Daily Nature Observations From Your Place 2018

[Katherine]

I was MC at a CT Audubon society event yesterday. Best part: 2 male bluebirds looking in the window the entire time. The CT Audubon logo is a bluebird!

[Sher]

Thanks Katherine! Sounds whimsical and fun.

I spent two days camping at our family duck camp in Washington. Everyone is the family hunts but me, and I enjoyed getting out to the blind when others were not there, and I was rewarded with five swans flying low -- right over my head. I could hear the beat of their great wings and see their muscles working beneath the white feathers. Thank god it is not okay to shoot these birds here!

Or-- I wish - anywhere.

[Katherine]

Lovely about the swans, Sher. I am not a hunter but got a different perspective on it when I read A Thousand Deer (Rick Bass). Have you read it? He's such a talented writer.

[Sher]

Katherine wrote: "Lovely about the swans, Sher. I am not a hunter but got a different perspective on it when I read A Thousand Deer (Rick Bass). Have you read it? He's such a talented writer."

Katherine:
I've been married almost 30 years, and my husband's entire family hunts- the women included. Bruce's father was a wildlife artist, wildlife filmmaker and he and Bruce's mother made wildlife films and books together. Charles Schwartz also illustrated the first edition of Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac. And Bruce's brother boy just named their first son Aldo! So hunting with this family is intricately entwined with wildlife conservation. If I have to live and breath hunting, perhaps this environment is better. Yes, upon reflection it is when I think of other hunters I have known over the years and their ethics of lack thereof.

I have not read A Thousand Deer: Four Generations of Hunting and the Hill Country I'll check it out- thank you.

[Sher]

Oregon

January -- Farm walk with puppy -- mid-day

A dark-eyed junco flitting white
in a big Rugosa Rose shrub
During this season it's all white flits and deep red-orange rosehips
shining bright in winter' weak sun.

[Story]

A small flock of Canada Geese are sitting on the rooftop of an apartment building across the alley, honking their heads off....the echoes off of the neighbouring towers are astounding and, I imagine, deeply pleasing to the geese. (Less so to the people trying to sleep in on Saturday morning.)

[Sher]

Storyheart wrote: "A small flock of Canada Geese are sitting on the rooftop of an apartment building across the alley, honking their heads off....the echoes off of the neighbouring towers are astounding and, I imagin..."

I love it! What fun. I can just imagine the geese are estatic with hearing their honks refracted all around. :)

[[deleted user]]

A gentle mist here in the forest. Not quite a drizzle. Everything singing in seemingly infinite shades of green. A stroll through a nearby sanctuary of trees. A community of love and support for quietude.

As I look at the floor of the woods, there are millions of hearts ~ what we would call violet leaves and redwood sorrel leaves. Verdant bliss.

[Sher]

shira wrote: "A gentle mist here in the forest. Not quite a drizzle. Everything singing in seemingly infinite shades of green. A stroll through a nearby sanctuary of trees. A community of love and support for qu..."

My best response to this as I have read it again and again - is - a smile.

[Sher]

Oregon 10 a.m.

Exciting news! Or, am I dismayed?

Three lesser goldfinch , dressed in full breeding plumage, visited the feeder today.

And never...

do we see them in January.

[Story]

Sher, I'm so enjoying your observations.

[Sher]

RACH: I wonder if the pigeon keeper realizes the Cooper's Hawk is in the area? The hawk is likely migrating through, but it will return daily, if it once has success. My closest look at the Cooper's Hawks are in January when it has gone through the trap doors and I find the bird sitting with my pigeons inside the loft. The pigeons will be huddled terrified in one corner, and generally there is a dead bird. What amazes me is how big these hawks are once you are up close to them.

Most pigeon keepers close down their lofts, once they realize a hawk is in the area. I have kept my loft closed for up to a month, because of hawks.

Are these birds homers or rollers - do you know?

[Sher]

Rach wrote: "Sher, I didn't know you kept pigeons! How neat, I'd like to hear more about that. I don't know anything about my neighbor's birds other than they are all-white and fly around the neighborhood in un..."

Those are homing pigeons. When a person has all whites, they could be used for weddings and celebrations, but if he was doing a business with them, he'd for sure know about the hawks. probably he keeps them for their beauty and interest. I have white roller pigeons- a very old family line called fireball rollers. I also have Flying Oriental Rollers of all colors, which are much larger and have very long sweeping wings and a flared tail, I have a few homing pigeons. I love homing pigeons ( I had 40 in Alaska), but they don't survive as well here because of the hawks; the rollers are much better at evading the hawks because they roll and spin. But, they get taken also. And, unfortunately, it always the tamest, gentles birds that die young. :(

I did read H is for Hawk, and I rated it highly.

I know what you mean about fear; I feel some great wariness when I catch them in my loft. I release them of course, and they are smart- they wait a long while before they try coming in again. They don't like being trapped in the loft.

I've kept pigeons for 20 years both in Alaska and now in Oregon.

You might become friends with your neighbor and have him show you his birds and the babies especially in spring and learn about why he keeps them etc. They are remarkable parents, very gentle birds, and the sounds they make, the way the males dance...it's all very intriguing and endearing.

[Story]

That's really cool, Sher.

[Sher]

yes, and sometimes I wish I knew how to easily share pictures, videos on GR, because it would be nice to easily share some images of the birds or the farm here. Oh well; we do our best with language!

[Ray]

These are actually yearly observations. I have conflated observations of several trips to the yearly Crane Festival at Hiwassee Refuge, a property of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources agency. I originally published this as a broadside with one of my black and white photographs.

HAIKU VIEW · Ray Zimmerman
Greater Sandhill Cranes are sojourners in Tennessee, caught between summer nests in Wisconsin and wintering grounds in Florida. Their rattling call is a trumpet in the skies. They gather at their staging area near Birchwood and call me to watch flights and arrivals. Three friends and I traveled to Hiwassee Refuge to watch the red headed dancers proclaim a restless domain on the shore, gray wings jostling like aggressive shoppers on Black Friday. Cold air bit my nose and cheeks; sent needles through my gloves. Warm air and tang of Barbecue revived me at the program hall.

Cranes line windy shore
Lift and call across cold water
Homeward then we fly

Herons stood as still as dead trees, snags in the water, hunting fish and frogs.

Breathe through water gills
Swim beneath the glassy surface
Gone to striking beak

I once stood on this same spot and watched a male Harrier (Marsh Hawk) work the far shore of this inlet off the Hiwassee River where cranes now stand.

Gray wings glide low
Lift for each patch of brush
Death to grasshoppers

At the school, some wildlife specialists gave a program on preservation of birds of prey. They had non-releasable birds of several species. I have watched Bald Eagles, and on at least one occasion, Golden Eagles from the viewing area near the refuge.

Circle over pond
Dive for fish or hunt wounded prey
King of sky and sea

We parked the car at the Cherokee Removal Memorial, hoping to avoid the parking issue at Birchwood School. We rode a shuttle bus to the refuge and to the school.

Loaded onto boats
One fourth of them died on route
Westward Trail of Tears

From the overlook at the memorial, we saw a group of White Pelicans far out on the Hiwassee River.

North from Florida
Stopping off at Hiwassee
Westward to build nests

The first paragraph and haiku appeared in The Weekly Avocet as a haibun, a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. I added the other memories later.

I have made several trips here. I hope to return each year that I am still alive.

[Sher]

Ray wrote: "These are actually yearly observations. I have conflated observations of several trips to the yearly Crane Festival at Hiwassee Refuge, a property of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources agency. I orig..."

Thanks for sharing this Ray! I hoped we would hear about your crane observations. I love these snippets of moments and also the passage of time and change. I could see so many of these images. Really wonderful. I sure hope you will post some other daily observations with us.

[Story]

Stinky love was in the air this morning...I was awoken at 5am by two noisy skunks mating under my window. A real Valentine's treat...though maybe not for the female who sounded quite vexed by the encounter.

[Sher]

Storyheart wrote: "Stinky love was in the air this morning...I was awoken at 5am by two noisy skunks mating under my window. A real Valentine's treat...though maybe not for the female who sounded quite vexed by the e..."

Oh my! I have never had the stinky pleasure of being near a skunk mating event! Wow. Happy Valentines Day!

[Story]

Anyone doing the Backyard Bird Count this weekend?

[Sher]

I hope to be on Sunday! Let's compare sightings!

[Story]

I'll look forward to that, Sher :)

[Sher]

Story heart-- what did you see today? Things didn't go quite as expected for me-- we had a big storm come in, and I was distracted by getting across a pass, getting home, and getting everything ready on the farm for a 20 plus degree drop. We'll be in the teens tonight, and we have buds on all the fruit trees. :( But, I did see bald eagles along the Columbia River, and house finch and dark eyed junco here while I was doing chores. How was your observing?

[Story]

We had a good day on Saturday, Sher, in spite of rain but ice formed overnight on Sunday making it too slippery to go back out. Hope your fruit trees will be okay.

Here's the list: Snow Goose, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Wood Duck, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Lesser, Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron,
Northern Harrier, American Coot, Glaucous-winged Gull, Rock Pigeon, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bewick's Wren, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird,
House Finch.

[Sher]

Story heart - Are you in the Pacific Northwest? What a great list. Let's see the wood duck, trumpeter swan, American robin all favorites.

I've got at least 5 inches here this morning, and now I must go down to the barn and start helping all the animals down there. Many dark-eyes juncoes , house finch, Stellar's Jay and California Jay at the feeders. My beautiful big tuxedo cat named Gibson is watching with zealous intensity at the window as the little birds go about their feeding frenzy! What action. And, soon the puppy will get out in it, and his big beard will be all full of snow.

[Story]

Yes, we're in Vancouver (BC not WA). Lucky you to have Stellar's Jays! We had some for a while but the crows took exception to them and drove them away. I know there are lots in West Vancouver (across the water) though.

We have no cat but watch out apartment window feeders with almost as much intensity as I imagine Gibson does. (Great name for a tuxedo cat!) We've had two lovely big flickers on the suet feeder this morning as well as less welcome starlings.

What kind of puppy?

[Sher]

A little more on the Stellar's Jays -- we have one or two nesting pair here on 200 acres, but most of the jays are the California Jays. I think it is not as common to have both. In the valley west of us, which is not far --just over the hill, they have no CA jays -- all Stellar's Jays. I believe our farm is on an enviro cusp sort to speak; I know the Ponderosa Pines just barely survive here.

The puppy I have mentioned in most of my posts - he is a 16 week old wire-haired pointing griffon - a german bird dog. His name is Cowboy. He is our 4th. My husband runs field and water competitions with three of the dogs, but I don't plan to hunt Cowboy; although I may do some retriever competing with him. I haven't decided yet. I am at a place in my life where I just am not interested in killing sports, so if do retrieving training with him, it'll be all dummy work. A dummy is a little log object dogs retrieve.

If you have never seen this breed -- google wire-haired pointing griffon images. they are are something else - big beards, shaggy, fabulous temperaments, HIGH energy and need A LOT of exercise and land.

[Story]

What a lovely breed, Sher. In fact, I see one of that breed each day but didn't know what it was called.

[Sher]

Storyheart wrote: "What a lovely breed, Sher. In fact, I see one of that breed each day but didn't know what it was called."

That's neat. I wonder what the dog's name is. Maybe you can ask. :) Mine are Skookum , which means hale for stout and Cowboy, which means --it's a wild fun wild! And, he is that!

[Rachel]

The birds are out in force today. Circles of grass are expanding as the snow retreats and the land begins to thaw. Sparrows are raiding the hedgerow now that it can be seen again, and blue tits fret around the feeder, stocking up after their fast.

[Sher]

Here in Oregon, Kicking Mule Creek is running super fast with spring thaw. I discovered a big circle of mallard feathers near the creek-- some one's meal. Soon the dark-eyed juncoes will depart. Every thing green is sprouting up through decayed oak leaves. Oh those oaks leaves provide a rich taupe humus for spring flowers.

And thank you Monsterin the Library for your spring promise too!

What- what -- is happening where you live today?

[Sher]

Question:
What types of birds are around your home in winter, but will be leaving soon, once spring comes, for warmer climes?

For me on our Oregon farm it is the dark-eyed junco- a small song bird, which will be leaving in the next few weeks. In winter it is here in great numbers and along with house finch a bird seen at our feeders everyday. It heralds the coming of winter and the advent of spring. When it flies its tail flickers white, and sometimes that's all you see is a flick of white as it passes by. A lovely little happy bird.

[Story]

We too shall be soon say goodbye to the lovely juncos. They feed on our windowsill and every so often timidly raise their heads to look in on us eating our breakfast.

We've also just said goodbye to both the common and hooded mergansers. The common merganser always makes me want to get out my paintbox to try to capture the amazing pink-ivory glow of their chests.

But their loss will soon be assuaged by the arrival of the Rufous hummingbird.

[Sher]

Story heart-- very, very nice! We will have to compare our Rufous hummingbird stories, though for me it is an infrequent summer visitor, but when it zooms in it shakes everybody up! :)

I really like this idea of the juncoes looking in at the breakfast table.
They eat seed on outside sills here too, and they see a very still huge tuxedo cat (maybe they don't really SEE him) who watches them from our kitchen-- for what seems like hours and hours. He loves it, and the juncoes are safe!

[Pam]

I have so enjoyed reading the comments in this post. I haven't read one of our books since Wandering Through Winter but hope to get back in the discussion soon. I have bEen busy with gardening, seed starting, seed saving, and herbal books but miss being part of this community. I am in a snow globe here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Two weeks ago the ground was getting bare and I walked in my little woods feeling the earth begin to waken under my feet. I cut scions from an old apple tree and could imagine the buds, invisible but swelling, on the branches. Here in mid-March we are wrapped in a blanket of swirling snow with at least a foot on the ground. And how do I feel? Happy, actually! I had felt we didn't have "enough" winter. I am anxious to get my hands dirty and see those first elusive hints of green but I am content to have a couple more weeks of the intense beauty of the fading winter. Happy tracking out there!

[Ray]

Here in Tennessee the redbuds are in bloom. I saw some toothwort and trillium. I need to walk in the woods, for I am certain the the bloodroot and trout lily have flowered. The dogwoods see about to pop.

[[deleted user]]

The forest here in coastal northern california is dotted with trillium. Denteria leaves and flowers on the forest floor, showing their delicate faces. Rains have come, which is usual in March. Quite welcome after a winter of relative dryness.

[Rachel]

I love reading these snippets of nature from different places! I'm in Dorset, England, and it looks like we're about to get another blast of snow. Hopefully the weather will get this out of its system soon and we can get on with Spring. I can hear the trees shaking in the wind outside my window as the chilling rain returns for the night.

[Sher]

Hello Everyone-- I am glad you are like me in that you are enjoying the snippets of natural life each of us presents from their spot around our world.

Spring in Oregon at the farm so far -- bugs and small yellow crocus.

Small yellow crocus are bursting above the mulch that surrounds Ouzel's headstone. The old dog lies beneath one of the oldest oaks on the farm. Soon we should see yellow daffodils nearby reminding applauding the Great and Powerful Oz. Ouzel was my husband's favorite hunting dog, and they went on many adventures together, and she was also the top winning griffon in the US in water based field trials. Truly a once in a lifetime dog.

And box elder bugs--millions of black and red harmless bugs covering the planks of our nineteenth century barn. Sitting, sunning, and mating against the backdrop of the old barn wood.

[Story]

I was just at the AGM for my community garden that was full of petty bickering and passive aggression. I was thinking I might have to resign and give up my plot when in flew a bumble bee. (My particular garden plot is an organic bee and butterfly flower garden.)

Think it was a message?

[Sher]

Storyheart wrote: "I was just at the AGM for my community garden that was full of petty bickering and passive aggression. I was thinking I might have to resign and give up my plot when in flew a bumble bee. (My parti..."

I think it is a message. The bees and the bumblebees need our plantings- period. I imagine that bumblebee lifted your spirits. It's beyond petty human bickering-- you noticed both, which would you like to follow and sustain.

I always feel that if just one person remains calm and nurturing it will help the crowd whether they know it or not. Listen, and you'll always have an opportunity to do something really good.

I guess if your plot wasn't there , the humans would still be arguing, and the bumblebee might not be there either.

You and the bombus have a good thing going!

If you continue on Storyheart- let us know how it goes.

[Story]

Thanks for the encouragement, Sher. I will carry on for one more year--doing it for the bees. (I have less faith in the humans than you.)

[Becky]

Wonderful perspective, Sher! And good on you, Storyheart! Brava! :)

[[deleted user]]

Sher's post is a mirror of my own heart's response.
Thank you Sher ~

We have no idea how one person resting in their heart, their calmness and kindness
can influence all of life around them.

It has been said that kindness travels beyond the worlds.
So glad you have that little space to plant, Storyheart.

Peace to all beings ~

[Ray]

March has turned cool and blustery here in Chattanooga. The Redbuds bloomed early and now the petals seem to shiver on the branches. Same for the toothwort and trillium. Now the dogwoods are opening.

[Sher]

Sounds so lovely Ray.... I can imagine.

[Pam]

Brilliant white snow covers everything around us...but warming temperatures and falling icicles tell the story of spring. Lots of visitors at the bird feeders. Tracks of turkey, deer, fox and mouse encrusted in the snow. The dogs were able to run on top of the snow this morning but those days are numbered luckily as they used the magical power to visit the neighbors! There are lots of little containers of seedlings all over my small house soaking up the longer day sun. If you looked out my window it might be hard to believe but Spring is in the air!

[Story]

Sounds lovely, Pam.

[Sher]

Pam wrote: "Brilliant white snow covers everything around us...but warming temperatures and falling icicles tell the story of spring. Lots of visitors at the bird feeders. Tracks of turkey, deer, fox and mouse..."

Terrific Pam! I especially love imagining your house with all the seedlings sprinkled about.

What are you trying to grow? Are these vegetable seedlings? Please tell....

[Sher]

Hello Everyone:
Do you have any native wildflowers on your property that you see in the spring? If so, what are they.

We have bright yellow glacier lilies, tiny pink prairie star, and pale, pale blue lavender dutchman's britches. They are all in the woods - an area on our farm called Poult Wood.

Which of the spring wildflowers are your favorites? Mine is the diminutive prairie star. So delicate.

And, yes, the male turkey are on the move, parading and strutting. American Robins are finding territory. Very few juncoes now, and I'm seeing bright yellow and black American Goldfinch at the feeder. The squirrels are definitely awake - we have both gray squirrel and California Ground Squirrel on the farm.