Tag: cardinals

Summer Friends

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Donna Lewis

Today I went out to my garden to fill all the bird baths and containers I have with fresh water for all the birds, bunnies, and assorted little creatures that call our place their home.  After all, we are in their hood.  I have to fill everything twice a day.

I have tried to get a photo of all the Cardinals. I must have 80 to 100 of them, by far more than I have ever had at one time. We have feeders out for them, so I am thinking that the weather was not kind to insects this year (or anyone else) and that the birds are hungry and thirsty.  I can understand that.  They cannot run over to the store and pick something up like we do. Asking them to sit still while I take a picture of them has not been easy. They fly up as soon as I approach them.

They are at Mother Natures and humans’ whim.

There are lots of first years in the garden. You can always tell the new babies because their feathers are not as beautiful, not as colorful, and pretty ruffled up. They look like they are having a bad hair day!

I was able to get one photo with several first-year Cardinals and two first-year Blue Birds. I bet they will remember sitting next to their bird pals during a drought year and sharing a cool drink. There are always good times if you look for them.

Remember who we garden for.

There Are Still Birds Nesting Right Now

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

Yes, I thought most of our local birds had finished with having babies still in the nest. It is way too hot to tend to them. I was very surprised when my Linda cut a branch off that she kept heading her head on, to find a Cardinal nest about ten inches from the cut.

Now the nest is pretty much open to the elements. I cannot move it; it is too fragile.

There is one baby in it. I have been watching it with my binoculars for three days now, and thankfully the baby is still safe. The mother is still feeding it. I pray every night that a predator doesn’t find it.

So, keep in mind while you trim branches, there are still babies in their nests now in late July.

Be watchful.

Hot Time, Summer in the City…

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

…back of my neck getting dirty and gritty

by Donna Lewis

Remember that song?

Yes, it is hot and dry. Remember to keep water in the shade if you can and plenty of it for the wild things. I have over 50 Cardinals that wait for me every day now. I bet my electricity bill is going to be a whopper from running our well to get water for them.

That is a LOT of cardinals

The bunnies are drinking along with all our other wild friends also.

Cottontails appreciate our help.

A few days ago, I heard some strange clicking noises way up in a pine tree, I waited a long time to see what it was. It was some kind of bird I had never seen before.

Yellow-billed cuckoos are elusive and often easiest to identify by their sound.

After several days of trying to ID it, I finally found it in a field guide. It was a pair of Yellow Billed Cuckoos!  I had never seen them before. It’s interesting to add them to my bird list.

Most of the wildflowers are going to seed now and the pastures look awful.

In the garden I fight to keep anything alive for the butterflies and hummingbirds.

And lynx spiders, too.

I do have a lot of Gulf Coast Fritillaries, Swallowtails, and Sulfurs still flying around.

There is also a new batch of the red version of the Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars.

So, enjoy what nature is around you now because the heat is hard on them too.

Remember who you are gardening for.

Babies Everywhere

Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis
(with additional photos by Sue Ann Kendall)

This is Suna’s Phoebe mom, eating sunflower seeds and amaranth, or waiting on a fly.

Anywhere I look I have baby birds right now, which is a wonderful thing for a naturalist. Who could be bored right now with so many little creatures to look at?

On our front porch we have a nest with five tiny Eastern Phoebes. They are fly-catchers and love things with wings.

This morning mama tried to force a giant beetle down her youngest daughter and I thought for awhile I might have to preform the Hine-lick procedure…

Donna’s Phoebe babies taking a nap
Suna has a phoebe nest atop an old swallow nest.

Then in my Blue-bird houses I have five babies in one house and six babies in another. Again, bugs are on the menu.  This year the Blue-birds decided to run off the Purple Martins so they could use their perch to look for predators near their houses.

Over in our barn I have a nest of baby Carolina Wrens in a bucket that was hanging on the wall. If you have never seen a wren baby you would not believe how tiny they are. They are the cutest little things ever. There are only three babies.

Up in the oak trees about 18 feet high we have some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Now talk about a tiny house. You can barely see it. It is wrapped in moss and is very concealed.

I love this quote.

There are ton’s of Cardinal nests everywhere. They eat bugs and from my feeders. I have them year round.  They are regulars here.

Then at last my beautiful Purple Martins, who came very late this year, are starting to lay their eggs finally. That unfortunately will cause the babies to mature during the hottest time of the year. 

I have seven nests with eggs and more that have not started yet.  I have the fewest Martins than ever at this site.  There are many potential reasons for this, and it’s hard to determine for sure.

But the ones I do have sing to me, and it’s all worth the trouble.

Nature is everywhere you are.  All you have to do is look.

Heaven on earth.