Hermit! Thrush and Other Spring Signs (CORRECTED)

Yesterday was a great day with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.  I saw my first butterfly, the Eastern Comma; and later in the afternoon, I spotted several lovely blue Spring Azure butterflies.  The toothwort was budding--should bloom any day this week.   Spring is here!

 I downloaded the pictures from my wildllife camera and was very surprised to see a Wood Thrush which was captured on St. Pat's day.  The temperature was 25 degrees.  He must have been thinking he came back to early from the tropics where he winters.   I can't wait to hear the sound of wood thrushes in the woods.  CORRECTION:  It's a Hermit Thursh--see comment below.   Some birder I am!

I also saw this Northern Flicker in the garden.  I captured this shot thru the screen window which acconts for the poor quality of the image.

He was looking for insects in this old cherry stump I had used for a flower pot stand in the garden.

The woodpeckers have been here all winter.  It is easy to distinguish between the Downy Woodpecker on the left and the much larger Hairy Woodpecker on the right side of the seed cake.

The temperature is 60 again and mostly sunny--time to get outside and work in the garden!

Bird Pine Cones and Holiday Decorations!

Carolina Wren December 19, 2011

I assisted Virginia Master Naturalist Debbie with the Junior Naturalist Club at a local middle school. We made pine cones filled with suet and seeds for the birds. It was so much fun I decided to make some of my own.



Directions:

Start with some pine cones (I had old ones that didn't have any scent on them). Tie a pipe cleaner (no ribbon!) around the bottom. Mix about equal parts of vegetable shortening and peanut butter in a big bowl, the stickier the better. Use a small spatula (the kids used plastic knives) to put the mixed suet into the crevices, then roll in wild bird seed and shake off the excess. You might want to do this outside since it's very messy. You should have seen the school children! I attached the pine cones to a burning bush shrub.



The tufted titmouse came right away but this downy woodpecker was what I caught with the camera. Other birds I observed on the pine cones were dark eyed juncos, hairy woodpeckers, Carolina chickadees, and American goldfinches.



The Northern Cardinal kept looking at the cones but didn't eat--just cautious I guess. But he makes a great Christmas decoration just by himself!


I had to post a photo of my Christmas tree this year which I picked out myself from the Spruce Run tree farm only a few miles away. I had my pick from thousands of trees but found this one right away. I think we have more presents for the pets under it than for the two of us but that's ok with me.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Downy and Amaryllis

Downy Woodpecker February 13, 2011


This little downy came for some peanut butter I had put in this hanging planter. I can't wait for it to be warm enough to put some flowering plants in it. I looked this morning and all the peanut butter was gone so I replaced with sunflower seeds.


A friend gave us this giant amaryllis a few years ago. It has bloomed nicely ever since. It's especially welcome this time of the year when nothing is blooming outside. I have learned to let it bloom, die back, lay dormant for awhile in the basement. When it shows signs of growth, I bring it back up into the house and water it.


This close up is against my favorite painting done by Pat McKelvey who lived in this area years ago.

Downies Feeding and Cheap Solar

Downy Woodpeckers
I've been seeing lots of birds feeding their young at the birdfeeder--cardinals, downies, and red-bellied woodpeckers. This photo is of a downy father who had cracked the sunflower seed in the hole of the tree and then fed the baby. Later I saw the pair on the suet cake, the baby not feeding but waiting for the dad to give him his meal.



Solar Projects and the Gulf

With the disastrous oil gusher in the Gulf, I have been thinking a lot about the poor state of the environment. The Gulf will take decades to return but never to its former pristine state. With over 4000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and companies suing the government to stop the deep water drilling moratorium (which only affects 35 drilling rigs!!), I feel helpless.

However, I was browsing some blogs (mainly Green Gal--see blog roll on right) and looking at several of her listed blogs. They made me feel a little better--lots of young people are trying to lead a green life, building their own homes, gardening, cycling, and recycling. Further, there are a lot of elder folks who have lived that way since the 70s. I was privledged to meet at few at the Naturalist Rally at Mt. Rogers (see post).

This solar water heating system was made by a retired man and was demonstrated at the Mt. Rogers Naturalist Rally last month. The two photovoltaic panels power the pump. The water flows through the PVC tubing against the black background, heating it quickly and then flows into the green water tank.

The elderly man said that this basic system is made of materials available at the hardware store. These solar systems were common in the 1930s before electricity was cheap and heavily promoted by industry and the government.


His wife demonstrated this solar oven, made of cardboard and aluminum foil. She and her husband travel to Africa to promote using solar ovens as a way to decrease deforestation.

I bought a sun oven a few years ago and have used it sporadically but did use it when I came home from the rally--it will bake brownies and make a good melted cheese sandwich but it's too small for much else. The highest temperature I recorded was 350 degrees.

Spurred by the oil spill, I also bought a battery-powered electric mower (Neutron). I figured I had to do something to use less oil. I ended up liking it much better than the gasoline mower--lighter and quieter. Also, there is no chance of spilling gasoline or oil which can leak into the ground.