Oct
01
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
Today I watched the birds visiting the feeders that I put up on Day 254 and refilled this morning. The peanuts I put in the feeder were gone within an hour or so and as far as I saw, they were all taken by the Steller's Jay. In the afternoon I sat and watched the goldfinches, of which there are many, visiting the feeders. They prefer the shelled sunflower mix and the patio mix, and are almost never on the feeder...
Sep
30
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
I returned to the arboretum hoping for another look at the Great Horned Owl I saw yesterday on Day 273. Although I walked the paths around that area for quite awhile, I failed to find any owls and no alarm calls led me to owls either. I continued my walk and focused on my ears to listen for alarm calls. Something did catch my attention, but at first I wasn't sure what it was, I just knew there was a sound...
Sep
29
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
Some days I choose the right path to walk and today was one of those days. I set off through the arboretum and took a left to go through a native plant garden and as I wandered the paths I heard warning calls from small birds like Bewick's Wrens. As I watched I saw an Anna's Hummingbird also joining which I frequently see them do when there's a Barred Owl. This is the same place I saw a Barred Owl...
Sep
28
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
Ever since I put our feeders up on Day 254 the birds have been returning in greater numbers every day. First it was a few House Finches and Black-capped Chickadees and not much else. But then I noticed the handful of peanuts I'd put out were gone. So I added more and again they disappeared while I was away. After doing this a few times I looked out front one day to find not one corvid, but three looking for...
Sep
27
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
This morning I set off on a trail I hadn't traversed in awhile at the arboretum and very quickly made the discovery of the remains of a rabbit. There wasn't much left of it, a, couple of feet, part of a spine, it had been picked apart. How it came to be there is a mystery, but I've seen many rabbits around the arboretum so it's presence there is not a surprise. Whether it died of natural causes and was...
Sep
26
2016
In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Learn more about the project and see all the 365 Nature posts.
Today feels like the last hurrah of summer. And what a glorious sunny day it is. Although I've been waiting impatiently for the arrival of autumn, today's last embrace of warm weather turned into a wonderful experience at the pond I've visited so much this summer. I arrived as the sun lit up only a small piece of the pond, but before long the sun spread over the trees and the pond was fully illuminated. Very early, much to my surprise,...
