The last few days have brought some surprise visitors to our backyard buffet. Saturday of the second week in May is International Migratory Bird Day...a big occasion here on the south shore of Lake Erie. Birds migrating northward to their summer homes have to cross Lake Erie if the route they take goes through Ohio. Their journey …
Rainy days, bluebirds, and those amazing birds from Baltimore!
If I were as hardy (or crazy) as my friend, Lisa, I would be in the park taking a trail walk with my dog, getting soaking wet like she did this morning. Instead I am sharing more backyard birds because it has drizzled all day, and the high temperature is only about 48 degrees. Did someone mention …
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Orioles!
Lots of activity in our backyard today. Rose breasted grosbeaks, Baltimore orioles, and a little Eastern bluebird. Here are the orioles, but I'm saving the others for tomorrow when I have more time. It has been a cool, cloudy, and overcast day, but these visitors made the sun come out for me and put a smile on my …
The wrens have returned!
When we're talking birds, migration is a fascinating topic, especially in the spring when the woods are awake with the sight and song of the warblers and other birds that haven't been around during the cold winter months. The bird pictured above, a house wren, is small and looks sweet, but according to my i-bird app, …
Love those birds!
I was standing next to the trail, watching a house wren "feathering her nest," when I spotted two birds on a branch high over my head. I couldn't see them clearly with my naked eye, so you can imagine my surprise when I downloaded them to my computer after I got home. Talk about serendipity! I …
A Monday Meander
Hello friends. Join me for a morning meander along the trail. We'll visit a few of our bird friends to see what they are up to. That's all the news from the trail on this Monday morning. I didn't see the belted kingfisher or the towhee, and I'm still waiting for my first glimpse of a …
I never would have seen…
I really wouldn't have noticed the little red-bellied woodpecker peering out from its nesting hole, but another, sharper-eyed photographer had located the nesting hole high up in a tree in the middle of the bog. He pointed it out as we walked past the tree a few days ago. So I have Randy to thank for …
Three owls
Look closely! Can you see all three great horned owls? There's Momma Owl on the left, and next to her are her two owlets taking their naps. I'm not sure how old the babies are, but rumor has it that they were first spotted by a sharp-eyed birder a week or more ago. But that …
Back to my search for spring
Lisa and I were trailwalking in the Arboretum, in search of more early signs of spring. Treading through a marshy area on our way to Blueberry Pond, we spotted some marsh marigolds. The vibrant yellow of this early bloomer is pretty hard to miss. Then, when we reached our destination at the top of a grassy …
A sure sign of spring!
Spring has been wearing its fickle face recently, bringing lots of rain, wind, and even a few rumbles of thunder. Thankfully we haven't had any severe storms, although at times the rain was heavy enough to create a large pond in our neighbor's backyard. This happens every spring, of course, and, without fail, when the …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 