Is Spring finally here? Please, please say it's so.!

Hummingbirds at the new window feeders.

Backyard: changes. Crops: fruits and seeds. Birds: variety and color.

This is our composting area. It also does double duty and serves as seasonal "toy" storage.

Our new birds feeders. Notice the mounting to the stump (drilled hole and wedged post).

I saw this little storage tip for the wheelbarrow on a TV program. Works great. It is built with a 2 x 4. This one is sized to fit the location on the shed. It could have been shorter (narrower). On each end attach a 2 x 4 block. The blocks serve as spacing for the front lip of the wheelbarrow to sit in. The final step is to add the slide bolt (at the top center) to hold the wheelbarrow against the wall.

This Morning Glory has grown along the driveway edge for years. The seed pods self seed the garden spot. Donna also hand harvest seeds each year. She gives them away to anyone who wants to have them growing in their yard. Each year we find them growing in other spots around the yard and neighborhood. My guess is the birds are dispersing them from our garden to wherever they travel.

This year we are going to have a fairly good plum crop. They seem like they are maturing early this year as are the apples and raspberries. It has been a very hot summer. Lots of days in the high 90's even some triple digit days. 

The apple tree only fruits every other year. Although the quantity of the fruit seems about normal the quality is not up to par. We have a lot more insect damage than in pass years. We do not spray the fruit trees by choice. We prefer to feel like anyone can safely eat the fruit directly from the tree.

We are thrilled with the number of birds we are seeing at our new feeder station. It took the birds less than two days to find the new location.

We are enjoying the variety and colors of the current visitors. 

This male Cardinal and his mate are year around residence of the neighborhood. We hear them 'talking' to each other throughout the day. The chirps and calls have increased in frequency in the last few days. The photo below helps explain the increased activity.

I was lucky to catch this photo.  Our kitchen window over the sink is high (eye level). We can not easily see the ground at the base of the feeder. I was watching the birds at the feeder this morning when the male Cardinal flew in perched momentarily on the crossbar and then quickly dropped to the ground. My guess was that the female was probably on the ground already.  I quickly grab a chair and the camera and managed to peek over the edge of the window to the ground. My first glimpse was of four Cardinals mom, dad, and two chicks. The mom heard me or saw me in the window and flew away. The dad however was to busy feeding the chicks to notice the guy in the window with the camera fumbling to get a vantage point and a picture.

This hummingbird was a little nervous about me being 2-3 feet away on the other side of window. We have to move slowly for them to land and stay. We are hoping they will get use to us and come and go without the additional caution. In any case we have seen and I have photographed more hummingbirds in the last 2-3 days than anytime in the past 10 years.

Changes at the kitchen window. Hummingbirds welcome.

Our backyard outside the kitchen window has seen some major change in the last week. First we decided that it was time to have the spruce tree(s) cut down for safety reasons. Their root systems were to shallow and the trees visually lifted the root system in strong winds.  We decide a controlled toppling of the tree(s) was far better than a storm driven event.

The loss of the trees included the loss of the bird feeders and the wildlife that visited them. So it didn't take long (two days) before we decided we needed our feeders back. 

A few dollars worth of hardware, a twenty inch long 2 1/4" auger bit and a nice new spruce tree stump provide the solution. Drill one deep hole in the center of the stump. 

Add a 2 1/4" eight foot metal pole. Level up the pole with a couple of wedges to secure the pole in it's new home. Add a 2 x 6", 48"long board. Creating a T. Add 3 bird feeders and ....... build it and they will come.

Add one..... no maybe two new window hummingbird feeders and get out the camera.

Enjoy our new visitors.

Our new humming bird window feeder.

The new feeder is getting lots of visits but the birds are very aware of our presence on the other side of the glass. We have to stand very still otherwise they will fly off. 

 As they get more comfortable with our viewing I am not able to get any better video than this quickly shot clip.

Snowy Owl visiting our neighborhood.

This Snowy Owl was seen at midday sitting on a neighbor's roof.

Moquah Barrens Sharp-tailed Grouse Viewing Opportunities - 2012

I just received and email from Brian Heeringa, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Biological Science Technician reminding the outdoor wildlife lovers that the Sharp-tailed Grouse viewing blind will soon be available for viewing the Moquah Barrens Lek

Brian Heeringa's email points out - "The blind will be set up near a lek (a lek is a gathering of males, of certain animal species, for the purposes of competitive mating display) and will be opened to the public from April 14 thru May 5, 2012."

For additional information or to signup to use the blind visit the Washburn Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Washburn Wisconsin or call 715-373-2667

The following video and photos were shot last year on May 5th.

It is spring and the local bird watchers are out and about. We are lucky here in northern Wisconsin to have a population of Sharp-tailed Grouse in the Moquah Barrens that are monitored by Washburn Ranger District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. They maintain a blind that they invite wildlife lovers to use to observe spring Sharp-tailed Grouse mating behavior.

Chirping here. Chirping there. Chirping, chirping everywhere.

For several years now we have had a male and female Northern Cardinal pair (maybe two pairs) in our neighborhood. We have watched them and listened to them nearly everyday as they spent their days in and around our yard. We have listened to them communicate back and forth from perch to perch.

Today we heard something distinctly different. Chirps. Short sharp chirp, chirp, chirp. Something was different. Following the sound lead me to a lilac bush and eventually the source. The first fledgling Northern Cardinal we have ever seen.

The fledgling was calling out to mom and dad and they were close and answering. After jumping from perch to perch within the lilac the fledgling finally made it to an upper open branch. Several more chirps back and forth one small leap, flapping new wings and a semi controlled flutter to a lower bush and out of sight.

For the rest of the day into the evening we heard chirping between at least three different locations. We look forward to seeing a new adult taking up residences in the neighborhood.

Mom perched over the lilac bush.

Dad... with lunch?..... mac and cheese?

Right... mac and cheese?

Fledgling Northern Cardinal.

Mom watching closely from nearby birch.

Dad still carrying lunch.

Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Critter day.

Things you don't see everyday.

Lay still stop moving.

Feed me mom...no... feed me first.

Don't cry over this.

Is this what the rapture looks like up close?

Look close. Nesting behavior.

Guess what bird?

It's _______ egg blue.

Guess what bird?

It's the "love" Dove.

Indigo Buntings and Goldfinches

This video was shot through a kitchen window.

Sharp-Tailed Grouse. Bayfield County WI.

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse                                                         Ruffed Grouse

Comparison Sharp-Tailed vs. Ruffed Grouse

This video was shot earlier today from a blind setup by the U.S. Forest Service, Washburn WI office. 

Thank You to all for the opportunity to see this great wildlife display.  For additional information about Sharp-Tailed Grouse courting rituals visit this website.

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-Tailed Grouse

This photo is notable as it was the first photo I took at about 5:40 A.M. today.

When we received the basic guide for viewing the Sharp-Tailed Grouse from the blind in the Moquah Barrens,  Bayfield County WI. The guide suggested early arrival before sunrise... which we did.

I would suggest really early arrival. We had barely got settled in the blind (zipper shut) when the display started.

It was quite the sight and sound in the blind. With little or no light we fumbled around like a couple of beginners with a new camera we had never used before. I would have like to have been a little bird sitting in a tree watching and listening to the ruckus in the black cube sitting at the open site. 

After switching several camera settings and locating the grouse mostly by sound... a point and shoot.

The  photo above is the photo I got.... well maybe not exactly... actually it was more like the one below.
It was the one below.  Look at the red "beady eyes" which were staring back.

PHOTOSHOP it's a wonderful thing.
Suggestions for future visits ... arrive at the blind really really early and be ready.
Thanks to the U.S. Forest Service, Washburn, WI office for providing this great opportunity.