Red-winged Blackbirds to be quite restless. A little bit later, a couple of Mallards came flying in as if they were going to land on the pond. They saw us there and decided not to do it. But, I got a good look at them as they flew by. While sitting at the pond, I kept hearing a Red-bellied Woodpecker behind me (on the western tree line.) I turned to see a male and female excavating a nest hole in a dead tree. They worked and worked for a long time. When I finally left, the female was sticking her body in more than halfway coming out with wood chips everytime. That should be fun to watch them this year! Joshua got to get a really good look at them with my binoculars.

Other wildlife news from the property includes thousands of tadpoles in the new pond. They are absolutely everywhere! There are large ones and small ones. It should be interesting around there when they all get legs and come out of the water! Insects beware!

Birds seen March 14 (29 species): Mallard, Cattle Egret, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Field Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, American Goldfinch

'08 Species Seen as of Mar. 14: 63
'04 Species Seen as of Mar. 14: 60

Bluebird In The Yard

This afternoon, this male Eastern Bluebird was flying around with a female. She inspected a couple of the compartments on the martin house. The male flew over to the pecan tree out the east end of our house. I took this picture through glass about 50 ft. away. It's a little blurry, but the colors are still beautiful!

Birding in a Howling Wind

In the wake of a cold front, the wind was absolutely howling this morning. The temperature when I went out birding was 41 and the windchill was near freezing. My weather station consistently showed wind speeds between 20 and 25 mph, and I know there were higher gusts that were not recorded. I bundled up and went down to the woods. The birds must have had more sense than I did! They were not very active at all and must have been hunkered down. The only birds that seemed to enjoy the high wind were the vultures that were flying overhead. A few cardinals were singing, as were a few Carolina Wrens. Only one White-eyed Vireo was singing this morning. There are still several Yellow-rumped Warblers around.

I did add a new bird for the year - a Field Sparrow. There were several of them along the fence behind the house. I kept chasing them as I walked to the woods, and I got several good looks at them.

The Northern Parula must have been either moving on the other day or he saw no point in singing this morning. He was no where to be found. Maybe with the temperature and north wind, he decided that no other parulas would be around and just found a warm place to sit until the wind subsides.

Species seen today (27 species): Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Purple Martin, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Field Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch

'08 Property List as of March 7: 61
'04 Property List as of March 7: 55

FOS Northern Parula

This morning while I was getting dressed for work, I heard a Northern Parula singing in the trees to the east of my house. I found him in the top of a large hackberry tree singing his heart out! They are usually the first springtime warbler I see on our property. There are two large trees laden with Spanish moss they nest in. The parulas are usually followed pretty closely by Hooded Warblers and Black-and-white Warblers, so I'll be watching for them soon. This is the earliest by four days that I've seen a Northern Parula on the property.