12/19/15 Forsythia blooming. Easily a dozen yellow flowers.
11/28/15 Nobody can dominate a window feeder like a House Finch. All I have to see is a long line of birds in a queue on the power line to know there is a House Finch taking its time with a meal.
11/27/15 Put up the Perky Pet suction cup window feeder and in less than 5 minutes it had a Goldfinch in it with a male Northern Cardinal trying to bully it out. Within a half hour I saw House Finches, Nuthatches and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The cold, wet day must be the reason for the brisk business.
11/23/15 So far the weedwhacker line project is wildly successful. I still don't have many cardinals on the feeder but I have even fewer House Sparrows. The Chickadees and Titmice are constants.
11/21/15 Decided to trying hanging weedwhacker line over the new cardinal feeder to simulate the monofilament fishing line trick to keep off the House Sparrows. It actually worked. The only problem is that it curls because it's so thick. I guess that is why they suggest using fishing line.
11/07/15 Did not get a mature Wheel Bug all year. Until today. Never give up hope, citizens.
10/31/15 The first few cardinals on the Squirrel Buster cardinal feeder have chased off House Sparrows like they were playing the whack-a-mole game. It pleases me to no end.
I have a Squirrel Buster finch feeder. Same squirrel busting technology but with slots instead of holes. Well, I've never had much luck with attracting birds to thistle (despite having loads of Goldfinches in the yard) so I decided to convert it to a sunflower seed feeder. I drilled all of the slots into quarter-sized holes and put it out. Doesn't work. The seed just flushes out every time anybody uses it. I looked at the proper seed feeders and they have little hoods on the inside over the holes to prevent this issue. I'm going to DIY my way around this problem. Stay posted. Or whatever.
10/30/15 Finally added a Squirrel Buster cardinal feeder to the mix. I'm hoping that they won't tolerate House Sparrows using it.
Just saw the first Junco of the year in the KCWildlife gardens.
10/29/15 Put the feeders back up after removing them for several months to clear out the squirrels and House Sparrows. It took maybe 15 mintures before it was coated in backyard birds. No peckers.
10/22/15 Took off for Isabella, MO for a few days to gawk at and hassle Pileated Woodpeckers.
10/17/15 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and White-throated Sparrows monkeying around in the new garden.
10/15/15 Dug a new garden to accomodate all of the Blue Mist that I want to get out of the remaining gardens. Also added some Asters, Bee Balm, Coneflower, Petunias, Ajuga, Dasies, Sage and Threadleaf Coreopsis.
10/07/15 The blooms are drying up. All that's left are asters and a few goldenrod plants. These are loaded with Assassin, Ambush and Stink Bugs but I still haven't seen a mature Wheel Bug this year.
10/01/15 Didn't see a Monarch in the gardens all day. Not even a stray. Only a smattering of Skippers and the ever-present Cabbage Whites.
09/30/15 Cold front brings warblers and Robins but steals Monarchs.
09/26/15 It's Inornate Pyrausta Moth day!
09/25/15 The Monarchs have trickled back down from a dozen in the garden at a time to 4 or 5.
09/20/15 The announcement of the departure of the Monarchs was pre-mature. Perhaps way.
09/19/15 I enjoyed a couple of weeks or with fistfuls of Monarchs in the garden all day but the the cold front that blew threw yesterday seems to have provided a hasty escape. Still have a few solitary Monarchs stopping by but nothing like the frenzy earlier in the week. Skippers and other small butterfly numbers are also lower now.
09/13/15 Still no Inornate Pyrausta Moth in the Pitcher Sage. I've found one as late as the 18th so I still have hope. Did see the first Black Swallowtail caterpillar in the fennel this year.
09/12/15 I'll ALWAYS take a picture of a Common Buckeye. The only time I will not, assuming that I armed with a quality functioning camera, is if I have already just taken 40 pictures of one.
09/11/15 You can capture every insect found on a big bush of Calico Asters and sort them into three piles: Potter Wasps, Flies and Misc. PS. the Misc. pile will be small.
Flock of Robins in the trees in the morning. It was wonderful to hear them again. Catbirds, Thrashers and Hummers still around.
09/10/15 Monarchs in the garden are increasing every day. A week ago you could always find 2 floating around. Now there are always 4-5 in the back and another fistful in the side and front. Seeing other Lepidoptera but not as many as Monarchs and Skippers.
09/08/15 Leaves and other bits of tree debris suspended in mid-air in huge Spotted Orbweaver webs. Very trippy.
09/06/15 Very birdy in the garden the last two days. Saw a Flycatcher working for bugs this morning. There have been a string of 90+ degree days but tomorrow cooler weather with multiple-day rain chances blows in so perhaps birds are riding the wave.
08/31/15 The woman that helped design the initial layout of our gardens died today. She also gave me lots of plants - Ajuga, Comfrey, Crocosmia, Sweet Woodruff and Missouri Primrose to name a few. Friday and today, before I knew she had passed, I had been giving away loads of flowers because the garden has flourished and become overcrowded. It's kind of nice that there's a bit of color and a place for insects in several more yards now, thanks to her. Rest in peace, Meri.
08/29/15 Visited The Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden and Kauffman Legacy Park to see what was blooming. Passion Flower was peaking.and Goldenrod just getting started.
08/28/15 Typical: you go outside one day and there are no Goldenrod Soldier Beetles. You go out the next day and there are 3. You go out on the third day and there are dozens. Today was the dozens day. Same thing happened a few days ago with Jagged Ambush Bugs.
08/25/15 I repeat this for my benefit, as well as for any amature birder: if Cardinals are clicking and Blue Jays are shrieking, something interesting is happening outside. The Cardinals clicking frequently means a cat roaming around the property. Blue Jays shrieking means the cat has a rabbit in its mouth or there is another unwanted guest nearby like an owl or hawk. It's a good system.
08/23/15 This happens to people who take pictures of insects. You're as close as you can get to an assassin bug who is staring right back at you in a defensive posture. You pull the camera down to check the shot and your settings, look up and it's gone. You then yelp for a friend to come and check your head and back for assassin bugs.
Tachinids love mint blooms. REALLY love them.
There is a moment every morning after the sun rises that a half-dozen Common Nighthawks circle frantically just over the roof of our house and tree tops for 5 minutes or so. They will soar straight into the thick of a tree and quickly zoom around the interior branches. It is such an amazing thing to watch.
08/22/15 Had to run sprinklers very little this year but I lost a lot of plants, assuming just for the season, to a variety of water releated illnesses. Also had things that never bloomed because of all the dark days. I wonder if the primary draw of Eden was the pefect balance of rain and sun.
08/21/15 Heard a little complaining cry from a Catbird in the thick of the Rose of Sharon bushes. Considered that it could be my last Catbird sound for the year.
08/14/15 A single female Ruby-throated Hummingbird relentlessly driving three male Goldfinches away from the Echinacea patch because it's too close to the Bee Balm. Quality comedy.
08/07/15 Most of the hostas are blooming and several plants are starting their 2nd run, including daisies and sage.
No sign of Catbirds the last few days.
08/06/15 John sent me a video that his home system caught of a Racoon ambushing a Cardinal on his back patio. Quite shocking.
08/05/15 Sometimes it seems like the sole function of European Wool Carder Bees are to make sure that no Bumble Bees are nectaring on their watch.
08/04/15 Last weekish I saw a tree full of Grackles where there isn't normally one. Guessing that means starting the trick back to Texas?
08/01/15 The Catbird has gone mostly quiet with the exception of the occasional mew. Got chased off quite rudely by a female Hummingbird this morning.
07/31/15 Saw 5 Common Nighthawks frisbeeing around the house in the evening. They are SO fast!
07/30/15 Saw a Common Nighthawk fly into my neighbor's tree this morning. The sun really illuminated his wing bars.
Hardy Hibiscus makes the 90th plant to bloom in the gardens this year. I can barely think of 10 that are left (Sedum, Asters, Goldenrod, Baptista, Blue Lobelia, Sawtooth Sunflowers, Mums, Pitcher Sage) so we are on the other side of Summer. The Crocosmia didn't fire this year.
07/27/15 Two Monarchs in the yard until the two Monarchs in the yard discovered that there were two Monarchs in the yard.
07/21/15 Sage starting its 2nd run of blooming.
07/20/15 And just like that, a Giant Swallawtail and Eastern Tiger in the gardens.
07/19/15 I've noticed an absense of Swallowtail butterflies in the gardens this year. I've seen maybe a half-dozen Monarchs but only 2 or 3 Eastern Tigers and a single Black Swallowtail. No caterpillars anywhere. I'm going to hold off on my conspiracy theories because last years I had loads of butterflies in mid-August into September.
07/09/15 Good birding advice: Never ignore multiple Blue Jays shrieking in a tree. Instead, go get your camera and prepare to photograph an owl or a hawk. Or a crow. Hey, it's not foolproof.
07/08/15 Catbird still singing all day.
06/27/15 Good sitting around in the backyard drinking coffee morning:
Saw 6 Flickers in the top of a tall tree sunning together
Saw a female Hummingbird in the Bee Balm
Saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher flying around our Rose of Sharon bushes
Saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in same
Saw 3 House Wren babies chattering on the fence
There are 3 Catbirds hanging out together and yelling but they are still gathering nesting materials so I don't understand the family dynamic
06/23/15 My resident Catbird was spotted this morning heading for the thick grove of Rose of Sharon bushes with an abandoned paper towel. He's still yelling his brains out but there is a second, quiet bird hanging around now. I like where this is going.
06/22/15 The Bee Balm is all in full bloom but I haven't spotted any Hummingbirds or White-lined Sphynx yet.
06/21/15 I love having mimics in the yard. A great summer includes a Catbird yelling all day, in MY yard exclusively, for several weeks in a row. I am enjoying that scenario this year. It occurred to me this morning that he chose my yard because of the water source and the gardens. I am in control of my destiny. Catbird-wise.
06/16/15 Glanced out the window and saw a Great Spangled Fritillary riding some dwarf Bee Balm. A few seconds later, about 10 yards away, a Brown Thrasher lands in the yard and jogs, yes, I said jogs, purposefully to the Bee Balm and takes his best shot at having butterfly for dinner. Fail.
06/11/15 My neighbor and I added a garden between our houses.
06/10/15 I've had these mystery plants in my wildflower garden (the section that is from a seed packet) that stayed green all winter. The leaves look like giant Dandelion leaves. Well, these things have gotten huge. They are about 5 and a half feet tall now. I've left them up until they bloom so that I can identify them. That day was today. Chicory. All of the chicory I've ever seen has been short and ratty on roadsides. I suppose the difference is that this one has been in fetrilized soil.
06/09/15 Modified the Insects and Plants pages to not display all sub-categories by default. You can find what you are looking for by name, class/order or use the Display All option. The Mammals, Reptiles and Birds pages will display all images by default.
06/08/15 Poppy, the baby Poppy Mallow-destroying bunny, has now taken my Illinois Bundle Flower to the ground. He better stay cute for as long as he can if he knows what's good for him.
06/07/15 The gardens are covered with Candy-striped Leafhoppers and things eating Candy-striped Leafhoppers. A real favorite with spiders.
06/05/15 Set up a backlighting rig (2 old-school microphone stands, a sheet and a black light) to see if I could land a sexy moth before bedtime. Saw some big fellows flutter by but mostly photographed cockroaches and winged ants.
06/04/15 Found Celery Looper caterpillars all over my Fennel today. Thank you as always to Jackie Goetz for helping me make sense of the occupants of the KCWildlife.com Memorial Gardens.
05/28/15 The rain persists but supposedly Kansas City is approaching a series of 4-5 dry, sunny days. I'm getting tired of photographing wet insects with the ISO cranked up to 1600.
05/27/15 Clematis managed a bloom. So much stuff ready to pop. Just waiting on a sunny stretch.
05/26/15 Found a Leaf-footed Bug on the top of a Goldenrod plant. He moves around but has remained on the tip of this plant for 4 days. When it rains (which it does frequently) he'll move under a leaf but will pop right back out when it stops.
05/25/15 Photographed a handsome Robber Fly darting around with somebody's head in his mouth. Also got pictures of a Western Lynx spider dismantling a Plant Bug. Happy Memorial Day!
It's time for me to start backlighting for moths.
05/24/15 Finally got a couple of new plants blooming. It's been a full week since a new plant has bloomed. I'm guessing that this is because of the extraordinary series of cloudy/rainy days.
05/23/15 The rain just won't stop. I think we've had something like 4 non-rain days this month. I still scramble out to the gardens whenever there is a splash of sun (and often without) and start hunting bugs. I've seen a nice collection of new flies this year, perhaps because of the marshy conditions.
05/20/15 I've really fallen in love with Cardinals this year. They would be entertaining for their calls and songs alone. They have a dazzling collection of swoops, whoops and laser sounds. But if you would like to kick your Cardinal experience up a notch, just watch them while they are singing. They stretch up to the point of nearly teetering with the crest fully deployed and their whole body jerks and wobbles through the song. Such a joy.
05/17/15 The same strong southerly winds that delivered my Hummingbird to Missouri last night introduced a Monarch to the garden this afternoon.
05/16/15 First Hummingbird in the backyard.
05/13/15 Added Poppy Mallow, Pinnate Prairie Coneflower/Grayhead Coneflower and more Wild Petunias to the garden.
05/12/15 Finally have a Catbird to call my own. Daily he yells his brains out from high places and raises hell in the birdbath. He is my feathered brother.
05/10/15 Covered in poison something.
05/09/15 Found a Lone Star Ticket in the Black-eyed Susans. Eek.
05/06/15 White-crowned Sparrows are here!
05/05/15 Stormy yesterday, Migranty today. Swainson's Thrush, Waterthrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak were all backyard visitors today.
05/03/15 Windy day so the Oaks and Maples dumped the bulk of their seed into the gutters, car windshields and a variety of absurd tiny places that nothing should be able to randomly fall from a tree and land in.
05/02/15 Yearly visit to the Konza Prairie.
05/01/15 Spending the day at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.
04/30/15 Wheel Bug nymph on the screen porch.
04/28/15 The Starlings are tearing off tufts of my bronze fennel for their nests.
04/27/15 The bird calls from the Wrens, Cardinals, Titmice and Chickadees have diminished dramatically. I suspect that alliances have been formed. Robins are still yelling, starting around 4 AM each morning.
04/26/15 Spent part of the afternoon at Shawnee Mission Park. Found a few migrants but was really struck by the number and variety of butterflies. Marvelous.
04/25/15 John spotted a Ruby-throated Hummingbird today.
04/22/15 Yellow-rumped Warbler, Gray Catbird and Brown Thrasher all wandering the KCWildlife Gardens this afternoon.
Catbird lurking around the spot where a pair built a nest last year. Again, I must be amazing for the creator of the universe to bless me thusly.
04/21/15 After mowing the estate today I was rewarded with a hearty round of tree-mewing.
04/19/15 Gray Catbird splashing around in the bird bath. I could not be happier.
Start of Elm and Maple seed dropping week.
04/19/15 Many of the milkweeds are now above ground.
04/15/15 Planted some Royal Catchfly and Virgina Bluebells. Bachelor's Buttons and Lily Of The Valley are about to pop.
04/14/15 Added another birdbath to the KCWildlife.com Gardens. I've found a water source to be an excellent draw for migrants.
04/13/15 Eastern Towhee wandering around the gardens. I grudgingly accept.
04/11/15 People are reporting Baltimore Orioles around town.
Planted some Ironweed roots and more Rose Milkweed seeds.
04/11/15 Visited the Heron Rookery on Roe with Rachel and Kevin. The nests are mostly full, including the Great-horned Owl. Saw two pairs of Wood Ducks, Flycatchers and Gnatcatchers. Stopped by Antioch Park and saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Saw a Junco at the feeders this morning.
Have you noticed that the violets went nuts this year? My dandelions don't stand a chance.
04/07/15 I think the Juncos have split.
04/06/15 Thrashers singing weakly. Robins are glorious in the very early mornings.
I saw a male Cardinal get a seed out of the in-house feeder and put it in the beak of either a female or young male. Do they have a brood this early?
I've been seeing a lot of Flickers poking around on the ground the past few days. What exactly is that about?
04/04/15 Was out looking at the garden and accidentally spooked a pigeon who was lurking in the shadows. He flew up to the top of a tall Rose of Sharon bush about 4 yards in front of me. I looked around at flowers a bit more when I saw him stiffen out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look at him and he peeped and flew to some brush at the same time that a large shadow went over my head. It was a Red-tailed Hawk in pursuit of the now hidden pigeon. About an hour later I was talking on the phone in a chair in the backyard and the same hawk re-appeared and flew right at my head, swooping up about 6 yards away to go into a tree.
04/03/15 This week it was common to glance outside and see a gang of 2-3 male Cardinals chasing single females. Today I've seen multiple occurences of a male and female sharing the window and hanging feeders together. Grab your partner and do-si-do.
04/02/15 A day late but finally have a Brown Thrasher knocking leaves around! I didn't have a Catbird visit until the 24th last year (May 6th in 2013) despite the fact that they were around town for about a week before.
04/01/15 Ruby-crowned Kinglet poking around in the yard.
Had a Brown Thrasher in the yard on this day last year. No such luck today. Someone did spot a Thrasher at Longview today. Hopefully some mimics will ride that 25 MPH wind coming from the South.
Put the jelly feeder out. The Cardinals and Catbirds enjoy them and I may pick up a stray butterfly or Oriole later in the month.
From John: "Reports of hummers and orioles migrating early so keep an eye out. I show hummers in OK and AR already. Even one report in Indiana. "
First Turkey Vulture spotted over the house for the year.
Echinacea and Phlox are above ground.
03/31/15 Found the first neighborhood Brown-headed Cowbird and mate. Dandelions and Tulips are up everywhere. So are Cabbage Whites!
Saw a completely cooked male Goldfinch with his lady.
03/30/15 Saw a Cabbage White and Potter Wasp/Mason Wasp (E. hidalgo) checking out the garden this afternoon.
Goldfinches disappeared (like they do every year) a week to 10 days ago.
03/29/15 Added Rose Milkweed and Ironweed to an already overcrowded KCWildlife garden. Tried the soaking-the-seeds-in-hot-water-for-12-hours method before planting.
03/28/15 Visited Shawnee Mission Park with Rachel. Highlight for me was a handsome Red-breasted Merganser. Visited the Heron rookery at Roe Park. Saw one Heron on a nest and a Belted Kingfisher. They have built two large buildings on the side of the water opposite of the apartments.
03/26/15 Dug the Hydrangea out of their protective coating of leaves and gave them a few gallons of water. Saw that the Ligularia I planted last September is above ground.
03/25/15 I've always marveled that the fresh batch of 6-10 Garter snakes that collect in my yard every year seem to enjoy stretching out in full sun with impunity. Found a poor wretch today that was a rare exception. I had a Red-tailed Hawk actually IN the garden a few days ago, before he was run off by Sparrows and Jays, but I doubt that this was the reason for his visit. Would Robins do this? Picture in the Common Garter Snakes section.
Turkey Vultures all over the place. The wheels are in motion.
One of our associates bought safflower seeds for the window feeders. Most of the wee birds seem to like them OK except for the Carolina Wren. He rakes his long, curved beak back and forth to sweep them out of the feeder in search of any old sunflower seeds that may be underneath.
03/22/15 Found a bunch of Dame's Rocket in the yard and decided to pull it all up because of it's invasive nature.
I use a Canon EOS Rebel t2i for my macro shots. Today I poppped a card in and got a "No Card in Camera" error. I tried another card with the same error message. I tried powering on and off and a different battery. Same error message. I took a can of compressed air and shot a puff into the battery compartment. Problem solved. There must have been a bit of debris that was fouling the device that tells the camera if a SD card is loaded or not.
03/21/15 Ran out to KCP&L Wetlands. Lots of action in the water. Saw Great Blue Heron, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Ruddy Ducks, Redheads, Canvas Backs (female), Mallard, American Coots and Ring-necked Ducks.
People are starting to spot Turkey Vultures. I haven't seen one yet. No signs of mimics in the area yet either. I think I saw my first Thrasher last year on April 1st. Sincerely.
03/20/15 The first day of Spring. One of those rare moments when it is absolutely appropriate to say "Oh hell yes!"
03/17/15 OK, putting together the pieces. Clearly a big pile of Starlings and Grackles have flown in together, as the yard is suddenly full of both, and the Red-winged Blackbird must have tagged along.
Took a break from cutting down old stalks in the garden and heard something unusual amongst the buzzing and squeeling of the Grackles and Starlings - a Red-winged Blackbird. A few moments later he flew into the yard for a drink. A fresh water source in your backyard will get you some pretty neat birds.
Grackles have graduated from heard-but-not-seen to seen-and-heard. Watching every day for Turkey Vultures and Brown Thrashers.
03/16/15 The round holes that Northern Flickers make are amazing. I couldn't do that with a tool made for making round holes. Saw this chap today with three all in one small area. He was doing the yip-yip-yip-yip while he was checking his work.
Carolina Wren is still investigating the property (right up the gutter-to-rain-barrel tube) and sending a pretty constant shout-out on the Love Line.
First Daffodil bloom.
03/14/15 First Forsythia bloom.
03/13/15 Saw a Bald Eagle and two offspring circling the house in the early afternoon.
Cleaning up leaves day unfortunately coincided with Garter Snake day.
Raccoon out in the daylight this morning rooting around for grubs at the base of elm and oak trees.
KCUR article including pictures by our beloved John McConnell.
03/11/15 Hyacnth above ground, Lilac bush has leaves and first Crocus is blooming.
The Robins are in a fevered state right now. I had to run a very short errand and struck one that tried to fly from one side of the road to the other UNDERNEATH MY CAR, one that just missed the windshield and one that tried to run across the road in front of me. I may not leave the house again until June.
The 2015 blooming sequence list is here. The 2014 list can be found here.
Watered the gardens for the first time this year.
03/10/15 Heard the rusty screen door spring Grackle noise outside my office window. Turkey Vultures should be right around the corner.
Started the process of cutting down old stalks in the garden from last year.
03/09/15 The male Cardinals, who just a few weeks ago could all sit in a bush together and take turns at the feeders, are now constantly engaged in skirmishes.
03/08/15 Eastern Comma butterfly in the backyard gardens. I seem to recall, in general, seeing Cabbage Whites and Mourning Cloaks at the start and end of the non-winter months.
John had his first Grackle of the year show up at his feeders.
03/07/15 Saw an Eastern Comma butterfly at the Overland Park Arboretum and a Red-shouldered Hawk in its nest. Also saw a pair European Starlings picking up bits of trash in my yard and around the neighborhood. Of course that means more Starlings.
03/04/15 One more day of lousy weather and then we're heading into 50s, 60s and 70s over the next 7 days.
I think I'm going to leave the leaves in the gardens this year. My only concern has been how they might impact new starts. We'll see.
03/03/15 Staying light until 6:30 PM, which will be 7:30 PM next week. Bought some Ironweed roots and seeds.
03/02/15 Common Redpoll spotted at a metro backyard feeder.
02/25/15 Bachelor's Buttons are about 4 inches above ground.
02/23/15 Tulips are above ground. Later in the afternoon I discovered that all of the Surprise Lilies are up.
02/20/15 John's feeder cam found Pine Siskin in his window feeders.
02/16/15 Wretched cold with percipitation on the way so the feeders have been blurry with birds. John had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Eastern Bluebird at his feeders today.
02/15/15 Light at 6:45 and dark at 6. I accept.
02/11/15 Still seeing moths darting around in the evenings.
02/09/15 Cardinals are still making mating calls. All day.
02/03/15 Awoke to swoopy Cardnial mating calls.
01/29/15 Nearly 70 today so took a walk around the James A. Reed lakes in with a friend. Saw grasshoppers, Boxelder Bugs, flies and moths. I even thought I saw a Mourning Cloak out of the corner of my eye.
01/27/15 We've had a run of 50s and 60s off and on over the last week or so. Saw a Boxelder Bug AND a Lacewing Fly today.
01/19/15 I set up a shelter for Nelly to ride out the night in but she still didn't make it. She was a pile of feathers in the morning. She has been coming around for the last 5 years so we're really going to miss seeing her posing on things in the backyard. R.I.P., Sister.
01/18/15 Awoke this morning to discover that our favorite backyard visitor, Nelly, a leucistic Northern Cardinal, is unable to fly. She is also breathing heavily. She is able to walk and seems to be eating and drinking but I'm not optimistic about her chances of surviving, for possibly a second time, the neighborhood cats.
01/16/14 Had a look around Wyndotte County Lake. Canada Geese and Mallards everywhere. Also a dozen Bald Eagles keeping things in balance.
A Gray Squirrel has discovered the In-House Bird Feeder. I've spooked it (or it and a cousin) off twice.
01/15/14 Went for a walk in the afternoon and was surprised to see hundreds of American Robins in the neighborhood. Nearly every yard had leaves being flicked around by a half dozen or more birds. The din was splended.
01/10/14 I just counted 6 Flickers simultaneously working a small area of a Maple tree that currently has morning sun directly upon it. Would love to know what they are finding. Definitely not a good time to have 6 legs.
01/09/14 Here's a tidbit that I learned from having the In-house Bird Feeder: Cardinals hiss like cats. It's true. It appears to be an abrupt way of saying to other birds "Excuse me, you've been in the feeder for quite a long while. I would appreciate it if you would leave, perferably hurridly, so that I might enjoy some of the nutritious bounty. Thank you and don't come back."
01/04/15 Is it my imagination or is that sunset ending about 10 minutes later than it was a week ago?
01/02/15 Crocus starts are above ground. Wah?
01/01/15 John found a Eastern Towhee in his backyard yesterday! Will get pictures up today.
