Hummingbirds

We always have a lot of hummingbirds at our feeders. But in the fall it seems like the hummingbirds spend a lot more time at the feeders. They seem to be eating a lot to prepare themselves for the long flight south for the winter. These hummingbirds seem to be larger and less colorful than some of the others.

White Swallow

This little albino swallow was hatched in a nest just over our front door in Sioux Falls, SD. We were able to watch him grow. He was very beautiful and very unusual.

This beautiful "God's Creature" flew against our kitchen window. The only second Cardinal (female) to do that since we have been here. The first one died on our front step earlier this fall, no males so far. We have had many other birds hit the window and a few never make it after impact. I have held many of them until they are ready to take off. They seem to like to be held in a warm hand maybe 20 minutes to 30 minutes and fly off when they have regained full strength. The trees reflect against the glass like a mirror and they think it must be ok. I wish there were something we could do with out hurting our view as we love to watch all the birds at our feeders out there. We do have a X pattern panels in the inside and that does not help. We even taped large pictures of big black birds in each window that helped for a while. We got that idea from a bird magazine.

This bird hit the glass at just about dark and was conscious but not ready to fly so we put her in a box and put it in our Patio. She had blood in her right eye that did not look good. We put her in God's care for the night. In the morning, I got the box out of the patio and the Cardinal was moving around very vigorously. I took it to the front door and opened it. It flew away so fast I could hardly see it. Thank God!

Cardinals in the snow

In taking pictures, the timing is everything. Sometimes a good shot is missed because the shutter is a little slow. Sometimes that works to your advantage. I was trying to take this picture of the cardinal and just as I snapped the picture he took off and the blue jay flew in. It turned out to be a pretty neat picture!

The OakTree

All of the other trees have dropped their leaves, but this oak tree is still showing its beautiful fall colors. As you can see, we are all set for fall with the windows on our screened in patio all covered with plastic to help keep it warmer over the winter.

Wild Turkey

It used to be very rare for one to see a wild turkey. They were very wily and difficult to find. Now, it is not unusual to see them feeding in the fields near our home. This picture was taken on the road to our house.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

This Cooper's Hawk showed up at our bird feeders. He had made a kill and was eating it. This picture was taken through the window. It was fun to see a different type of bird, but we hated to see him eat those who were here to eat!

Robins Forgot Their Way South

This flock of robins have been coming to eat and drink at our bird station most of the winter. I think the birds and animals are getting confused with all the weather changes lately and do not know what to do. We have counted seven robins here at the same time. There are other people in Denison who are reporting that they also are seeing a lot of robins this winter.

Blue Birds

Bluebirds have appeared at our bird feeder a number of times, but each time that they come it is a big treat for us. I was able to get some nice clear pictures of them this time!

Ant Lions

These holes started to show up around our patio. This a.m. I was surprised to see how many there were. I was curious to know what was causing them. My daughter, Tami, thought they were traps created by spiders. So we did some research. What we found out are the holes are made by an insect larva which turns into a bug that looks like a dragonfly. Our grandson, Nathan, found this one in one of the holes. They are not beautiful, but they do trap and kill spiders and other insects when they fall into these holes.

Easter Lilies

These sure look like Easter Lilies! I took these pictures at 10:00 a.m. I am not sure why it turned so dark around them, but I think the effect is really nice.

A Different Visitor Today

Our neighbor Vern yelled over to me this noon and said bring the camera. When I got down part way to the road this animal was in the middle of our yard. I tried to get pictures then but it did not want to stand still. It ran across the road to the neighbor there but could not get a picture and my camera battery went dead. It did come back across to our place and started up towards the house but did not make it then. Not long after it was up by the tree in the front of our house eating sunflower seeds I had put out for the birds and squirrels. I tried to get good pictures then and Nila gave me a slice of bread to give to him so I threw it out towards to him and then backed off and he came closer and ate it. I had some bird feed containing corn, peanuts, and sunflower seeds so put some out by the tree and he loved that. I thought he would like a drink of water so got Brandy’s food dish and filled it letting him see and hear it running in to it. He did not come for it so I put it close to the tree and put the corn etc around it and he was scared of it. He got about a foot from it and jumped back. Finally I put the seed right close to it and he finally got the nerve to see what it was and ended drinking a couple inches of it. He completely cleaned up all the seeds and I went in the house and I looked out a while later he was gone. Vern said it went across the road again. Sorry for the long story, but that was our excitement for the day. Being from the farm brought memories of feeding the pigs. LOL

Lilies

I took a few more pictures of the lilies this afternoon around 4:00 p.m. These smaller pictures don't really do justice to the beauty of these lilies. Everyone on is such a different, but beautiful color.

Wild Bird Information

Here are some links that have good information on wild birds:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Baltimore_Oriole.html

http://www.wildbirds.com/photo_FAQ.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/identify_color.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/Default.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/feeding_hummers.htm

Baltimore Oriole Feeder

Baltimore Orioles love to eat jelly. I made this little feeder to hold the jelly. It is not fancy, but it is very functional. I can put out two containers at a time and it is very easy to change and clean the containers. The birds learned to use it almost immediately.

Pear Tree

Our son, Todd, started this pear tree in his yard, from seed that came from his pear tree which is a good producer. He planted it in the back yard here for Father's Day. I had to put a cage around it to keep the deer from eating it! I thought he would like to see how his pear tree is growing. I am going to have to raise the roof pretty soon.

Wild Deer in our Yard

Our yard seems to be part of a natural trail where many deer pass each day. They usually come through at night, but these two young bucks chose to spend part of the day lounging in our back yard.
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Deer in our backyard

These two young bucks showed up in our backyard this afternoon. It was touching to watch the affection they showed toward one another. They seemed very calm and relaxed.