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A Few Clouds ~ High: 81°F ~ Low: 61°F Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |
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Summer Wildlife Update 2013Posted Thursday, May 16, at 9:33 AM Wild animals are very busy! Most of our songbirds have weaned or are weaning their first clutch of baby birds. Some have even started building their second nests. Our larger birds of prey are finished with egg laying for this year. The smaller birds like Screech Owls and Kestrels will have one more clutch this year...
Yippee!!! Look who's at my feeder! This is the first time I have ever seen a grosbeak in this neighborhood, and yesterday I discovered there are at least two! These birds are very shy, and I never would have thought to see them in a suburban setting...
This is the only baby that is left of the three that hatched - notice the two unhatched eggs? I can only speculate about what happened to the other 2 hatchlings. Some of the reasons could include a predator, the recent poor weather, and the fact that with all of the cooler temperatures could have created lesser food availability...
Just a quick note to show you the new baby mockingbirds. There are actually three babies - one of them is snuggled under the others. One of the eggs was not fertile and didn't hatch. These babies are approximately four days old. Mom and Dad are very busy around the nest, finding food and defending the nest. I have seen some violent attacks on other birds that accidentally wander too close...
Sorry it's been a little while since you have heard from me - I have been busy getting married! All is well and things are getting back to normal. Mother mockingbird is sitting on her nest. I have tried to get a picture of her, but she is elusive. I can tell you that there are 4 eggs in the nest...
This is a quick update to the mockingbird nest on my previous blog. This picture was taken on 4/15/13. The mother will probably lay 3 more eggs. Birds do not start sitting on the eggs until all have been laid. This ensures that the eggs will hatch at around the same time...
It seems like one day it's winter, and the next day it was spring! The songbirds have woken and are doing what birds do - being fruitful and multiplying. The nest you see in the picture is located right beside my stoop in an evergreen. It belongs to a pair of Northern Mockingbirds. ...
Wildlife Update Want to know what our wildlife is doing these days? They are either procreating or are preparing to do so! As for our mammals, the spring crop of baby squirrels are old enough to venture out of the nest. There will be another litter in the fall...
The Virginia Opossum - a maligned, misunderstood animal! I hope you will have a better appreciation for these creatures after you have read this. First of all, opossums are the only marsupial we have in Tennessee, and they are one of the oldest marsupials all over the world. This makes them unique, plus it means they are not related to rats! They are cousins to kangaroos...
Hummingbird Update BOLO (be on the lookout)for Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds!!! You will see the hummingbird migration beginning in April. These birds are the ones which will fly from South America to places further north than we are. They are tired and hungry, so please feed them...
As humans we have such a need to put things into neat, little categories - to box things in with dates and times. Sometimes I think we would be happier without such constraints! Who says spring will occur on March 20th of this year? Nature has no such timetable...
To Hunt or Not to Hunt? I imagine we are all giving more thought to gun control issues right now, and along with that, I also began to think about hunting. You know how much I love wildlife. In my 30's I began to dislike hunting and hunters. I was trying to start a wildlife center, and I couldn't stand the thought of people killing some of the animals I was trying to save...
An Epiphany from Nature Do you believe that nature can inspire an epiphany (major illuminating event)? I do, and here's why.... Back in the early 90's, I was struggling to get Walden's Puddle established. At that time my commitment to Walden's also required that I work several part-time jobs in order to fund it and feed myself. I was getting about 4 hours of sleep each night, and running on empty...
Deer - a Paradox The Friday edition of The Times-Gazette (Jan.11, 2013) had an article entitled "'Baby Girl' disappears" on the front page along with a picture of a young hunter titled "Big Buck Bagged" on page 7. I was going to let it pass - but I couldn't. My brain wouldn't let it go, and so here I am...
I count myself very fortunate because of the number of desirable birds at my feeder. It's not like that in more urban areas. I live in a subdivision and still have great birds. Of course, I am seeing a good number of English sparrows (non-native) but I also get to see Chipping Sparrows and Song Sparrows. The usual culprits are here as well, including American Cardinals, House Finches, Chickadees and Titmice...
Last but not least of the three types of birds of prey in our area are vultures. By the way, there are no "buzzards" here. The word buzzard was used in Europe long ago and was used to refer to several different types of hawks. I really don't know why we started calling them buzzards...
Because of folklore, owls have gained a somewhat sinister reputation for being witch pets, or "familiars". I have met a lot of people who seem "spooked" by owls. In our part of Tennessee we have only 4 types of owls - great-horned, barred, barn and screech. The great-horned is the largest and screech owls are the smallest. Coloration differences only exist in screech owls, and here you will see a red-phase owl and a gray-phase owl...
Raptors - (birds, not dinos) - Part 1 Things are quiet on the wildlife front now and it seems a good time to talk about some wildlife basics. Birds of prey are the species that always seemed to be the ooh and aah factor at Walden's Puddle. I would like to start with hawks. In middle Tennessee we have several different kinds of these birds. ...
Birdfeeding 101 We are fortunate to live in a more suburban area - we get great songbirds here compared to larger cities. I have seen white-breasted nuthatches and yellow-shafted flickers here! Make sure your birdfeeders are clean and disinfect them with a mild bleach solution. Moldy feeders will make the seed turn bad...
I met a hornet.... Something about me that you didn't know - I am an insect admirer! I met a hornet just the other day. I have lived in this neighborhood for more than 2 years and it was the first hornet I have seen. I was doing some woodworking on my deck, and I believe the hornet was attracted to the noise...
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Vicky Carder is a Shelbyville native. In 1991 she founded Walden's Puddle Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Nashville. There she served as Executive Director for more than 12 years. The Center is the largest wildlife hospital in Middle Tennessee. She has published in wildlife national and international journals. Now she wants to share her knowledge of native wildlife and some of the experiences she had while working with wildlife.
Hot topics Summer Wildlife Update 2013(3 ~ 8:04 AM, May 17)
Yippee!!
Mockingbird baby!
Baby Update!
Backyard Birds: Part 2
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